AN: this is a complied band geekisms which I and my friends have made. It contains things from us specifically but also things that have to do with band in general... so if there are some similarities to other people i'm sorry.
Band Geekisms (This could take a while)(Recap this WILL take a while)
Compiled by: My friends and I
It is alien abductions
It is fields that could be mud wrestling pits
It is pondering the existence of football
It is pins and t-shirts
It is dancing
It is just a jump to the left with your hands on your hips
It is you first experience with Astroturf
It is sleeping in the lockers
It is crying for the seniors you freshman year
It is always being accepted
It is 4,000 screaming fans
It is spirit wars
It is lame sing a-longs
It is ballet and tap dancing
It is completely innocent PDA
It is roller coasters and water rides
It is a zoo
It is hair, hats, and nails
It is the bus rides
It is living in the band room
It is the gloves
It is hyperventilating, then hypoventilating
It is prank calls
It is glow sticks
It is cheering for the rival
It is wearing a blanket
It is early mornings and late nights
It is snorting Pixy Stix
It is Mountain Dew and Skittles
It is all for one and one for all
It is playing dress-up
It is hiding out in the band room
It is a trophy pit
It is jumping fences
It is tons of spirit
It is not killing anyone who says "This one time at band camp."
It is dying, but living through it
It is getting killed by the drum line
It is always having a second home
It is getting into uniform when it's pitch black
It is calling yourself a band geek
It is one big family
It is the awards ceremonies
It is dedicating all you time
It is wanting to play every instrument
It is competitions and home games
It is never missing the home games
It is enjoying band camp
It is hours on the field
It is knowing every hold in the field
It is forgetting to bring water bottles
It is secrets
It is not caring what anyone thinks
It is convincing band members to switch to orchestra then convincing them to switch back
It is flying
It is love and hate
It is having around 60 people backing you up at any given moment
It is road trips every weekend
It is everything and nothing at the same time
It is playing make-believe
It is home
It is dark corners and back hallways
It is rivalries
It is finding sheet music in your English folder
It is purposely putting sheet music in your English folder so that you can entertain yourself
It is playing favorites
It is anti-socialness
It is exploring
It is seeing how many people can fit in a practice room
It is watching old competitions on video
It is dancing in the hallway
It is white crepe paper
It is taking over the orchestra, dance, choir, and guard room.
It is getting out of class
It is jealousy
It is conversations without speaking
It is tuning
It is squeaking
It is finding yourself
It is the soundproof walls
It is sectionals (or lack thereof)
It is junky cars, school busses and fun speed bumps
It is holes in the pavement
It is forgiving and forgetting
It is being obnoxious
It is making up words
It is nicknames
It is reminiscing
It is disturbing conversations
It is a demented sense of humor
It is reading people's minds
It is unusual combinations
It is being the living examples of band geeks
It is mourning the loss of your band director six months before it happens
It is 24 hour access
It is what is in the back of lockers
It is rumors
It is long conversations
It is a well wasted afternoon
It is getting hit in the head with lockers
It is evil janitors
It is a place where no janitor will set foot
It is marching band council
It is always having a place to go
It is jokes and pranks
It is finding out things you never wanted to know
It is not practicing
It is crying in public
It is being strange
It is being late to class everyday
It is old reeds
It is spit fights
It is millions of emotions at once
It is being able to talk about anything
It is instruments and music taking over your bedroom
It is sight-reading (or not)
It is laughing
It is evil
It is six foot metal poles
It is getting locked out
It is long notes
It is mirrored walls
It is using the stereo
It is playing on the piano
It is songs
It is pictures
It is recordings
It is not having to follow the rules
It is running across busy streets
It is long walks or runs
It is 15 hours a day at school
It is the stage
It is falling off the floor
It is dreams and schemes involving the Phantom and Harry Potter
It is not listening
It is caffeine
It is secret places
It is a reason to live
It is emails and IMs
It is games on the bus
It is missing football season, which we call marching season
It is finding a reed in your pocket
It is constantly being at school
It is the security cameras
It is hidden hallways
It is breaking instruments 16 times a year
It is counting the days until band camp
It is non-band people trying to find the band room
It is epic
It is walking down the hallway in step
It is unplanned flats and sharps and enharmonic arguments
It is having no idea what goes on at basketball/football games
It is writing
It is the 8th world wonder
It is memories
It is second opinions on broken instruments
It is lyrics
It is legal insanity
It is only illegal if you get caught
It is not shunning American Pie Band Camp
It is plotting to take over the world
It is halftime
It is being in the dark
It is racing back and forth from the band room to classes.
