Since coming to USC, over half my Spotify listening minutes have probably come from “The Gold Standards,” the USC Trojan Marching Band’s 50th anniversary album of school songs and arrangements of popular songs. 

With my year and a half in the TMB, I’ve had the opportunity to perform for countless celebrities, travel to new places — for free! — and meet my closest friends. I owe 110% of my school spirit to the TMB and a number of iconic gameday hits. 

Every time we play my favorite chart, “Brooklyn,” I get the privilege of thinking about my favorite people and our unity in bringing this song to fruition. From what I’ve heard, the TMB didn’t play “Brooklyn” much until last year. This could be causation or just correlation, but my freshman trombone class — affectionately referred to as the “freshbones” — loved this song. 

At every Galen Center sporting event, rehearsal and performance, we would yell for our directors to call “Brooklyn” next. Much to the freshbones’ pleasure, this became so common that we began playing it at almost every performance and even on small, 10-person gigs. 

In the TMB, your section’s incoming class becomes your rock, the closest people with whom you will experience every game, performance and tradition with. My freshbones are the people I hold closest to my heart, and I am so lucky to have had such an amazing freshman year because of them. 

Many of the songs in the TMB are designed to feature a specific section in the band, and the “Tower of Power Medley” is the trombones’ feature song. We run out to the front of the crowd and blast our solo into their ears; this rush is one of the best feelings I get every time I perform.

Beyond the freshbones, the roughly 30 other members made my experience as a trombone unforgettable. The trombone section became my forever family, and what a privilege it was to meet so many close friends so quickly. 

“Feel It Still” is one that the average USC student wouldn’t expect to hear, but I still associate this song with mentorship and community. The trombones supported one of our older members as he biked across the United States for charity this summer, posting daily reels and posts using “Feel It Still” as an audio. 

As a fellow journalism major, we grew very close, and he became one of my biggest inspirations and supporters as I followed in his media footsteps. 

A more popular song, “Tusk” is a nonnegotiable inclusion as the drumline’s feature song and especially as the Trojans prepare to beat UCLA (sucks!) at home. “Tusk” has recently become a much more prominent song in my life after joining the drumline.

The drumline is also a place I am proud to call home now. I was scared beyond belief to switch from a section I love so much, but the drumline made me feel beyond welcomed. I have so much love for all the people I’ve met and am so grateful that I get to produce music with them and experience TMB songs in a different light.

Upon joining the drumline, “Frankenstein” was the first and only song I learned without looking at the sheet music, and I felt like it marked a huge milestone as a cymbal player. We have such competent and caring older members that teach us so well, and their guidance helps my freshman class pick up new songs so quickly.

I genuinely have so much fun during every single rehearsal and love spending time with all the cymbals, which I am so relieved to feel, because change is scary! 

It has been so simultaneously strange and cool to experience the TMB from two different perspectives, and I’m so grateful that I was allowed to be a part of both sections. From the freshbones to the drumline sophomores and freshmen, I’m so lucky to have three groups of people I can call my class and love so much.

I’ve pregamed performances with “The Gold Standards” and spent every single one of my flights with the playlist, using it to learn my music. And, of course, are you really a USC student if you haven’t at least posted a story to one of the songs?

Marching band is perhaps the greatest combination of the world’s love for music and the world’s love for community. The TMB is referred to as The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe (ever!) for a reason and has been my favorite ensemble I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of.

“Jam Journal” is a rotating column featuring a new Daily Trojan editor in each installment commenting on the music most important to them. Kaylee Eiber is the Rhythm & News editor at the Daily Trojan.