TheBand Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I have to vent a little bit. I'm amazed at how AWFUL the National Anthem Singers have been so far this year. The "Bare Naked Statues" were pretty good... the rest... The older lady several games back, WOW! I hate to say it, but I wondered if SLU had been raffling off singing the anthem as a prize at the door. This last game with the father and son was bad as well. The kid was "cute" and all, but we're supposed to be a Major Division One university....not an NAIA or Junior College. The father and son just couldn't find the words or the right harmonies. (Valerie Kotys at the BC game was good, as always) (Oh, and if you are one of these folks or their families and are offended... I'm sorry, but some people just shouldn't sing in public.) Some of the first impressions that recruits, students and casual fans get of a program is the game presentation. From the ticket-takers, to the ushers, the arena, to the entire presentation of the game... it matters. We're one of the 4 major sports in the St Louis area (or at least we want to be treated as such by the local media), and let me tell you, the anthem singers we've had so far this year wouldn't cut it for the Cardinals, Rams or Blues. Whomever is in charge of picking the anthem singers needs to raise their standards. I was informed after the Savannah State game that the anthem singers (the father and son)had performed earlier in the day and were pretty bad then as well.... so why weren't they scratched from the game??!! Make an executive decision and tell them that they won't be able to perform that night. The National Anthem means a LOT to people. We should be putting on the BEST presentation possible. If anyone else is with me on this, please e-mail SLU and ask them to raise their standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I have to vent a little bit. I'm amazed at how AWFUL the National Anthem Singers have been so far this year. The "Bare Naked Statues" were pretty good... the rest... The older lady 2 games back, WOW! I hate to say it, but I wondered if SLU had been raffling off singing the anthem as a prize at the door. This last game with the father and son was bad as well. The kid was "cute" and all, but we're supposed to be a Major Division One university....not an NAIA or Junior College. The father and son just couldn't find the words or the right harmonies. (Oh, and if you are one of these folks or their families and are offended... I'm sorry, but some people just shouldn't sing in public.) Some of the first impressions that recruits, students and casual fans get of a program is the game presentation. From the ticket-takers, to the ushers, the arena, to the entire presentation of the game... it matters. We're one of the 4 major sports in the St Louis area (or at least we want to be treated as such by the local media), and let me tell you, the anthem singers we've had so far this year wouldn't cut it for the Cardinals, Rams or Blues. Whomever is in charge of picking the anthem singers needs to raise their standards. I was informed after the Savannah State game that the anthem singers (the father and son)had performed earlier in the day and were pretty bad then as well.... so why weren't they scratched from the game??!! Make an executive decision and tell them that they won't be able to perform that night. The National Anthem means a LOT to people. We should be putting on the BEST presentation possible. If anyone else is with me on this, please e-mail SLU and ask them to raise their standards. The lady that sang at the BC game was good. Otherwise I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 The lady that sang at the BC game was good. Otherwise I agree.Valery Kodis[sp]. Use to work in the athletic dept.,now works for the Cardinals. Knows how to fill out a sweater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Valery Kodis[sp]. Use to work in the athletic dept.,now works for the Cardinals. Knows how to fill out a sweater. Kotys- showed up with her sister, who was arm-in-arm with Cards pitcher Brad Thompson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Valerie is great, and she can sing also hey band, what about the cd that was mentioned some months ago?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Knows how to fill out a sweater. You got that right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 As a life long musician and frequent performer, i can tell you two things: 1. several of these singers simply change keys throughout the songs, and either sing flat or way out of key as a rule. This is not good. 2. Often a try-out can go well, but when you must sing acappella in front of 6000 people, it goes bad quickly. Acapella in singing in front of a big crown is as tough as it gets for amateurs. final analysis from another musician: most of these performances have been terrible and I agree: do something about it. the quick and easy answer is this: have the band play it, at least they will keep the key. Or else have the singers rehearse with the band and then sing with the band: that would keep the singers on key! (Now that I think about it, I am going to send this note to Chris May!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 back in the spoonball days, we used to occasionally have a middle aged woman with blonde hair sing the anthem that was just spectacular. she would do the octave up at the end and i could feel the hairs standing on the back of my neck. find that woman and give her season tix to sing every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 It's a very difficult song to sing. It has an extended range and can get quite high for most voice ranges. "America, the Beautiful" would be a better National Anthem, anyway, but "The Star-Spangled Banner" will continue to memorialize war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 what's surprising is that slu has taken the step to do great half times now that we are at chaifetz (if i never see another 4th grade scrimmage between st agnus and st boniface i would be happy) but now we apparently are getting auditions for american idol the anthem edition. for every valerie we get two games of hold my ears. imo the anthem can be a great start to the game. give us a whitney houston like version (greatest version ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYhio8EXdWA...eature=related) and the crowd will be pumped when willie reed wins that tip, sprints to the basket and tommie hits him with an alley oop pass to slam home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 what's surprising is that slu has taken the step to do great half imo the anthem can be a great start to the game. give us a whitney houston like version (greatest version ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYhio8EXdWA...eature=related) and the crowd will be pumped when willie reed wins that tip, sprints to the basket and tommie hits him with an alley oop pass to slam home.The Anthem is a formality. I don't need it to inspire me to get pumped up to celebrate a good play. Besides, the player introductions are between the Anthem and the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 It's a very difficult song to sing. It has an extended range and can get quite high for most voice ranges. "America, the Beautiful" would be a better National Anthem, anyway, but "The Star-Spangled Banner" will continue to memorialize war. Yeah, God forbid that we honor those who have defended this country and made all of our freedoms possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG BILL FAN Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I