It is strange
It is solo music
It is screaming at each other all the time
It is sliding down the banisters
It is knowing how to get away with spending the night at school (if ever necessary)
It is getting to miss a day of school
It is being dressed alike
It is laser and lights
It is growling
It is anonymous phone calls
It is solo and ensemble mess-ups
It is way too many solo and ensemble events in one day
It is ghetto solos
It is not understanding outsiders
It is crying when you see someone make drum major on TV.
It is becoming who you are
It is long hours of hanging out
It is partners in crime
It is owning the band room
It is leaving other classes to go to the band room
It is temptation
It is the ceiling
It is tradition
It is finishing each other's sentences
It is Jungle Boogie
It is a million ways to get in
It is high-stepping
It is hang outs
It is no spare time
It is way too many guard members in the commons
It is being told to go home every night after school
It is then saying that you are home
It is the latest schemes
It is smell of Axe and sweat
It is inside jokes
It is counting the minutes 'til you perform
It is loitering outside the gas station in Florida.
It is solo and ensemble scores
It is plotting the death of judges who gave you said low scores
It is knowing your way around other schools
It is 10 pounds of sheet music
It is a necessity
It is conducting to other band's shows while they are performing
It is quotes
It is interpretive dances
It is being too hyper
It is story-telling
It is torturing people
It is marching shoes
It is life, death, and rockin' roll.
It is getting passes to go to the band room instead of doing math homework
It is a place to go during homeroom
It is playing cards
It is making faces at the guard
It is awing over the elementary schoolers trying out instruments for the first time.
It is find the flip flop
It is actually practicing
It is being paid in Pixy Stix
It is falling out of your chair from laughing too hard
It is throwing balls at the door while guard is trying to practice
It is never going home, yet always being home
It is magnetic attraction to the band room
It is reed arguments
It is finally getting revenge
It is typing lists like this instead of doing homework
It is your lack of tuning being compared to Texas Chainsaw Massacre
It is laughing too hard to play
It is sitting at home on a Saturday night, transposing your music so that you can play it on another instrument
It is wondering what to do when there is no band event on a given weekend
It is knowing all the concession volunteers
It is cheese
It is telling the band director you want to live in the band room
It is scaring the male flautist, and then watching him run away
It is memoirs of band camp
It is spending you non-band weekend practicing, transposing, and reading band-related stuff
It is loving every minute
It is having dreams about marching
It is a group of band geeks wearing all black walking down the hall together
It is being able to read peoples expressions
It is being in denial
It is sitting on the rival band side instead of our side
It is knowing every corner, hall, and door all too well
It is corruption
It is plotting against outsiders
It is breaking every rule in the health dept. in the band room.
