Sundown Roughneck Band earns state slot
The Sundown Roughneck Band, also known as ‘The Pride of the Oil Patch’ will be making their 28th state performance Tuesday, October 31, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
For Roughneck Band Director Justin Mauldin and his group of kids, they have faced stiff competition going through the Region and Area rounds, but have continued to stick to their teachings and principals to earn another opportunity at the state level to compete.
“It’s amazing the history of the band program in this school,” said Mauldin. “There has been many wonderful teachers that have that have come through here and the Sundown Band has such a rich history. Everyone takes so much pride in their band program they take pride in anything the kids do here.”
As a band director and father, Mauldin expressed how happy he was to be a part of a community and school district that receives so much support.
“I’m just so happy to be in sundown, to be around these kids every day that are in my band program but also to have my own kids in the school district because I know that they’re supported in whatever they do,” explained Mauldin.
Once one marching season concludes, planning and preparations begin immediately for the following season. Every detail counts when putting on a state worthy performance and the staff and students making up the Roughneck Band for this season have done just that.
Ranging from marching drills, field enhancements, music arrangements, color guard skills, uniform colors and various minor details are all a part of the process for putting together yearly performances.
“All these various details go into the show to help tell your story and this is a really neat show for us this year because the story that we’re getting to tell is all about sundown,” said Mauldin. “This years show is called the “Road Home” and in any small town in West Texas, we want our kids to chase their dreams but never forget the road that leads home.”
Field enhancements for the show include pump jacks and oil barrels which is a Sundown staple. The music in the show starts out with “Country Roads” by John Denver and has some original music from the arranger of the show named Randall Standridge. Then the slow tune in the show is called “The River” by Garth Brooks and then the show kind of comes back to “Country Roads” at the end. There is also a narrator in the show with a few lines throughout the show to help tell the story.
The color guard silks for the for the opening movement are road signs for FM 301 and FM 303 which are the only two roads that go through Sundown. The color guard silk for the closer is a an actual picture of a pump jack right outside of Sundown with the sunset in the back and they we were able to get that printed on to the color guard silks.
“We really put a lot of thought and a lot of planning into a into a show that our kids love being a part of and our community would love looking down and seeing a show that’s all about us,” said Mauldin. “The kids really bought into the show, they’re getting better every day and it’s really fun to watch every day.”
Assisting Mauldin is Assistant Band Director Ashley Blount who has worked closely with Mauldin since coming to Sundown. Also helping the Roughneck Band is Mack Bibb who works part-time with the band and Tricia Nevarez, Amber Mauldin, Tristan Nock and John Rogers who spend Tuesday practices working with the students.
“With everyone coming to help the students get better, this staff is great at getting all the pieces together,” explained Mauldin. “There is no way Ashley and I could put all this together and I am extremely grateful to work with this team.”
While the staff works hard to get everything in the place it needs to, Mauldin highlighted how important student leadership has been to help elevate the program to a higher level.
“These kids have stepped up in ways that you would expect them to this year, but also in some ways you that you don’t necessarily expect high school students to understand the type of role that they need to play within the concept of a of a rehearsal,” said Mauldin. “When you have roughly 100 people on the field and you’ve got the students basically telling other students what to do, that’s a tough decision. It’s hard to stick your neck out like that because you know you have to answer that in the locker room, in the hallway and everywhere else you see them.
“They’re so good about helping each other and criticizing each other, but also being able to take that criticism in a positive way and continue to make their team better.”
Mauldin added that his staff could teach until they lose their voices, but it’s the students who are willing to accept leadership from adults or other students which has created an amazing environment.
This year, the Roughneck Band has three drum majors which inlcude: senior Danny MacDonald and juniors Emily Rodgers and Ericka Posadas.
“Those three are absolutely incredible young ladies and I could not ask for a better leadership than what those three ladies provide for our band,” said Mauldin. “During rehearsals they can conduct on the podium, but when they are out and about on that field they are they are everything they possibly can to help the students get better.”
Mauldin praised his drum majors work ethic as they meet once weekly during lunch which allows the three ladies to address any concerns they have, praise students they have noticed or share ideas with one another.
As a band director, Mauldin in is a unique position as he will be saying goodbye to a graduating group of seniors who spent all four years under his teaching and seeing his first beginning class at ninth grade begin to grow since he began his tenure at Sundown ISD.
“We have 10 seniors in the band with one of them being a drum major and many of the others being section leaders or drill instructors within the band,” explained Mauldin. “That student leadership that I was talking about earlier, they have a real good understanding of our dayto- day expectations within program. This is also special for those seniors as this is their fourth time to go to the state marching contest.”
When speaking on the culture of the program, Mauldin could not help but praise the community for their support as both aspects go hand-in-hand. During last year’s state competition, a band director approached the principal for Sundown High School and asked how they were able to get so many Sundown community members to make the long drive to San Antonio to watch their band perform. The band director explained they were a mere two hours away and did not receive a great turnout.
Mauldin used that story to explain how important the community of Sundown has been to the band program as they have received so much support for years.
“The culture here within this community is amazing,” said Mauldin. “Ranging from our band sponsors, parents, administration, and community, they support our students and their love for these kids is unmatched.