The Goin' Band from Raiderland is the 375-member

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, o ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

History

The Goin' Band from Raiderland, originally known as The Matador Band, is nearly as old as Texas Tech itself. Under the direction of W. Waghorne, it performed at the opening

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

game in October

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, fielding between 21 and 25 members.The Southwest Collection's ''Texas Tech in Retrospect''
/ref> In 1926, Harry Lemaire (1862–1963) was appointed director of the marching band. Following his service in the British Army, Lemaire had been bandmaster under

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

during the

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and was a friend and colleague of

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

. Under his leadership, the band earned its name when it became the first college band to travel to an away game. Also during Lemaire's tenure, the band became the first one to have its halftime show broadcast over the radio. American humorist

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahom ...

once aided in financing a trip to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, so the band could perform at a game against the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competing mostly in the Big 12 Conference. The sc ...

, becoming the first band to travel to an away game. Rogers also helped purchase new uniforms. In 1934, Dewey O. "Prof" Wiley (1898–1980) became director and expanded the band from 60 members to more than 200 over the next few years. In 1938 Texas Tech became the first university in Texas to house a chapter of

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricult ...

. Kappa Kappa Psi's "sister" organization, Tau Beta Sigma, originated at Texas Tech in 1937. However, due to legal complications, the sorority could not apply for a national charter. The Alpha chapter of Tau Beta Sigma was given to the band club at Oklahoma A&M University (now

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

), with Texas Tech accepting the Beta chapter. Dean Killion (1926–1997) came to the Goin' Band in 1959. As his predecessor had done, Killion generated another expansion, this time doubling the ranks to over four hundred members. To ensure that all individual listeners would hear the same quality performance no matter where they sat in the stadium, Killion arranged shows so that equal instrumentation was always on both sides of the 50-yard line, and that the band played more or less equally to both halves of the stadium. This mirrored instrumentation has become known as Band 1 and Band 2, such that Band 1 performs on the right side of the 50 yard line and Band 2 on the left. Members have fierce pride in their band and thus, a rivalry exists between Band 1 and Band 2. In 1981, Keith Bearden became the first Texas Tech alumnus to become director of the Goin' Band. He continued the style and traditions of previous directors as well as leading the band to the prestigious

Sudler Trophy The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and compositio ...

in 1999. Bearden also opened new venues for the Goin' Band, such as when the band traveled to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

in 1998 to take part in

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

parades in both

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

. The Goin' Band also received another honor when one of its members, Armen Williams, became the first homecoming king representing the Goin' Band and Kappa Kappa Psi in the fall of 2004. Dr. Keith Dye and Duane Hill served as Interim Co-Directors of the Goin' Band from Raiderland while Director Christopher M. Anderson was on temporary leave. He was expected to return for the 2011–12 season but has since resigned his position and has accepted the position of Director of Bands at

Arkansas Tech University Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite cam ...

. Hill subsequently took on the role of Goin' Band director, and remained in that role until his departure in 2018. On March 19, 2018, Duane Hill resigned as associate Directors of Bands after allegations of sexual harassment and assault and a subsequent investigation. On April 26, 2018, the School of Music announced that Dr. Eric Allen, Joel Pagán, and Dr. Ryan Smith would be filling the role as interim Goin' Band directors in Fall 2018. Dr. Joel Pagán was appointed director of the Goin' Band in Fall, 2019.

The Goin' Band Today

In keeping with the campus'

Spanish Renaissance architecture Spanish Renaissance architecture was that style of Renaissance architecture in the last decades of the 15th century. Renaissance evolved firstly in Florence and then Rome and other parts of the Italian Peninsula as the result of Renaissance huma ...

, the uniforms of the Goin' Band are styled after the ''trajes'' of

matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

s, complete with cape and a flat-brimmed "

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

" hat. The traditional style of these uniforms has been in place for nearly twenty years. The Goin' Band, through many generous private gifts, along with the help of the University and the Goin' Band Association, received brand new uniforms in the fall of 2008. The Goin' Band's repertoire of performance music varies widely, ranging from traditional marches to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pieces to the works of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

. The Goin' Band makes use of both traditional-style marching (formations moving goal-line to goal-line) and

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

-style (formations while playing to the sidelines) in its performances. The Goin' Band also incorporates some of the tactics of

scramble band A scramble band - also known as a scatter band - is a particular type of field-performing marching band with distinct characteristics that set it apart from other common forms of marching bands; most notably, scramble bands do not normally march. ...

s. Like most other schools' bands, the Goin' Band is open to all Texas Tech students, regardless of major or course of study. In fact, a significant portion of the band's membership are not music majors. Practically every single department and course of study available at Texas tech University is represented in the Goin' Band's membership. For this reason, the Goin' Band implements a fast but efficient method of learning new performances that often does not require practices outside of normal class time ("Marching Band" is an actual course at Texas Tech). This allows a wide variety of students to participate without putting extra strain on their other obligations. Six, and sometimes seven different shows are performed by the Goin' Band over the course of a season. It is not unusual for the band to learn a new show from scratch in only five days, and have it ready for performance on Saturday, then start again with a new drill the following Monday.

Traditional music of Texas Tech University

Cotton Fields "Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song)" (also known as In Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home) is a song written by American blues musician Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, who made the first recording of the song in 1940. Early versions Reco ...

Huddie Ledbetter Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

(1940) Arranged by Joel Leach *"Fight On For Texas Tech" Thornton W. Allen *" Fight Raiders, Fight" Carroll McMath and James Nevins (1936) *"Macarena" Bernardino B. Monterde (1944) *"Malaguena" Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (1927) *"March Grandioso"

Roland F. Seitz Roland Forrest Seitz (1867–1946) was an American composer, bandmaster, and music publisher. For his many march compositions he earned the sobriquet “The Parade Music Prince”. Early life and education He was born Roland Forrest Seitz on Ju ...

(1909) *"Red Raider Fanfare" Richard E. Tolley *"Ride, Raider, Ride" Richard E. Tolley (1961) *"

Texas, Our Texas "Texas, Our Texas" is the regional anthem of the U.S. state of Texas, adopted in the late 1920s as the official state song. History It was written in 1924 by William J. Marsh, who was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and emigrated to Texas ...

" William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright (1924) *"Texas Tech On Parade" Edward S. Chenette *"

The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...

William Steffe William Steffe (c.1830 – c.1890), born in South Carolina, United States, was a Philadelphia bookkeeper and insurance agent. He is credited with collecting and editing the musical tune for a camp-meeting song with the traditional "Glory Halleluja ...

and

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

(1861) *" The Matador Song" (Alma Mater of Texas Tech University) R.C. Marshall and Harry Lemaire (1931) *"

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...

" Francis Scott Key (1814) adapted by Henry Fillmore (1934)

Directors

* 1925–1926: W. Waghorne (Chairman of the Department of Music; the position of Director did not yet exist) * 1926–1934: Harry Lemaire * 1934–1959: D. O. "Prof" Wiley * 1959–1981: Dean Killion * 1981–2003: Keith Bearden * 2003–2010: Christopher M. Anderson * 2010–2011: Dr. Keith Dye and Duane Hill * 2012–2017: Duane Hill * 2018–Present: Dr. Eric Allen * 2019–Present: Dr. Joel Pagán

References

External links

Official website

Goin' Band Association

Kappa Kappa Psi - Alpha Omicron Chapter

Tau Beta Sigma - Beta Chapter
{{Sudler Trophy Goin' Band from Raiderland Goin' Band from Raiderland Goin' Band from Raiderland Musical groups established in 1925 1925 establishments in Texas