It is strange looks from outsiders
It is spending way too much time on lists like this
It is fun with reeds on the highway
It is knowing exactly where you belong
It is being able to id the janitors
It is putting people in lockers
It is being speshul
It is being feared because we are speshul
It is conducting on the bus
It is biting annoying outsiders
It is being so odd that you no longer find yourself odd
It is poking fights
It is writing every report for any class about something to do with music
It is rule number one
It is having friends all over the country
It is getting hit with a flag
It is building models out of reeds
It is happiness, sadness, tears, and joy all in one
It is getting hit in the head with Daniel's trombone slide
It is beating up the 3rd chair
It is bouncy balls
It is speaking in complex sentences at the exact same time
It is "Name That Song"
It is odd band related screen names
It is long phone conversations convincing Lauren to stay in band
It is fire drills during band
It is stalkers and stalking
It is overcoming the wrath of the assistant band director
It is brainwashing the band director
It is coming up with ideas for outrageous new shows
It is wanting to pick up a new instrument again
It is 5 people opening one door
It is kidnapping instruments
It is hiding in dark corners
It is breaking in the student instructor
It is being told that your section belongs in a playpen
It is bowing down to the band director
It is calling a reporter a whore
It is playing second part because your band director doesn't trust anyone else enough to lead the seconds
It is utter confusion
It is actually going to the pep rallies
It is the fun bus rides
It is talking about goats and cats and cabbage
It is having imaginary friends
It is looking forward to Wednesdays
It is missing marching more that you ever thought was possible
It is wanting the team to go to state
It is having your own language
It is using said language
It is finding out you have a guaranteed spot in the top band next year
It is enjoying playing for the judges
It is the Numa Numa dance
It is having every band person at a single lunch table
It is braids
It is going to the band room during lunch
It is drawing on the dry-erase board
It is feeling sorry for people who don't have a performance on Friday nights
It is hundreds of text messages a day
It is making icons about band
It is comics
It is stalking a tenth of the band on a random day at the mall
It is being entertained during English
It is figuring out other people's combinations and then butter flying them
It is going to the mall to play cards
It is band shirt/jeans or black pants/black hoodie or band jacket
It is losing and having the time of your life
It is food fights at band camp
It is being told "You may be band kids, but you still have to make it look like you're following the rules" by the principal and vice principal
It is missing pep band
It is a conspiracy
It is telling off your English teacher
It is addiction
It is learning new card games
It is making icons to express your love of band
It is asking to hold Candace's saxophone
It is recruiting for the cult
It is realizing that some people aren't as bad as they seem.
It is learning to tolerate people that you hate
It is air hockey incidents
It is karaoke
It is freaking out during the fire drills because you don't have your instrument
It is playing in the rain
It is sticking together
It is wishing marching band were year-round
It is being the only one in your section who knows all the notes
It is reading all of this and typing this and working on it to make it just right
It is taking pride in being labeled as a "band geek"
It is the feeling after performing flawlessly
It is striving to be Drum Major (because of the pants)
It is racing to get the window seat
It is learning to work as a team
It is braving the mosquitoes and sunburn
It is hitting the gong even though you're not supposed to
It is realizing that some things just can't be changed, no matter how much you want them to
It is inspiration to try your hardest
It is winning and losing and moving on
It is hugging your best friends and ignoring the strange looks
It is making friends with people you never noticed or bothered to get to know
It is standing ovations
It is memorizing, forgetting, and pretending
It is catching someone's eye just before you play
It is doing things you never dreamed of doing
It is cramming for tests and homework on buses
It is carpooling and hitch-hiking
It is physically hurting yourself, but laughing about it later
It is football games and parades
It is sore muscles and bruises
It is a thousand tears, but even more laughs
It is the feeling after you've mastered a tough piece
It is knowing that you're cared about by people other than your family
It is not having to worry about fitting in
It is laughing until your sides hurt
It is daring people to go into the tuba case
It is broken hearts
It is living life to its fullest
It is blisters and band aids
It is threatening to push others off the bleachers
