Goin' Band going places: Texas Tech students reflect on memories in NYC for Thanksgiving

From Lubbock to the Big Apple, 417 members of the Goin' Band from Raiderland had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on one of the biggest stages in the United States this Thanksgiving.

Waking up early Monday morning to catch their flight to NYC, band president Kaitlin Werner said she got a seat on the second story of the plane and got to see out the window as Texas Tech fans gathered at Lubbock's airport to send them off.

"It showed how much community support we have for Texas Tech to make this so surreal for students, for alumni, which is something that Texas Tech is very proud of," she said.

Little did they know their schedule would be nonstop and a copious amount of adrenaline would be running through their veins.

"By the time we got to New York, we had enough time to put our luggage away, change, and go to the rocket show that night," Joel Págan, Goin' Band director, said. "We got back the next day people got up and had a whole day in New York. Early morning, Wednesday, early morning, Thursday."

Broadway to Broadway

After making four appearances on NBC's Today Show at Studio 1A early Wednesday morning, the band took their show to Times Square.

Performing in front of hundreds of Tech fans who had flocked to the Big Apple to celebrate them and their alma mater, assistant drum major Reilly Ledbetter said it was a surreal moment.

"You see Times Square all the time in like TV and media, so to be there, first off, was really really cool just to know that it's like actually a real place," she said. "They had one huge billboard that went to the centennial and so it was like Texas Tech all over in Times Square."

From Werner's position at the pep rally, she said she could see another billboard that displayed photos of her bandmates but was also next to parents who traveled to see their children play.

"I had the parents taking so many videos telling us after or in between songs and just be like, 'I'm so excited that I'm here to watch you', and they'll take pictures of me," she said. "Some of them knew my mom and would send them to my mom, who couldn't be there."

Págan said it had been cloudy during their time in Times Square, but the clouds seemingly knew to part when the band played God Bless America and The Matador Song.

Ledbetter also said when they played, she could hear the echo of the Matador Song and the Fight Song reverberating off the billboard as the band "completely filled up the space of Times Square."

Performing at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Having to wake up early and meet in the hotel lobby at 2:20 a.m., the Goin' Band loaded onto their buses and headed to the parade route for their 4 a.m. rehearsal.

"The rehearsal was at about a 10 to 15-minute rehearsal, and they just needed enough time for the NBC cameraman to kind of track what our movements are so they can make notes because the next time you do this is live," Págan said.

Being confined to a 42-foot front-to-back green carpet in front of Macy's flagship store, Pagán said during the first run-through the band overshot its performance by three feet.

Both Ledbetter and Werner said it was difficult practicing beforehand because the band is so used to permanent fixtures on the ground — such as field markings — that they could use to spot. But after a few more run-throughs, the band got it down and was ready to debut its newest school song.

After eating breakfast at Margaritaville, the band took its place behind Uncle Dan, a character from the Illumination film Migration.

""I just hear the announcer announce our name and then it all began. I could just hear everyone cheering, and I could see the view of New York," Werner said. "My favorite Texas Tech tradition is playing March Grandioso going into Jones (AT&T Stadium) and having that different feeling just gave me goosebumps all up my arm, playing it and hearing the echo from the skyscrapers."

For two and a half miles, the band marched past millions of people - and millions more watching at home - until they ended up on the green carpet to perform Wreck Em' Fanfare.

Written by Goin' Band alumnus Gabe Musella, Wreck Em' Fanfare can only be described as 75 seconds of iconic Texas Tech songs such as the Fight Song, Macarena, March Grandioso, the Horse Song and more all mixed together.

"I know a lot of the alumni loved it, too," Ledbetter said. "They were like picking out all of our little tunes and they were finding it and they got so excited about it."

Once the performance was done, Ledbetter said her adrenaline was still going.

"When we did our rehearsal beforehand rehearsal, I was exhausted after that, like I was completely shot but then we marched two and a half miles and then did the exact same thing afterward, and I still had energy to go - like I was ready to go like run a mile or something," Ledbetter said.

Warner said she hopes the performance in New York inspires others to keep pursuing music in college while also connecting it also creating closer connections with her bandmates.

"Those friendships last forever," she said. "They last a lifetime. All of my parent's friends that they still have now, we're all their friends from Goin' Band. That's something that I really like to be a part of and continue."

For those interested in learning more about the Goin' Band, visit www.depts.ttu.edu/music/GoinBand.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech Goin' Band from Raiderland members recall marching in NYC