Stadium music has come a long way from “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “We Will Rock You.” Today, many sports teams are hiring Milwaukee-based Banshee Music to create custom soundtracks.
“We’re signing teams all the time,” says Banshee chairman and CEO Gary Reynolds.
Among Banshee’s clients are the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, the NBA’s Orlando Magic, college teams like Ohio State University and the University of Texas, as well as the Kentucky Derby and Bristol Motor Speedway. Its first sports client was, naturally, the Green Bay Packers.
Reynolds founded Banshee two years ago as an offshoot of his 30-year-old company, GMR Marketing. He has played the guitar since he was 6 years old, but when his dreams of being a California songwriter didn’t pan out, he took the entrepreneurial route.
“I enjoy the whole creative process,” Reynolds says.
A Packers marketing team first met with Banshee songwriters in spring 2008 to kick around ideas for energy-inducing music. The pounding, hard-rock anthem “G-Force Roar” was ready to play at kickoffs by September, according to Kandi Goltz, game and fan development manager for the Packers.
For the Packers, Banshee partnered with California composers We 3 Kings. Banshee also taps area talent, such as Pat McCurdy and Madison’s Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s former drummer), as well as more than 20 songwriters around the world.
“It’s really about working together as a team,” Goltz says, adding that the music is customized for Lambeau and the fans.
In addition to “G-Force,” a full-length Packers CD is also available. It includes such tracks as “Packin’ The Heat,” “Lambeau Leap” and “Lambeau’s Where the Party’s At” in everything from hip-hop to pop to rock. These songs are played in the Lambeau atrium before games and mixed in with the regular game day playlists.
“The music has gone over very well with fans,” Goltz says.
There’s a simple reason for that, says Banshee executive producer Chris Hanson: “It rocks.”
