"HCGTMB" and "Crusader Band" redirect here.
| Holy Cross Crusader "Goodtime" Marching Band | |
|---|---|
| School | College of the Holy Cross |
| Location | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Conference | Patriot League |
| Founded | 1845 |
| Director | Mr. Nicholas J. McKenzie |
| Members | 34 |
| Fight song | Chu Chu, Rah Rah |
| Uniform | Black overalls, Purple and White jacket with black cuffs and purple sequined sash, black shoes, black gloves, white plume, purple shako with silver brim and accent. |
Formed in 1845, the Holy Cross Crusader "Goodtime" Marching Band (HCGTMB) is one of the oldest organizations at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.[1] The Crusader Band first began performing at football games in 1910 and the band's role has expanded significantly since then to include other athletic appearances and local parades. Regular performances include every home and most away football games, and the annual Worcester St. Patrick's Day Parade, and trips to local nursing homes during the Christmas season, for caroling. In the spring, the marching band converts into the Holy Cross "Goodtime" Pep Band and plays at all home basketball games, and with luck, travels with the teams to the NCAA tournament. The Marching Band performs at Fitton Field while the pep band plays in the Hart Center.
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The band is made up of a cross-section of students who have immense school spirit and a strong camaraderie. Members study all majors and disciplines offered by the College and come from various marching and musical backgrounds. Currently, members represent eighteen different majors and five academic concentrations. Members are accepted from schools in the Worcester Consortium, and members have in past attended both Assumption College, and Worcester State College. In the fall, there is a mini "Band Camp" for incoming members which teaches them basic marching techniques while also encouraging new members to interact with upperclassmen.
Members are able to move-in to the College early in order to participate in this "Band Camp" and to utilize the muscle of other members for moving in their belongings. Oftentimes, members will go Band Bowling together to cap off the session.
During the fall, the "Goodtime" Marching Band practices during the week (traditionally three times a week for an hour and a half each session) and performs at all home football games, as well as selected away games. Performances include playing pep tunes in the stands, the halftime extravaganza, as well as a variety of other zany antics.
When the band is not entertaining crowds at sporting events, it keeps itself busy in other fashions. Traditionally, the band travels to area nursing homes during the holiday season to play Christmas carols and visit with the residents. In the past, the band has played at the annual Holy Cross Christmas tree lighting ceremony at O'Kane. Other events have included the Relay for Disaster Relief, an open-air concert at Faneuil Hall in Boston, the Boston MS Walk, the Worcester St. Patrick's Day Parade, and Father McFarland's Birthday in Kimball. The 'Sader Band has also performed internationally, including engagements in Ireland and Bermuda.
The HCGTMB conducted a celebration of its first performance on Fitton Field which occurred in 1910 in Fall of 2010. The celebration took place October 2010 and included a gathering for past band alumni and current band members to discuss memories and history of the Crusader Band. As noted on the band's website, alumni are currently being encouraged to contact the Executive Board for more details about the annual Alumni Day celebrations.
During the 2010 season, the band was left without a director just before the beginning of the football season. Former band member and 2009 graduate Matthew Cain stepped up and served nobly as interim director, organizing and conducting weekly rehearsals, coordinating non-athletic performances, and even arranging songs for the band to play at basketball games during pep season. During the season, the band looked to hire a permanent director, and found one in Mr. Nicholas McKenzie, a graduate of UMass and a professional in both band direction and drill coordination. Mr. McKenzie assumed his position at the end of the marching season in 2010, and under his leadership, the band has unveiled brand new uniforms and a new field show. The band debuted the show and uniform at the first ever night game held at Holy Cross' Fitton Field, on 1 September 2011, a game against UMass. The band was well received by the crowd of almost 16,000 fans, alumni, and students.
Music performed at games includes a wide variety of classic pep band songs, and some HCGTMB original arrangements. Favorite pep band songs include:
Cuban Coffee, Danger Zone, Gimme Some Lovin', Hey! Baby, An Irish Party in Third Class (from the movie Titanic), Land of a Thousand Dances, Magic Carpet Ride, and Sweet Caroline.