It is actually pushing others off the bleachers
It is five minute water breaks
It is humidity, heat waves, and thunderstorm
It is playing other people's instruments
It is experiencing new things
It is learning to accept the unchangeable
It is hurting your friend's feelings and getting your feelings hurt right back
It is misunderstandings and miscommunications
It is trying your hardest
It is rolls of film and home videos
It is reeds, mouthpieces, head joints, and valve oil
It is throwing things into the bells of other instruments
It is staying up late joking around
It is thinking about how lucky you are when playing a simple Bb concert scale
It is cherishing moments like these
It is the clear and starry nights
It is debates over whether "LOTR" or "Harry Potter" is better
It is hiding people's cases
It is breaking your instrument and crying
It is falling in and out of love
It is a never-ending soap opera
It is "borrowing" money
It is freshman orientation
It is figuring out which animal an animal cracker is
It is lying so you don't hurt others
It is going for nature walks when you're supposed to be in class
It is being late for Wind Ensemble, but not getting in trouble because no one noticed
It is not starting class until fifteen minutes after the bell
It is knowing that all the percussionist jokes are true
It is having other people carry your tuba or bass drum
It is going to sporting events, losing, and still having the time of your life
It is learning commitment
It is having fun when you're mosquito bitten, muscle sore, sun burned, and sweating
It is birthday parties in the band room
It is using fingering charts for homework
It is several teenagers in one room for 90 minutes at a time and coming out alive
It is knowing that last chair is just as important as first
It is promises and lies
It is living up to your own expectations
It is sleeping, trying to sleep, and down-right not sleeping on the bus
It is burning CDs
It is trying not to laugh during rests
It is wanting to rent the marimba for the summer
It is helping your director take inventory, no matter how much you'd rather sleep
It is hitting other people with guard flags and rifles
It is running like a doofus on the field (purposely)
It is squirting water on your friends
It is making up your own cheers for football games
It is being able to use your friend's butt as a pillow and not have any questions raised
It is freezing at football games
It is running through mud with the uniforms
It is using your instrument in your senior photos
It is bleacher butt
It is battles of the wits
It is having section wars
It is actually using dynamics
It is knowing everyone's name
It is having freshman say hi to you and beaming when you say hi back
It is laughing at old yearbook pictures
It is hair dye
It is sunglasses
It is farmer's tans
It is medals, letters, and "arrows"
It is not being a preppy freshman
It is playing when you are sick
It is calling your friends at school when you are sick to have them bring your instrument home
It is adopting your friends as children
It is sniffing, snotting, snorting, and sobbing at graduation
It is having alter-egos
It is those long, comfortable silences
It is being best friends with a guy or a girl
It is getting first chair, second chair, third chair, fourth chair, etc
It is trying to be mean, but failing
It is laughing more than talking
It is making up a percussion salute
It is going to band camp and proudly stating that yes, you do, in fact, play an instrument
It is making fun of the color guard, but secretly wishing that you could spin a rifle, flag, or sabre with that much precision
It is being a Drum and Bugle Corps groupie
It is getting Ritz crackers, cheese-in-a-can, and Sour Skittles for your birthday
It is band aids and knee braces
It is earning the respect during marching season from your non-band friends
It is crying at the senior's last concert
It is thinking back on the crappy days, and being able to think, "See, that wasn't so bad"
It is being able to count more happy days than crappy days
It is the ability to admit when you are wrong
It is apologizing
It is getting to know your section leader or Drum Major for who they are, not their title
It is not giving in to the Drum Major ego
It is never having to pay to get into high school sporting events
It is spending obscene amounts of money on gifts
It is realizing just how lucky you are
It is forcing a smile, even when you want to cry
It is buying as many band shirts as possible
It is qualifying your social life as marching band
It is being mauled over by a percussionist, and living to tell the tale
It is feeling the tears come to your eyes the last time you put on your uniform before you graduate
It is having an argument over who would win in a fight: the quads player or the fourth bass drum player
It is Subway
It is naming your instrument
It is going to parades to scope out the competition
It is enjoying jazz running
It is "oohing" and "ahhing" when you watch a DCI Championship on video
It is loving the plume
It is calling your director "Mom" or "Dad"
