The more they drum, the more the Gamecocks win: Story behind sound of USC soccer
Lauren Chang confirmed both questions the same way.
The scene that was Stone Stadium for South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament win over Samford on Nov. 16, is it like that for all Gamecock women’s soccer games? Yes.
And those guys out there with the drums, do they keep drumming throughout the whole game? Yes.
Chang is a junior midfielder for the Gamecocks. So she could speak from experience when a Samford player — and friend of Chang’s — wished to know more about the place that provides one of the better homefield advantages in college soccer.
“This environment,” Chang said, “it’s so special.”
Second-seeded South Carolina (19-1-3) on Friday will seek its second College Cup appearance in three years when it hosts Washington State (15-6-1). The NCAA quarterfinal match is set for a 6 p.m. kickoff, or, in the case of the Graveyard Shift, a 6 p.m. show.
Graveyard Shift, established in 2016, is the house band for USC women’s soccer. It has four core members but can pull from a group of nine or 10. An elevated platform on the east side of Stone Stadium, opposite the bleachers, serves as its stage. It plays out to an open field, often taking direction from the home team for its next song. Instruments come in both traditional form — base drum, horns — and unconventional — overturned trashcans, pieces of steel rebar.
The goals here are simple: Be loud, help the Gamecocks win.
“We’re trying to make the Graveyard a really special place to come play soccer,” said Michael Layer, band member and a second-year graduate student at USC.
The Graveyard has long been Stone Stadium’s nickname, a nod to the House of Peace cemetery that sits nearby on Whaley Street. The aptly named Graveyard Shift came about after the NCAA changed its rules to allow noise-makers in stadiums.
Columbia resident Alex Dingman saw opportunity.
“I love the games, I love watching the team,” Dingman said. “And it’s just like, ‘How can we support them even more and just make it more special?’ We were like, ‘Oh, well, we can now go to these games and make a little bit more noise and be a bigger part of it.’
“So we started playing on a trashcan that first year. And really that’s how it got started as far as the drums. It was just whatever we could find that was around to bang and just go crazy.”
Dingman, a sous chef at Steel Hands Brewing, is Graveyard Shift’s founder and leader. He’s an avid soccer fan who’s kept tabs on the sport’s more famous support groups such as the American Outlaws for the United States national team. He soaks in that passion, puts a USC twist on it and lets it loose at Stone Stadium.
Graveyard Shift’s genre? Freestyle.
“We play to the rhythm of the game,” Dingman said. “They as players dictate our tempo. If they’re playing really hard, we’re playing really hard. If they’re trying to kill a game off, we’re trying to slow down a little bit.
“I’ll act as the lead. I will play certain notes that will lead into chants. So certain rhythms will signal, ‘OK, we’re going into this chant.’ We got certain chants that are planned. Certain times during matches we’ll stop and then do vocal chants.”
A signature of a football Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium is the “Game! Cocks!” chant that hits both sides of the venue. Stone Stadium has a similar tradition — on Graveyard Shift’s unique cue.
“It’s a big base drum that starts off slow and gets a little faster, and a little faster,” Dingman said.
Game (two beats of the drum) Cocks.
Ten seconds of silence.
Game (two beats of the drum) Cocks.
Eight seconds of silence.
Game (two beats of the drum) Cocks.
Six seconds of silence.
Game (two beats of the drum) Cocks.
Four seconds of silence.
“Eventually the whole crowd is just yelling ‘Game! Cocks! Game! Cocks!’ It gets really loud,” Dingman said. “That’s probably my favorite.”
Graveyard Shift has certain members, sure, but it welcomes all comers to the stage. Young kids, entire families and even former USC players have gotten on the drums.
These are victory tunes. South Carolina has a 44-2-3 home record over the last four years.
“It’s probably one of the best places to play in the country for college soccer,” said USC coach Shelley Smith. “It’s a special place.”
With a special sound.
“In just a few short years, we’ve been able to make a pretty solid impact on the program,” Dingman said, “and make it such a special place to play.”
NCAA women’s soccer tournament
Who: Washington State (15-6-1) at South Carolina (19-1-3)
What: Quarterfinal game
Where: Stone Stadium
When: 6 p.m. Friday
TV: SEC Network Plus via ESPN app
