Lakers Band Podcast

The Laker Band is a live band formed by the University of Southern California marching band, the Spirit of Troy. It was created in 1979 when the owner of the Lakers, Jerry Buss, called up the band's director to form a band for the team. The band consists of trumpets, trombones, a drummer, and a bass player. They play at Lakers home games, parades, and even the national anthem on the court. The band has a good relationship with the Lakers players and has played during significant events like the memorial for Kobe Bryant. The current owner, Jeannie Buss, continues to support the band. Hello, everyone. On today's episode, I will be focusing on the Laker Band. Those of you who are fans of the famous NBA team, the Lakers, may already be aware of this band. Those of you who don't, prepare for a musical journey. So first in context, the Laker Band is one formed by the University of Southern California marching band, the Spirit of Troy. You may be wondering how prominent Southern California University wouldn't be involved with the NBA or National Basketball Association, besides the NBA drafts. Well, the former owner of the Lakers, Jerry Buss, was an alumnus of USC and loved the marching band. Dr. Jerry Buss was also a professor of chemistry at USC. So he was around the band quite a bit. So get this, Jerry Buss calls up the director of the band at the time, Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, to try and figure out how to get a band for the Lakers. Now, I should probably mention that this all took place in 1979, which is when Jerry Buss first became the owner. The two have had a productive conversation and there is a plan to get a brass and rhythm band. Jerry Buss wanted a band for all Laker home games, originally wanting showgirls and Hollywood fans, which was the Spirit of Troy. The showgirls are what fans know as the Lake Girls. The band consists of seven trumpets, six trombones, a drummer, and a bass player. When the band was formed, they began playing at the Forum in 1979. What's interesting is this is the only live band in the NBA. The band was with the Lakers for years at the Forum, then moved with the team in 1999 to what was formerly known as Staples Center, and what we now know as Crypto.com Arena. Occasionally, the band will play the national anthem on the court, surrounded by all the players. When the Lakers have won world championships, the band has been included in the parade that the team has when they are back home in Los Angeles. The band plays at halftime and after the game. However, the drummer and the bass player will add beats throughout the whole game to match the Lakers players attempting to defend against the opposing team. This beat they provide allows for the fans to yell defense. It adds rhythm to the whole arena that matches what the players are doing on the court. Jerry Buss has since passed away, but his daughter Jeannie Buss, who is the current owner of the team, continues his legacy and continues to support the band that is also from her alma mater. So, now that we have some background information, let's head to the game to hear from the band members themselves and what their perspective is. If you can introduce yourself, what instrument do you play, and how long have you been playing with the band? My name is Brandon. I play the drums. I've been here 22 years. Is there a particular song that you love to play? I love playing Gigolo at the end of every game. It was one of Dr. Buss's favorites. It represented him well. It represented the spirit of how he wanted the Great Western Forum to feel, and it's just good fun. I'm Steve Herrera. I play electric bass, and I've been in the band for 24 years. How does it feel to be on the court when you play the national anthem? How does it feel to be around all those players and all those big names? Very big and very small all at the same time. You get along with these players, and you realize just how huge they are, just how physical specimen of a human being these guys are. It makes you feel very small because they're gigantic. At the same time, you feel very big because you've got so many eyes on you, so many people giving you thumbs up and kudos. It's a wonderful feeling. I want to know that you are part of the only live band in the NBA. Great. Beyond that, it is quite a feeling to know that for all the people who play one of these things, I'm the guy that gets to play it here. Hi, I'm Jake. I played the trumpet, and I've been in the band for eight years. Do you have a distinct memory for you? I remember specifically the game after Kobe died, which I guess is a little morbid. Sorry. That's the way I always think of it. It was Staples Center back then. It was right after Kobe Bryant passed away. We had a memorial service in the stadium before the game. It was really impressive to see just the way LA came out and scored a goal like that. It was impressive. It's the history that I'm very proud to be a part of. How was it playing during that game that in the service before? How was it actually playing trumpet during that game? It was weird. It was kind of solemn playing, but then everyone was real excited once we started. That was probably the most fun just a jiggle I've ever played at the end of the game because it was still packed. Everyone stayed seeing everyone get excited for it at the end. It was fun. Well, Jake, you mentioned the song, Just a Jiggle-O. Is there a specific song that you always have a really good time playing, just regardless of what the game is or the event? It's just always fun for you to play as a member of the Laker band? Playing Brooklyn, Kids Aren't Alright is always fun. Anytime we get to play Blues Brothers, that's a fun one. It's so fast, and you just play a ton. Definitely of all of them, Jiggle-O is my favorite. Hi, my name is Rick. I'm director of the Los Angeles Lakers band, and I'm one of the trumpet players, too. I started playing in the band the fall of 81, my freshman year at USC. In 1986, I took over the band as director of the band. As a director, how do you go about selecting who is in the band? The players from the USC Children's Marching Band, where I'm a director there. I get the best musicians I can find, and I bring them in and play for the band. It's pretty easy to get them because they get tickets to the game, and they get paid. How did you feel to know that you were playing at the Forum when Jerry Buss was still alive, and now his daughter's taking over it? How does it feel to have the support of the owner of the Lakers? It was fantastic, especially at the Forum because we would play right next to his big box of seats, and he would always acknowledge us and have a good time. Jeannie Buss, she's great with us, too. She hires us back every year. There have been multiple World Championships for the team. How has it been actually being in the parade with the players? During the Showtime era with Magic Johnson and stuff, I think we did three championship parades in downtown Los Angeles. They put us on the back of a fire truck, and we'd just play on the parade route, and the Lakers were right behind us on another double decker bus. It was great. We did that three years, and then the Kobe Shack years, we did a couple on that, too. Nothing like it. I'm very, very fortunate. Have any of the players interacted with the band just because they know it's the band? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who happened to be a Bruin. We thought he was going to pick on us, but he loves jazz and music. Shack always joked around with us because we were down in the tunnel where he would park his car, and we were getting our equipment. He pulled it up, and he'd always high-five us. It was a big high-five. He was a big man.