It is calling other band parents your "Mom" or "Dad"
It is band gossip
It is learning to love everyone - even those you hate
It is having races over who can put their uniform on quicker - without hurting the uniform
It is knowing everyone else's music
It is humming the music from your show
It is being able to direct the National Anthem flawlessly
It is having sentimental band souvenirs scattered around your room that you would never throw away
It is being in a musical pit
It is willingly learning a new style of marching
It is not gloating when you get first chair
It is using your band locker instead of your normal locker
It is wanting to take a bus and drive it around aimlessly
It is loving to meet new freshmen
It is the adrenaline rush you get before you step onto the field
It is that strange thing called school spirit
It is getting up at ungodly hours of the morning, anytime between 3:00 and 11:00
It is wanting a Doctor Beat
It is listening to the music during a movie, rather than paying attention to the plot
It is having a party to watch old DCI videos
It is loving your car because it's a Cavalier
It is realizing that everyone in band has more in common than just being in band
It is not caring who the preps, pot heads, posers, punks, and geeks are
It is freaking out when you see a marching band or pep band on movies or TV shows
It is keeping the drill charts from years prior for memory's sake
It is planning on being a graduated band geek
It is always having friends when you need them
It is telling the truth
It is staging that you're going out with your best friend (of the opposite sex)
It is thinking of the band parents as your own parents
It is living with your mistakes
It is forcing yourself not to like someone "that way"
It is not being phased when you get hit by drumsticks and marching hats from behind
It is knowing that the judge who gives the lowest scores was just out to get your band
It is ignoring the make-out sessions on the bus
It is band sixth sense
It is trying to forget the six cans of Mountain Dew, the three cans of Dr Pepper, and the two bottles of water you drank before you step onto the field at halftime
It is inviting the entire band to your parties
It is bookmarking various band sites
It is getting nervous before chair auditions
It is thinking that there should be a TV sitcom for band people
It is wanting a sousaphone just to say, "I have a sousaphone"
It is going to Bands of America
It is wanting your best friend to get in the Cavaliers so you can say, "My best friend is in the Cavaliers..."
It is dropping school instruments under the stands, just to see how much damage can be done
It is staying up late in hotel rooms while talking on walkie talkies and reading Harry Potter
It is dancing around with the maracas
It is watching out for one another
It is lost items
It is trying not to cry, but eventually giving up and letting it all out
It is watching Drum and Bugle Corps on DVD
It is learning something new about someone
It is the feeling in your stomach when you realize something about someone you never knew
It is getting a private instructor that doubles as your best friend
It is being a flagette just so you can say that you're a flagette
It is running after each other swinging the rifles and flags
It is owning your friends
It is coming to the realization that some things just won't happen
It is having dreams during the day about band
It is writing music on your math test
It is playing your cadence during English with two pencils
It is being excited for school to start just for band
It is having your AIM or Yahoo! ID be bandgeek or bandnerd
It is searching on EBay for new instruments
It is an extended family
It is having a wardrobe of band shirts
It is cheering louder than the cheerleaders
It is an emotional attachment to all the other people in band
It is going to gas stations after a show for one package of candy, but everyone has to stop
It is using the Drum Major commands on your siblings
It is substituting a clarinet or flute as a mace because your school doesn't supply them
It is escape plans from band camp
It is dismissing your band director when they say, "One more time!"
It is knowing and believing that woodwinds kick brass
It is knowing and believing that without the brass section, there would be no band
It is periodically saying bloody hell, crikey, son-of-a, mother-f, crap, what the, rawr, and blimey throughout the day
It is sticking your finger in the end of a flute when the person is trying to play
It is designing a clarinet or flute mute
It is making your director laugh, even when they are trying not to
It is trying to ignore a certain trumpet that keeps on making you laugh when you're trying to play
It is a complete and total lack of privacy
It is living to make fun of the lower bands - just not to their faces
It is realizing that the members of the lower bands will someday make up the higher band
It is crying when you realize that the members of the lower bands will someday make up the higher bands.
