MARCHING BAND GETS ITS ROCKS OFF

Ohio State Marching Band’s Tribute to classic rock

The Ohio State Marching Band paid homage to rock ‘n’ roll during the half time of the Buckeyes vs Rutgers matchup Saturday. The bit ended with a guitar being smashed à la Pete Townshend.

The Who’s founding member and guitarist is attributed with being one of the first to get all Ray Rice on his instrument. Wikipedia has Jerry Lee Lewis as being the first rock musician to destroy his instrument on stage in the 50s. Pete Townshend was let’s say the first to perfect it.

According to Townshend, the first time was an accident. The band was playing in the tiny space of the Railway Tavern in Harrow in 1964. Townshend accidentally cracked the neck of his Rickenbacker on the low ceiling. His disappointment resulted in him finishing the job off with style creating a template for how to smash your guitar like a rock star. Still perhaps the most famous image of a guitar takedown is of The Clash’s Paul Simonon putting the hurt on his Fender Precision Bass, which became the cover of 1979’s London Calling.

When bands smash their instruments as part of the act it often comes off as just that. If you watch closely you can see the perpetrator getting handed a cheaper axe to take the fall. But when it’s genuine, the instrument smash is a great expression of rock ‘n’ roll’s poetic aggression.

Ohio State’s performance this weekend may not become legend, but it shows how the guitar smash is rock ‘n’ roll. It’s also not a bad way to spend 9 minutes. For those of you who are time-crunched skip ahead to the 7 minute mark.