Ocean of Soul Band Director Resigns
- Thread starter DasuavestBalla
- Start date
Last_outlaw
Active Member
SO! Its my opinion! Just like I comment when they are doing good, I express myself when they look bad. Im certainly not the only one blasting them so move around! I still support but I don't like what I see....enough said!
Support? You don't "support" a gawddayum thing TSU related. All the ish you say is negative. Go see a counselor or something. And again...who are you and when did you march? I'd like to know since you also constantly talk ish about the Motion and use those young women's real names on the net like you KNOW them. Enough said!
Blankman2k5
Well-Known Member
Did anyone proofread this before he sent it out?
Storm96
Well-Known Member
JR
Well-Known Member
Ralph wouldn't do that. He remembers the Ocean we faced. An old head Juke wouldn't do that. Now a young Juke alum might. I actually don't think your own young Ocean alums know what a Butler led Ocean looks like. So unless you are hiring one who came through during the 80s and brief 90s., you are hiring a Lee made Ocean member. Just my take being around my old head TxSU frats and sorors and actually battling the Ocean during their hey day. I wish them well.
the band fan
Baseball Fan
if you want to send ripples make a courtesy call to lawrence jackson of Southern......
C-LeB28
Moderator
I was always wondering why he suddenly retired not that long after getting the position. Then I thought about university politics and came to the conclusion.
JR
Well-Known Member
You will not get a return phone call from my Frat brother. Ain't no way he wants to deal with young folks no more. He had enough. Dude is in his early 60s. He is enjoying playing too much golf and not having to deal with ANY schools politics. Crowley aint leaving LA for no job anyway. He had plenty of opportunities when he was young and didn't leave the old Clinton La High School. SU was his dream job and Doc had to convince to even do that as an assistant.
JR
Well-Known Member
C-Leb,
He always said he wasn't going to do it a long time anyway. He was a bridge to Haymer. Even Doc knew that when he handed it over to LJ. SU politics are tough and I know LJ was frustrated with certain things. No band director at SU was ever going to get Doc Greggs power. And with Jindal in office. You know money was not going to be flowing to the band if they fugging with the schools budget overall. He had worked in the La school system for years. And after seeing our frat brother and his line brother Carnell Knighten pass away from a massive heart attack at a young age. Dude was like I need to get out of this before I run myself ragged. His exact words to me in his office was. Frat " This is a young man's game" " Time to go home and relax." Oh yeah and play golf" Pretty much how all our conversations go now. He ain't missing it. He has his church he is into and dude is an community ICON in South La. Now if you want to call my boy Carl Collins to TxSU from Beaumont. He may listen.
LJ was there from 2006 to 2013. 7 years plus he was on staff since 91 or 92 time frame and all the years he was at Clinton High. Heck that is a long time. Folks forget he is a early 70s Juke. He is on our charter line for KKPSI at SU. May 4, 1973 to be exact. You can do the math. LOL.
Gibson did an awesome job this weekend the band was noticeably better...had that fire and more of the Old Ocean style was implemented (bones in front)...some things in the funk train section (percussion). And again...a huge no to hiring an su director. What was created under Butler in the beginning would have no chance of returning under an su director. For now the position is filled and looks good. It will get even better. I don't want to see another situation all over again of people trying to claim the Ocean is a baby su or has su roots. It's false. Back to the Ocean of Soul even moreso. Some of that stuff being circulated also contributes to the way people view the Ocean. I won't stand for it. No one from su could know Ocean of Soul and Gibson has been studying the old tapes.
JR
Well-Known Member
Who said that LilC. Where are you getting that. I know of NO OLD HEAD JUKES who say TxSU is trying to be baby SU. Prof Lee was one of your own. It ain't like a SU cat came over there and changed your way of being the Ocean. Lee did that to yall. He marched in the Ocean and he decided to turn the Ocean into something different. I guess being on that East Coast too long made him forget the Butler style. Like I said, if you hired a NEW SCHOOL Juke, then I would agree with you. Yall would not be Butler like. But if you hired someone like a Chapman or Collins. Not that I am saying you need to. But them guys marched against Butler and they actually know more about Butler's style than your new school Ocean cats. Isn't Gibson a Lee protege'? Just asking? Hell if you want the Butler Ocean to come back. Just have the man show up for some visits to show the new staff how it is done. I am sure he would be happy to. He is still in good health the last time I saw him. But don't totally dismiss a SU alum or any SWAC alum who has knowledge of what TxSU used to be like. You do realize how tight Butler was with Doc Greggs right? A lot of the 80s Jukes who are band directors did a lot of work with Butler at camps. They don't need to study any tapes. Butler was always helping young folks. Hell he even hired my Line Brother to help around TxSU band before he got let go after the Japan incident.
