FAQs

• Do I need to audition to participate in the Pep Band?

  • No auditions are necessary!  Pep is open to all musicians wanting to join (as long as you can read sheet music). Some of our members joined after an extended musical hiatus (maybe you used to play in high school and miss being in a band!) while others are experienced multi-instrumentalists, but we all jam together and are besties no matter your skill level.

• When and where do y'all meet?

  • We have practice every Wednesday at the Thunderdome at 7 pm (also known as the UCSB Events Center). We practice outside as long as the weather permits, which means that if you are biking or walking by the area during our practices, you will be able to hear us play! We meet at the Thunderdome before all sports games as well. Email us to join our email list and our discord in order to receive game/practice updates! 

• I missed the first rehearsal, can I still join?

  • Yes! We take new members at any point throughout the school year. Just show up to any rehearsal and let an officer know you're new so we can get you signed up!

• What is the Pep Band's primary form of communication?

  • We have a weekly newsletter you can join by signing up, and we use discord for our internal communications, for both gig information and social events.  We are super active there so you are sure to make friends and feel like you are part of a community!

• I usually rent my instrument. Do I need to have my own instrument to join?

  • As we do not receive annual funding from the school, we have a limited supply of instruments to loan out. If you do not have your own instrument, we will try to help you procure one from the music depart or a LMS. Please contact us as soon as possible via email or Instagram to discuss your options!

• Do y'all march?

  • Ever since ASUCSB voted to disband the football team in 1992, we are strictly an in-the-stands pep band for home games. The only time we will march is during parade such as for UCD Picnic Day.

• Is there a uniform?

  • No, our "uniform" is just our pep band t-shirt and any pants, shorts, or skirts you want. We do represent the school, so we ask that you choose appropriate attire.

• I play guitar, can I join?

  • Historically we have had many guitar and bass players join Pep Band! We are also able to plug in amps for indoor games.

• Do you have a drumline?

  • We're building  one up! We currently have 4 marching snares, a set of quads, two marching bass drums, and a couple pairs of cymbals. We mainly use a drum set for gigs and we also have various auxiliary percussion. The more people who are interested, the more funding we'll be able to get for more drums!

• What do your percussionists do?

  • Generally, we let the percussionists do their own thing. We're still working on adding drum parts for most of our songs, so you'll get to improvise quite a bit! We have a drum set, 4 snares, 1 quad, 2 bass drums, 1 working pair of cymbals, a glockenspiel, a tambourine, a shaker, and a cowbell (very important). Ideally, we'd like to have 2-3 people who can play drum set at any point so that we always have at least one drummer available for each gig, and the rest of the percussionists will organize as needed. 

•  I'm worried about joining too many clubs or being overwhelmed with classes. How much time does Pep Band require?

  • The fun part about being student-run and not marching is that Pep Band doesn't have to be a huge commitment. While we do request that you show up to practices and games when you can, school and mental/physical health always come first. None of our gigs are mandatory, although some of our more important ones will come with mandatory rehearsals beforehand. Our upper-division members can also provide lots of advice and support for members :) Come when you can! 

• Does Pep Band have social events?

  • ALL THE TIME. We love hanging out so whether it is grabbing a bite in IV after a game or having a Mario party tournament, you will definitely have plenty of opportunities to get to know the band!

• Who runs the Pep Band?

  • Our band is completely student run! Our student officers run rehearsals, plan travel, set up socials, manage our finances, arrange the music we play, maintain equipment, update our social media, and more. All of our amazing officers and members are volunteering their time and energy to contribute to the band.

• How can I support the Pep Band?

  • Please read our support page to find out more. 

• Do you have any merch?

  • We have pep band stickers available for purchase at all our events! We also have a Redbubble shop where you can pick up some pep band gear! Unfortunately we are not permitted to sell pep band shirts to fans, but we appreciate you! 

• Can the band play (insert song here)?

  • We write a lot of our own music, so if we do not already have a song in our repertoire, we can probably write it. This does not mean that we'll always be able to add a song to our book, but you should still let us know if there's a song that you'd like to see us play! Send us an email at gauchopepband@gmail.com !

• I want the band to play more, why don't you guys play (insert event or time here)?

  • Because we are a volunteer-based organization, we need to respect our members' time. With our current band size, we can usually only make it to two events per week. This means that we will occasionally miss some games during the soccer or basketball season. Members are students and will have tests and homework on a weekly basis, so we cannot expect everyone to be free every day of the week. It is better for us to consolidate our attendance into fewer days so that we can present ourselves as a bigger band (which sounds better overall). 

• How do I know where and when the band will be playing?

  • Scroll to the bottom of our home page and you will find our events calendar,  which has all of our event dates. The calendar is updated every quarter.

• Why doesn't Pep Band do (insert activity or tradition) anymore?

  • The current iteration of the band has been around for 26 years now (check out our history page) and so we have evolved over time as membership completely changes every 4 years or so. We are always creating new traditions and there are some traditions that we will always keep alive (stick around at the end of our games for one of our favorites!). 

• My child loves the band, can I take a photo?

  • We are always willing to take photos with fans! Bring your kids to come and meet the band! We will all wave and say hi. Please note that we are college students and thus language may not always be PG in our immediate vicinity. If your child is not shy, stop by the band at the very end of the game, as we have an end-of-game tradition that many families enjoy.

• What does the band do during Fall Quarter?

  • We play at men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's club ice hockey, men's and women's preseason basketball and the Santa Barbara Half Marathon. You might also find us at various school events such as Parents and Family weekend, although this varies from year to year.

• What does the band do during Winter Quarter?

  • Winter is our busiest quarter, we play for both men's and women's basketball during the Big West conference, and we travel to the Big West Championship in Las Vegas to support our teams. We'll also play at a few ice hockey and rugby games.

• What does the band do during Spring Quarter?

  • The beginning of spring is spent preparing to travel to UC Davis to perform at Picnic Day! We'll also hold an end-of-year showcase with the music department where we play all of our music. We may also play at some early soccer scrimmages and the occasional tennis match, but overall we are very free during spring quarter. If you have an event during spring quarter for us to play at, please contact us!!

• What does the band do during the summer?

  • The pep band does not perform during the summer and takes a well-earned vacation. We take this time to do instrument maintenance and repairs, and arrange new music for the next school year.

• Can I recruit band members for my (project or event here)?

  • You can always send us an email at gauchopepband@gmail.com if you need a specific instrument for a musical project or if you are recruiting for a personal event, but we cannot guarantee that members will have the time. It doesn't hurt to ask though! 

Most questions are likely answered in the "Fans of the Pep Band" section.

• Are there Alumni communications?

  • Yes! We keep an email list for Alumni, shoot us an email at gauchopepband@gmail.com to make sure you're on it! We also have an alumni section in our Discord - again, shoot us an email if you'd like to join.

• When is the next Alumni event?

  • Keep an eye on the alumni section of the discord, or our Instagram! We will have at least one ALUMNI NIGHT a year, and it will usually at a basketball game during winter quarter. 

• I want to show my pep band alumni pride, how can I do so?

  • Please check out our Redbubble shop, we have lots of designs specifically for alumni!

• Can I have one of the shop designs made with my graduating year on it?

  • Of course, email gauchopepband@gmail.com and we can add any year to any of our designs for you!

• I have a design that I would like to be added to the store, is this possible?

  • We love to add designs to our catalog to grow our store. If you have any logos from previous years or any graphic design from your Gaucho Pep Band years, please send to gauchopepband@gmail.com.