From the earliest beginnings until lthe present day, the school bands in Port Neches and Groves have maintained the highest standards in citizenship, music education, and performance. Students learn discipline, cooperation, loyalty, hard work, and the value of team effort. These musical groups have promoted a tradition of excellence that has made the band program not only one of the prides of the school but an organization that is recognized throughout the state.

Port Neches High School's band was first organized in 1933 by Professor Dickerson, who was then director of the LutcherStark boys' band in Orange. Mr. Dickerson taught a short time, then he was replace by Clayton Smith before the school term had ended. In 1934 Ernest Volpe was hired as director, built the band to its pre-World War II standard, and stayed until the end of the decade. In 1936 the Indian Band performed at halftime. Betty Ruth Wagner was the first drum major. The band had 42 members, but only 27 were uniformed. The band attended a contest held in Huntsville in April and placed third in its division.

When Volpe took over as director of the band, he charged tuition for each member; however, beginning in 1939, he was a regular hired member of teh faculty under jurisdiction of the school. Tuition of $2 per month per pupil was charged by the school to gain funds for new instruments and replacement of uniforms.

The school at that time owned some $1500 worth of instruments and had set aside $1200 for purchase of new uniforms. Practice opened for the 1939 fall term, and school officials indicated the band had some 50-odd instruments.

During the war years there were several band directors, but none stayed very long. John Long of Rusk, Texas, came to Port Neches in the fall of 1942 after teaching several years in Burkeville. He replace Kenzie Gibbs, the 1941 band director. Gibbs left the schools for a job at the Orange shipyards. Long had several meetings with the band students during his first week. There were 50 students attending that meeting; however, John Long did not remain as band director very long. He left Port Neches in January of 1943.

In the early war years, several Port Neches Chronicle news articles mentioned that the Port Neches High School Band had marched in parades and played concerts; however in 1943-44 there was no marching band due to instrument shortages. There was also difficulty in hiring directors, many of whom were in the armed services or working in defense industries. One year the band uniforms were gray because of shortages of materials.

Frank Gioviale, Ernest Volpe's stepson, came to Port Neches as the band director in the fall of 1946. He started a long line of band directors who stayed in the district for many years. Frank taught band in the Port Neches schools until he retired in 1976. When Frank became band director, the high school, junior high school, and one elementary school were housed in one big building, one smaller two-storied building (the elementary) and another building which housed the cafeteria. The athletic field house was in the back of the main red brick building. The field house was a corrugated tin hut and near it was a small building that was the band hall. This was small and had a very low ceiling. In fact a tuba player couldn't stand up with his sousaphone around him without slamming the bell against the light fixture.

Later, a larger clapboard band hall was built. This square building had a small porch and windows all along two sides, one side facing the adjacent football field and the other side facing the industrial plant. The inside consisted of a medium-sized rehearsal area - part of which was taken up by a large wall heater - a fairly large instrument room with no illumination, and two rooms at the front end of the building in which were an office and a music library. There was a shortage of equipment and furniture. All of these buildings were on Main Street in Port Neches adjacent to the plants.

When Frank arrived, there were 27 students in both the Groves and Port Neches band programs combined. The band did not march at football games for the first three games during Frank's first year. He started a drive to enlist more students, and by the fourth football game he was able to field 48 students for a halftime show although the only participants who played an instrument were the original 27 members. Everyone was very proud of the group as the students marched down the field from one end to the other and then returned to the small bleachers which were on only one side of the field next to the band hall. Back in the stands the band played one of the three tunes they knew. Everyone plaed the melody for the most of the first football season. As the students gained proficiency, they were able to form a letter or two on the field by the end of the season. During the mid-forties, Frank taught the band classes by himself. He also taught tonette (recorder) to every student in the fourth grade.

There were many problems such as lack of an adequate music library and a scarcity of instruments, both school and privately owned. To aggravate the situation, buying new horns was very difficult because few had been manufactured during the war and also because money was not readily available. There was part of a set of white uniforms and later a set of uniforms was bought, which consisted of gray pants and red coats. A few years after this, a set of uniforms with gold coats and black pants was purchased for Port Neches Junior High students. Also, a set of green uniforms for Groves Junior High was bought. A school board decision changed the school colors to purple and white and a new set of high school uniforms was purchased in those colors. Later the junior high colors were also changed to purple and white. 

In the 1950's, Frank Gioviale was instrumental in starting a girls marching group that became the famous Indianettes.

Beaumont High School's school song was "Our Director", a march composed by F. E. Bigelow. So was Port Neches'. Frank decided to compose a tune that was different and unique for Port Neches, and the choir director wrote the lyrics. In fact, Frank wrote two songs but the people in the community did not like them. They wanted "Our Director", so it stayed as the school song.

Around 1955 the band began playing "Cherokee" - a jazz standard composed by Ray Noble - as a pep song. Frank arranged this song to be played as a chant that would instantly be recognized. Lynne Jeffrey (now Lynne James) wrote the words to "Cherokee" in 1959. Also in that year, the twirlers created white fringe traditional Indian uniforms with sequined belts. Cecile Holstead, drum majorette, wore the first headdress. In the early and mid 1960's the Marching "I' was developed and added to the halftime performances.