The pep band also plays the theme songs to several sports shows, including ESPN's SportsCenter, NFL on Fox, CBS's "Road to the Final Four."
The field show is the highlight of the marching band season. Field shows generally include three songs with a uniting theme.
2011: "Operation Goodtime" The Spy Show: "Get Smart," "Mission Impossible," "The Pink Panther," "Espionage," "James Bond Closer Medley." The Ska Show: "Riding the Fourth Wave," "Sell Out," All My Best Friends Are Metalheads," and "Don't Let the Good Times Past You By".
2010: "Let's Run Pregame for the 100th Time!": "Just Dance/Yeah!," "Let's Get Loud/Party in the USA", "Let's Groove"
2009: "Progression of Pop": "867-5309/Funkytown," "The Impression That I Get," and "Viva la Vida/Let's Get It Started"
2008: "British Invasion": "Paint it Black," "Pinball Wizard" from "Tommy", and "Can't Buy Me Love/Magical Mystery Tour"
2007: "As Heard on The Fox": Carry On Wayward Son, More Than a Feeling, and Livin' on a Prayer
2006: "Songs We Like": Thriller, Beatles Medley, including Yellow Submarine and Eleanor Rigby, and Invisible Touch
2005: "We're Funky!": Spinning Wheel, Funk Medley, and September
The Holy Cross "Goodtime" Marching Band, unlike an Ivy League scatter band, plays music throughout the entire halftime show, and moves while doing so. The band marches in a roll step style as opposed to the high stepstyle common in midwestern marching bands. The drill is traditionally written by a student, known as the Drill Coordinator, who also teaches new members how to march. This is rare in many college marching bands as 8 to 5 drill is typically written by a professional band director.
During the spring semester, many marchers trade in their uniforms for striped purple-and-white rugby shirts and transform into the Holy Cross Crusader "Goodtime" Pep Band. The band attends the Men's and Women's basketball games played at Holy Cross, as well as selected hockey games. With luck, the basketball teams make it to the NCAA Tournament and the band travels along with them. The BC Eagles were the Crusaders' basketball rivals until 2006 but currently include American University and Bucknell University teams.[2] Recent NCAA trips include the 2009 competition at American University and the 2007 competition in Columbus, Ohio for the Men's team and Raleigh, North Carolina for the Women's team. Past trips have included St. Louis, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, and College Park, Maryland.
The incomparable Tone Dance, also referred to as the "Goodtime Shakedown," is the most popular of the band's game time shenanigans. Words can not describe the dance. The Tone Dance includes various movements and gestures that change with current events. As of 2010, some movements depicting this cultural shift include the "Soulja Boy", "Thriller", the "Stanky Leg" amongst others. Typically, the Tone Dance is performed at the beginning of the 3rd quarter for football games and the 3rd period in basketball games. A video depicting the Tone Dance is provided at the bottom of this page, but only seeing the Tone Dance in person can give one the full impact of its grandeur.
Every year, band members vote on a new section of the band name. Currently, the band name includes 38 clauses. The official band name is:
The Holy Cross Crusader, Hit and Run, Giant Killer, Neutral Field, Pull Through the Clutch, Never Say Die, Have Ticket Will Fly, Have Coffee Will Sober, Legendary and Notorious, Tug of War, Apple Corps, Halloween Howling, Rugby Shirt Erasing, Only Undefeated, Papally Blessed, Award Winning, Lost in Paramus, Cigar Smoking, Push It, Tone Deaf, Waterlogged, "Got There, Got There," Our Power is Beyond Your Understanding, Lush and Haunting, Feeling the Unit, Topless on the Turnpike, Visually Stimulating, Sublimely Sybaritic, What About Bob?, Band is Safe Sex, Maximum Capacity, March to the Arch, Turning Over a New Rob, Holy Cross College High School, Harnessing Our Inner Chu, Brrreakdown, "Less Poncho, More Feeling," Off We Go... to Ramapo??, Dancin' in the Street "Goodtime" Marching Band[3]
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