It is learning that you can survive anything
It is hanging out in the band office
It is having chats with your director that are totally non band related
It is learning true respect
It is bonding with your section leader
It is driving all over town just to pick up all the band people
It is cramming 10 people into a car that holds 5
It is learning about the highs and lows of life
It is about playing with 110 enthusiasm
It is about being nervous about playing a solo
It is about screwing up the solo but still being complimented
It is about cheering when you learn you've been selected to the region band (no matter what band you make)
It is about making all kinds of new friends-freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 7th graders, 8th graders...it doesn't matter
It is about sprained ankles and sore feet
It is about going to contest and then having a blast at an amusement park
It is about cheering after your band has won an awesome award (and/or saying 'ugh' after the other schools won the better ones)
It is about stinky group photos
It is about taking a group picture next to your best friend
It is about playing the fight song over and over when the team actually makes a touchdown
It is marching in the parking lot and running out of formation whenever a car drives by
It is lifting 50 pound instruments on to a truck
It is about pride in who you are
It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity
It is learning to tolerate body odor
It is sweat stains
It is that feeling you get when you are squinting straight into the sun for the drum major, knowing that if you miss the entrance it's ruined
It is being able to listen to your cds with friends and deciding how to make them into marching band songs
It is hearing "One more time" and knowing it is a flat out lie
It is all about the cape and the sash
It is the pride you feel when you finish your first performance, even if it wasn't perfect
It is running down the band hallway and purposely hitting the wall, just for a few laughs
It is laughing so hard you almost pee your pants
It is the endless medical forms
It is stripping down to boxers and undershirts in front of each other
It is doing impressions of the director behind his back
It is endless push-ups
It is moving people's cars out of the parking lot, which happens to be the practice field
It is yelling "EW They're TOUCHING!" when you see "Band PDA"
It is wearing a beret like it's the coolest thing since sliced bread, but secretly envying everyone else who gets to wear the new plumes.
It is about switching from trombone to sousaphone to even out the instrumentation, then after your first day of physical therapy, not caring about the band's instrumentation and wanting your trombone back.
It is getting to be a section leader just so you can step out of ranks to "check" everyone else
It is bad-mouthing the pit because they practice inside while you're marching in ungodly heat or rain
It is squeezing into your best friend's size 7 shoes because you left your size 10s at home
It is remembering your black socks...are still in your drawer at home
It is working in the music library, but never getting anything done
It is all about Hey, Baby!
It is about singing Happy Birthday, horribly out of tune.
It is roll-stepping through the cafeteria so you don't spill your soup.
It is the neon green on the insides of your Drillmasters
It is yelling "LEFT, LEFT, LEFT" so the freshman in front of you gets in step with everyone else
It is getting lost
It is asking for directions on how to get to the ground floor
It is knowing that your friends have sick and twisted minds, and you do too
It is the Band Director saying that he loves you
It is fundraising
It is bad smelling neck straps
It is pulling chairs out from under other people but only when their instruments are in a safe place
It is fights over stands
It is inhalers
It is twizzlers
It is rest stops at 12:30am which is just another way to tell us that the bus has died and we are gonna hang out here until it is fixed
It is when all your IM conversations turn to band
It is sticking your head in a Tuba
It is saying that your instrument's a guy because you wouldn't blow into a girl if you're a girl and saying that your instrument's a girl because a guy wouldn't want to blow into a guy.
It is trying to find a place in the school to practice (besides the band hall)
It is when you can discuss the differences between reeds and not be considered weird
It is smells tied to memories
It is being happy to be unpopular
It is thinking...just thinking...
It is naming your hamster after a register on the clarinet
It is keeping an extra change of clothes in your band locker so that if you spend the night you can change clothes
It is taking the time to read all this
It is downloading your show music onto your mp3 player
It is typing all of this
It is Band
It is Life