Trojan Marching Band plays the Grammys

Hollywood's band rocked out at the Grammys on Sunday night.

The USC Trojan Marching Band was on stage with Radiohead for "15 Step," and the performance has leaked onto YouTube.

Just a few months ago, the band made a big showing at the "American Idol" season finale.

Of course, it also played the 2004 Grammys with OutKast.

What's it like being a part of the Spirit of Troy? Drum Major Eddie Carden wrote about it in a recent issue of Halftime Magazine.

-- Adam Rose

Photo: Radiohead and the USC Trojan Marching Band at the Grammys. Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP.

Tommy Trojan feeling blue -- victim of classic prank

While the cat's away the mice will play.

With thousands of USC students on their annual Bay Area pilgrimage (the football team is playing Stanford this weekend), pranksters doused the school's iconic Tommy Trojan in blue paint.

Formally known as the Trojan Shrine, the lifesize bronze statue has previously fallen victim to paint (and worse) during the week before the football game against crosstown rival UCLA. In response, Tommy is traditionally wrapped in duct tape several days before that game and an organization called Trojan Knights stands vigil.

There was no 24-hour guard this weekend. Tommy was pretty lonely, but he wasn't blue until he had an unexpected visitor.

Few details are known at this time. It appears the incident occurred late Friday night or early Saturday morning. Considering the colors, suspicion will immediately point to Westwood. USC plays UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Dec. 6.

School officials rushed to have Tommy cleaned up on Saturday morning. They can't be too pleased, but a good prank can always help keep the rivalry spirited. At least once in a blue moon.

-- Adam Rose
Photo by Lauren

Homecoming signs

Walking around USC this week has been a throwback to the 1950s ... or at least what I'd imagine the '50s were like.

Besides the great civic discourse (remember to vote!), there are homecoming decorations and signs all around the center of campus. All that's missing are the crew cuts. Sh-boom.

Check out the photos after the jump.

-- Adam Rose

2008 Homecoming Lowdown

From hip-hop to bar-hop, USC has a lot of entertainment ready to welcome alumni back for Saturday's homecoming game against the Washington Huskies. You probably missed the parade and a couple of rallies, but there's still plenty on the agenda. All events are free except for the games.

NOTE: You may want to print the map/guide listed below.

Thursday

• A big pep rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Galen Center. Football players will be there to pump up the crowd, along with the Trojan Marching Band and a hypnotist (appropriate for Halloween).
• At 8 p.m., Common will be performing in McCarthy Quad. The Knux will open. Seriously. Sweet. Lineup.

Friday

• The defending national champion USC women's soccer team will host Cal at 3 p.m. at McAllister Field.
• The top 15 ranked USC women's volleyball team will host Oregon at 7 p.m. at the Galen Center.
• It's Halloween, but try not to party too hard. There's a full day Saturday.

Saturday

• The football game kicks off 3:30 p.m. The ticket office was sold out a while ago, but the school's official resale partner is StubHub, and it has seats as low as $35 as of this posting.

Day of reckoning approaches

There's an old political saying that if you sit on the fence, you'll get splinters ... where the sun don't shine.

Hopefully the guy with this license plate has a good pair of tweezers. I noticed it on a car here in L.A. a few months ago. Maybe it's owned by Todd Covert.

-- Adam Rose

Big USC-Ohio State pep rally

I've been hearing some buzz on this for a few days. Not much more to say that isn't on this flier ...

If you can't read the graphic for any reason, just get your tail over to The Grove on Thursday. It's supposed to start at 7:30 p.m. but you can always get there early and enjoy the open-air shopping center (it's supposed to be 77 degrees that afternoon).

In addition to the Trojan Marching Band, Song Girls, Traveler and Olympians, expect to see football legends such as Marcus Allen and Anthony Davis.

-- Adam Rose

Introducing USC's drum major

The L.A. Times is excited to welcome one of our new contributors, Ed Carden, the drum major for USC's world famous Spirit of Troy. His first post explains just what he does as the band's front man.

When I introduce myself and tell people I’m the drum major for the USC Band, the usual response goes something like this … “Huh?” Then I get to explain exactly what it is that the drum major does, which isn’t always easy. 

As a Trojan fan (or at least a follower of college sports), you probably know the drum major better as “Tommy Trojan” or “the guy that stabs the field during pregame.” But Tommy Trojan (as we all know) is a statue in the middle of campus, and there’s a lot that goes in behind the scenes before a drum major gets to stab the field.

Auditions for drum major are held at the end of the spring semester each year behind Heritage Hall. The band votes for the best candidate based off of their marching, conducting (with the Trojan sword) and an inspirational speech. I tried out alongside two of my close friends, with whom I spent months preparing for the audition. After putting in so much time and effort, it was an accomplishment just getting up there.

Life's a beach

Some people have more free time than others. Meet Matt Garthoff, a USC alumnus from Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., who re-created the Coliseum in sand. Nicely done!

-- Adam Rose
h/t Trojan Wire

Trojan Marching Band Rocks American Idol

The season finale of "American Idol" featured an appearance by the USC Song Girls and Trojan Marching Band, backing up what otherwise might have been the most painful performance in "American Idol" history. "I Am Your Brother" is sung by Reynaldo Lapuz, though maybe it shouldn't be.

I don't watch the show much, but I do remember seeing Lapuz audition and torment Simon Cowell. I'm amazed they reprised it. If you enjoy train wrecks, you can't miss the video after the jump. Also, if you're an "American Idol" junkie, check out the coverage on our Show Tracker blog.

Pac-10 Cheerleading Update

This might be the first blog post written about cheerleaders without including a single photo. That's what the links are for ...

Safe for work:

• Congratulations to USC's Allison, who was named Sports Illustrated's Cheerleader Song Girl of the Week.
• Congratulations to UCLA's nine returning dance team members.

Not so safe for work:

• Condolences to Arizona State's disbanded cheerleading squad. Apparently they got in trouble for being in their underwear (basically the same thing as a swimsuit). Of course, TheDirty.com (who brought those party-hardy Matt Leinart photos to light) is involved. The site published the original pics and is now campaiging to reinstate the squad. You can't make this stuff up.
• The Arizona State cheerleaders were participating in a tradition called Undie Run. Yes, UCLA has the same tradition. And last night, USC had a fountain run.