You must talk to alot of the 90s and 2000s SU cats. Sure they have no clue to what the Ocean used to be like. I wish Gibson all the success in the world if he can transform that band back to what I used to face during my time in the Jukebox. I know my Ocean frats and sorors from that era want to see that happen as well. Gibson should reach out to them. Ton of them still in the area. I don't think Lee did that when he took over. That alienated alot of them from the Butler era.
He already has. Butler has still been around the Ocean. Spoke to them thisbyear. I know Butler personally. I've known the man since I was 12 yes old at Christa McAuliffe middle school. I want that unique style returned and as of this weekend..it's being done. Lee had his reasons. But he educated a good many of us and helped us get degrees. I am thankful to him for that. But yeah...younger jukebox members and that stuff was allowed to go too far. It has been all through youtube, etc. Time to go back to the Ocean's style with Gibson..soon to be Dr. Gibson and AND to beef up Fine Arts at TSU to be on par with the rest of academics there as well. And young Lee students like Gizmo Bryant have actually seen plenty footage of the old Ocean. And I do mean plenty. They aren't clueless. The torch is passed. After all..Butler is a TnSU and UMichigan grad. The Ocean is in good hands. And if the administration want someone different...reach out to TSU grads or reach out of the box. No su grads. Is what it is. We don't need to have Talladega-we built you noise talk towards the Ocean of Soul.
JR
Well-Known Member
I think you listen to too many of the young Jukes. That isn't the overall vibe of Jukebox alums about TxSU. Both band were extremely close when Butler was the band director. We were like brother-sister bands. Butler would bring the Ocean down to Baton Rouge early to hang out with us. Don't know where all these anti-SU sentiment came along. Just be open minded if your administration did reach out to someone. That's all I am saying. Talledega is not a good example of Old school Juke directing. So please don't use them as a comparison. I am biased because I want to see my crab brother Ralph Chapman get another band. But the I got to have an alum running the show got him at Bama State. He had them looking good with NO SU style implemented. That's what make you a great director. Butler was a TnState guy but didn't try to turn TxSU into Tn State. He crafted his own style. Anyway. Just don't pay attention to all that you tube bravado. You can't assume that every none TxSU alum would screw your program over. That's all I am saying. I saw nothing Lee was doing that looked like he was trying to be SU. Where the new school Jukes got that from. I don't know. Everybody is trying to over blow now a days. So that may be what they are talking about. Don't know. I wish TxSU nothing but good things. Don't forget that monster PV is building. They have a heck of a staff. That's why I was thinking yall should take Ralph away from them. LOL.
I can understand the old school connotation...to an extent. I have my very deep reasons. Very deep as to why I say to an extent. Now soundwise...already working on that I can play again and I've been around young trombone section. They will get some professional help to further musical knowledge and application. Now the over blowing in all bands save for a few. Well...that is an issue that truly can be rectified. Even as much as it is entrenched, it can be rectified. Soundwise no hbcu comes close to Cookman. To say nothing of WHAT they play. But we can all play on that level of tone quality without losing who we "are".
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PsychoJag
We Run The SWAC
Nope. He told me and a few other folks right after he took over the band that he wasn't gonna be there long. Family and church work is what he wanted to do.
HORNETSWARM
Well-Known Member
Ralph wasn't a bad director at ASU at all, in fact he was very good in my opinion, but he tried to put to much SU into ASU and that may have upset ASU Alumni.
See my point? ASU was always a very unique band that did their own thing. You don't NEED things from rivals to be good on your OWN. Why put yourself in a position to have big things happen just to have some alumni from su come on Facebook posts, etc to give themselves glory on national attention posts for YOUR school? And then be cool with it? Where's the loyalty. Yeah JR you say that isn't the sentiment of majority su alum but even yesterday su alums were calling the Ocean little brother and high school ON posts from news channels where the Ocean did well for Houston's Thanksgiving parade. That ish is a pattern with predominantly people from or who even marched FOR su. Why should another hbcu allow themselves to not be given their own due? I know plenty su alums don't understand that. They don't have to. But other schools, should get the message and be themselves. You don't need support to be yourself and be great.
Antroy
Well-Known Member
Gibson is not an SU alum. He graduated from Alcorn.