I am not a football official, actually, I am, but I just do rec flag-football, anyway, I do have a story that directly relates to this topic. Many years ago in small town middle GA. The visiting offense was in front of the home band and the home band was playing very loudly, as high school bands generally only know one volume. So the visiting QB makes the motion to his ear and points toward the band, communicating this to the ref. The ref dutifully requests the band not to play at this juncture. To which the overly voiced non-stop announcer says something to the effect that, "Oh...he doesn't want the band to play. PLAY BAND...PLAY" The band stopped playing eventually. Perhaps it was the yellow flair flying from the ref's pocket which made the final diference.
Ed