have to vent a little bit. I'm amazed at how AWFUL the National Anthem Singers have been so far this year. The "Bare Naked Statues" were pretty good... the rest... The older lady several games back, WOW! I hate to say it, but I wondered if SLU had been raffling off singing the anthem as a prize at the door. This last game with the father and son was bad as well. The kid was "cute" and all, but we're supposed to be a Major Division One university....not an NAIA or Junior College. The father and son just couldn't find the words or the right harmonies. (Valerie Kotys at the BC game was good, as always) (Oh, and if you are one of these folks or their families and are offended... I'm sorry, but some people just shouldn't sing in public.) Some of the first impressions that recruits, students and casual fans get of a program is the game presentation. From the ticket-takers, to the ushers, the arena, to the entire presentation of the game... it matters. We're one of the 4 major sports in the St Louis area (or at least we want to be treated as such by the local media), and let me tell you, the anthem singers we've had so far this year wouldn't cut it for the Cardinals, Rams or Blues. Whomever is in charge of picking the anthem singers needs to raise their standards. I was informed after the Savannah State game that the anthem singers (the father and son)had performed earlier in the day and were pretty bad then as well.... so why weren't they scratched from the game??!! Make an executive decision and tell them that they won't be able to perform that night. The National Anthem means a LOT to people. We should be putting on the BEST presentation possible. If anyone else is with me on this, please e-mail SLU and ask them to raise their standards. The anthems have been terrible, I'm surprised that it has taken this long for people to complain about it on this forum. The lady at the Kent State game was so bad, that it was almost laughable. Does the athletic department screen these singers? They are embarrassing the performers and school alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Yeah, God forbid that we honor those who have defended this country and made all of our freedoms possible.I don't see how "America, The Beautiful" fails to honor those who've fought for our freedoms. And "The Star-Spangled Banner" is about the flag, not the soldiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I don't see how "America, The Beautiful" fails to honor those who've fought for our freedoms. And "The Star-Spangled Banner" is about the flag, not the soldiers. C'mon Thicks, You cannot possibly ignore the symbolism of the flag and go directly into the anti-war critique of our anthem. I thought you had more depth than that......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I don't see how "America, The Beautiful" fails to honor those who've fought for our freedoms. And "The Star-Spangled Banner" is about the flag, not the soldiers. could you be that "thick" not to understand that the anthem is about a lot more than just the flag! Did you ever represent our country in the military? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 The Star Spangled Banner is an incredibly difficult song to sing. It's set to an old British drinking song that was popular in the early 19th century, when Key wrote his long poem (the part we sing now is just a fraction of his poem). A lot of songs would make better anthems- easier to sing, nicer music, not British in origin - but this one is what we've got. Not many people are going to be good at singing it, and everyone puts their own take on the delivery. I say let the band play it before every game- it will be consistent, concise (we don't need anymore American Idol rejects or Bleeding Gums Murphy long notes), and sound much better than almost any solo performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FromDaEastSide Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Maybe they bought 50 tickets for family and friends for them to preform the anthem. Anthem Group Tickets Perform the National Anthem Perform the national anthem prior to a Billiken game. Experience the thrill of performing the national anthem in front of thousands of Billiken fans. Great for bands, choirs or other performing groups. Great fundraising opportunity for your organization. Receive a video keepsake of your performance. Limited availability. 50 ticket minimum required Contact the Billiken Ticket Office at 314-977-4SLU with any questions. My favorite anthem singer is Wayne Messmer from the old Chicago Stadium before Blackhawks home games, that barn would be rockin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Maybe they bought 50 tickets for family and friends for them to preform the anthem. Anthem Group Tickets Perform the National Anthem Perform the national anthem prior to a Billiken game. Experience the thrill of performing the national anthem in front of thousands of Billiken fans. Great for bands, choirs or other performing groups. Great fundraising opportunity for your organization. Receive a video keepsake of your performance. Limited availability. 50 ticket minimum required Contact the Billiken Ticket Office at 314-977-4SLU with any questions. My favorite anthem singer is Wayne Messmer from the old Chicago Stadium before Blackhawks home games, that barn would be rockin! Jimbo, I think you know what to do for the game you're attending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBand Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 I have several responses. a. the band CD has been recorded but needs a final mixdown. we have a time to do that in janruary. b. I agree, the national anthem is hard to sing.... but we ALL know there are people out there that do it well. GET THEM TO SLU GAMES. We shouldn't have to hear people that would be rejected by Simon, Randy and Paula. c. I don't think we need the anthem to "get us up" but it certainly is nice to not cringe before games. d. and now seeing the above post... that is jus awful that we're selling out an aspect of the program just to sell tickets. Would the Cards, Rams and Blues do this?? Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Charles Glenn. Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 My favorite anthem singer is Wayne Messmer from the old Chicago Stadium before Blackhawks home games, that barn would be rockin! -Messmer and the organ from the Stadium, I never got to go there in person, but that was really good. -the Yankees with Merrill was good also -and from STL, Natalie Deluchia at Blues games, I wonder what she looks like now, she would be about 25 I would guess, if she still sings perhaps an option -Band - thanks for the cd update, I hope it has your entire play list!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 is this really a promotional pitch to sell 50 tickets? wow that is trite! another new low for the program! it would certainly explain the lack of discrimination in the selection process. I hope you are joking about this and, if not, please reconsider, O mighty Athletic department! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 If you look at the original post on this, there's a live link to the Billiken website. It's real. I don't mind the idea, but so far it's been embarrassing execution. I wonder if that Roseanne lady brought 48 of her friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I would only support this idea if there was an "American Idol"-type panel to critique the singers after they've finished the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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