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again, i didnt say they werent serious musical endeavors, i said they were less serious. big difference.

It's been 15 years since I was at UAB as a student, but when I was there, Panion had a shelfful of Grammys in his office. Stevie Wonder may be what you guys consider a claim to fame, but I would trade that for a shelf of Grammys ANY DAY.

blazerguy Wrote:again, i didnt say they werent serious musical endeavors, i said they were less serious. big difference.

Less serious than what?!??!?!?!?

You complain that he does these things instead of things in an "academic setting." What could be more serious, especially in an academic setting, than some of the things he's done?

And, I agree with Kirksville. His Grammys speak for themselves.

geez, relax guys. im not saying the guy isnt talented. im not saying he's not a swell guy. lets just say im not a huge fan of his work and leave it at that. and i wasnt "complaining" about anything, just stating my opinion. im perfectly fine with simply agreeing to disagree about this: clearly we dont see eye to eye here and that's fine. i didnt intend for this to turn into an argument or anything, just thought i'd throw in my 2 cents.

I'm just curious what you think he should be doing that would be a more serious endeavor than what he has been doing.

why does it matter what i think he should be doing? its a free country, he can do whatever he wants. heck, i cant blame the guy, im sure he makes a lot more money working for stevie wonder than he does from UAB.

I think what left folks scratching their heads was that you seemed to be saying that Panion's work with Stevie Wonder, various symphonies, the computer music department, and the recording industry were "less serious endeavors" than being director of the marching band.

Off topic - UAB has a computer/electronic music department because Stevie Wonder donated the money to start it due to his friendship with Dr. Panion.

UAB Band Dad Wrote:I think what left folks scratching their heads was that you seemed to be saying that Panion's work with Stevie Wonder, various symphonies,  the computer music department, and the recording industry were "less serious endeavors" than being director of the marching band.

im sure i probably wasnt clear, as i was pretty much just making an off hand comment. i wasnt saying that at all. most musicians will tell you that college marching band is not a tremendously musical activity. probably instead of "less serious" i should have said "more commercial" or "mainstream". basically my point was that Panion deals with popular music as opposed to "art music". how bout that?

Yeah... marching band is pretty much a sport. And while some laugh at that no doubt, those of us like myself that have played sports as well as band will tell you that in many cases, marching band is at least AS aerobic if not moreso than many sports. Having said that, marching band is still a very musical activity. It may not be much like a symphony, but saying marching band isnt a musical activity is just like those that say rap isnt music or rock isnt music.

i hate to disagree, but having spent about 12 years in marching bands, im afraid i have to. i think at its best, it can be considered marginally musical: at its worst, merely a group learned activity.

blazerguy Wrote:i hate to disagree, but having spent about 12 years in marching bands, im afraid i have to. i think at its best, it can be considered marginally musical: at its worst, merely a group learned activity.

Well, maybe, but it's just a matter of opinion. Youre entitled to your opinion, but I certainly dont agree in this case. Some people say inner-city bands are terrible, but it involves a great deal of skill... just a different skill than we're used to in all of our suburban bands. Marching band is what you make of it. There are many that could care less about it, but if you think marching bands dont have skill, you should see a drum corps were just about everyone DOES care. Many schools dont invest alot of time in marching band, but it all varies. My high school happened to invest alot of time and energy into marching band. I mean if youre a purist, I can see why you dont think much of marching band, but realize that music is a much broader field than is portrayed by the purists. Music does exist outside of Bach and Mozart.

Blazer85 Wrote:There are many that could care less about it, but if you think marching bands dont have skill, you should see a drum corps were just about everyone DOES care.

didnt say there wasnt skill involved, cuz there certainly is. i was around drum corps most of my life. certainly it involves a great deal of skill. just not purely musical skill. go ask your band director how musical drum corps is. i already know what she'll say.

blazerguy Wrote:why does it matter what i think he should be doing? its a free country, he can do whatever he wants. heck, i cant blame the guy, im sure he makes a lot more money working for stevie wonder than he does from UAB.

You made the original comment. Why won't you answer the question?

what question is that? i thought i covered that in my previous post. just because im not a huge fan of his work doesn't mean i dont think he should be doing it. i never said he shouldnt be doing what he's doing, you're the one that inferred that, lj.

blazerguy Wrote:go ask your band director how musical drum corps is. already know what she'll say.

It is quite musical. Wanna hear a few of my DCI *.mp3s?

Once again, the question:

What more "serious endeavors" do you think he should be pursuing?

For Gods sake, i didnt say he shouldnt be doing what hes doin... UNCLENCH already....

BlazerSax Wrote:It is quite musical. Wanna hear a few of my DCI *.mp3s?

thanks but i have plenty of my own...