Come to this show that we're putting on in the Cole Center
They're coming to see us and and and and and that that really means a lot
What happens to all these musicians once they're done here at the University of Wisconsin
Do we have anybody that's ever gone on to become a rock star or big in music? What happens to their musical careers?
well
It depends on what they like to do, you know most of the students in the band are not music majors
In fact, very few of the students are music majors
So most of them are not going to go into careers
Most of them not going into professional music careers is what I'm saying and so
Most of our students will go on to lead
productive lives
They're going to be professionals and and contributors to their community
But for a lot of our students that leave they still
maintain
This connection to the band a lot of our students still play
Recreationally, you know, we've got an alumni band they have events that they play for they come back every year to perform at football games
There's a group there's a jazz group
Outside the Milwaukee area most of those people were in the UW band
They just get together play because they enjoy playing and they they they perform publicly and different things like that
We've got
Former members of the band that perform for the Green Bay Packers on a weekly basis
So they go out and do a lot of things, but mostly not in music
But one of the things that I do hear about
From time to time from the students is how
significant the experience of being in the band was and how
those experience
experiences transfer or applicable to
What they they are doing professionally
And I'd be curious to know
What keeps a
Oh boy
It it it
Well, all of it can keep one up at night, you know, if if if you know, we I talked about the one week preparation
One week preparation and we we've had our Friday rehearsal and you think to yourself
I don't think we're as prepared as we'd like to be
That can keep you up at night
Or we're in Tampa for the bowl game
and
We're staying on the beach
And I hope everybody gets back at in one piece
You know, we don't want to be the band that had someone, you know
Go out into Tampa Bay and the water I'm talking about specifically have something happen
Those are the kinds of things that that keep me up at night. So sometimes they're related to
The quality of the performance that we're getting ready to do and
Sometimes this just wanting them to be safe and and make good decisions
so it's it's
There
There are a lot of things that can keep one at one up at night
But I'm grateful to be able to say those situations are few and far between
What do you take this band from here? Where do we take it from here?
Well
We always want to march well, we always want to play well
And I feel like
We've been able to do that for the most part
So where would I like to take the band?
We're doing well for ourselves
The band is doing very very well in this in the grand scheme of things
but
There are some bands
That have an endowment of nearly 30 million dollars
Which means
They are in a position
To not only do the things that they need to do
But they're in a position to do things that they want to do and then some
Now again, that's not to say
We're not in a good position. We are
But wouldn't it be nice to have a 30 million dollar
Endowment
So that you know
And this this might fall under the category of first-world problems
But you know if if new uniforms if we were to say we want to get new uniforms
Well, I can already tell you that new uniforms are gonna cost nearly a half million dollars
Well, if I got a 30 million dollar endowment, I can just say we'll get new uniforms
And that's it
Well, if we want new uniforms, I got a plan a little bit. We can get them. I
Got a plan a little bit. So I'd love to be able to see us get at that level
And they're only two or three bands at that level
But that's where I'd like to see us
See us go. So in terms of performing. Yes
We'd love to keep the stop at the top
But but we'd love to to do more pictures in different things like that and and and we're always trying to improve
What we're able to do technically in terms of how we perform
Frank Sinatra if people come to our spring show
They might hear a little bit of the best is yet to come
Thank you so much, Merv has been a pleasure
I just hope I didn't get into trouble with anything
We will we will find out what we
That is next month 19th and 20th of April
No, wonderful sure let me go
Oh
People would love that that would be so funny
Oh