COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII RAINBOW MARCHING BAND
A trombonist, sports the new marching band uniform.
UH’s band new look The University of Hawaii Rainbow Marching Band will take the Aloha Stadium field Saturday night in new uniforms, complete with bright gold trim, feathered plumes -- and no duct tape.
Uniforms reflecting the
Illegal parkers may be towed
black-and-green motif make
their debut at Saturday's
Warrior football gameBy Betty Shimabukuro
betty@starbulletin.comThe old uniforms had served the band for 22 years, although they were made to last just seven. They were held together, "literally, with safety pins and a little duct tape," band director Tom Bingham said.
Zippers were broken, cummerbunds were stretched and drooping, buttons were lost. "The caps were changed from white to tan," Bingham said, "sometimes dark tan."
This year, the band finally scraped together $117,000 to buy 330 new uniforms that reflect the updated black-and-green look of the football team. The design was by committee, led by senior Daniel Wood, a drummer.
"Choosing the hat was the most difficult part because there are limited styles out there," Bingham said. "We didn't want military style. We didn't want Aussie style (a sideways cowboy hat). This was all that was left. ... It resembles the king's guard."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The previous uniform, shown during the halftime show at the UH-Arizona game on Sept. 3, 1998, put in 22 years of service, thanks to plenty of pins and duct tape.
The old uniforms were so old that many who marched in them new could be watching this weekend's halftime show with their children.
Prior to 1980 the band wore long-sleeved aloha shirts and white pants, a style that reached back to the 1960s. Those shirts were much cheaper to replace, so uniforms were updated more often.
It took a cooperative effort of the athletic director and the departments of academic affairs and arts and humanities to scrape up the cash for the new coats, hats and pants (students buy their own shoes but do not contribute toward uniforms).
Again, they are supposed to last just seven years, and Bingham is hoping that will not stretch into another 22. "Hopefully, we won't have the grandchildren of the 1980 band in there before we get another new set."
UH Marching Band
