From Audrey Dawson, Majorette, Class of 1993
Wow, I didn't realize just how many memories I had of being in the band until now (lol)...Some of my memories: Being
a majorette :-) (shout out to all the majorettes!), me dreaming of being a Golden Girl, St. Pete parade, Daytona
parade (wasn't that THE longest parade?), marching under "the tunnel" after halftime, marching back to the school after the
game, Mr. Scarboro, Butternut, Benny Joseph yelling, "Turn 'em off!" like Teddy Pendergrass when the bus driver forgot
to turn off the lights (that used to crack me up!), night practices, Me, Yolanda and Kristi (a.k.a "The Three Musketeers"
or Blanche, Dorothy and Rose...how did I end up as Rose? lol...do ya'll remember that?), the drunk man who was dancing in
front of Vonda Weaver (majorette) in the FAMU homecoming parade.....Hey, weren't we banned from the Holiday Inn in Tallahassee?
Shout out to my marching buddy Cassandra Redding! And to Ja'Juan, Keisha, Sheilitha and Shirah, having THE tightest
percussion section anywhere, when we FINALLY got our new uniforms, Mr. Redding always trying to crack on people, when I broke
my finger at band practice (Chenise, I don't think I've ever seen someone move that quickly!)... I'm quite
sure there's more but that's all I can think of right now :-)
From Bryan Cobaris, Saxophone, Class of 1993
You know my most memorable band moment, is going to be me getting my
behind kicked by the brass/percussion
sections on the Navy Base Parade
(Senior Year).
From Darryl Scott, Tuba, Class of 1979
The highlight
of my band days was marching on national TV in the 1976 Bicentennial Parade in Washington, DC. My skills
earned me numerous medals as well as first chair in the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra; Florida All-State Concert Band;
and a music scholarship from the University of Florida...I
attribute much of my success to the "life" lessons I learned while participating in the JHS Band.
From Quenton Quarterman,
Percussion, Class of 1994
Do you guy's remember
B-CC's Homecoming in'93?.The percussion section
thought we were SOOO bad that we struck-up against Cookman!! When we got
there for band camp that summer they wanted to kill us.
Oh yeah, Audrey you were right.We did get banned from that
hotel that
year.
Favorite times:
3.When Nate would hold up dismissal by yelling
like Rick Flair after
the attention whistle
2.Getting kicked out of practice for "cussin' in the bandroom"
1.When
my dawg,"Simply" Robert Boston ***** near got expelled for
crackin' on the band parents coming back on the bus one night.
From Traci Wade (Bradford), Flag, Class
of 1994
I originally joined the band to escape the
choir. As most of you may
know my dad's a minster.(Shout out to Elder Andrew Wade JHS c/o '72) I
just knew that he
and my mom would have a problem with my trying out for
the flags and being in the "Best High School Band In The Land."
My
mother totally disapproved, but it was my father(yes the preacher) who got
her to change her mind. I remember the
first time I marched on the field
I was so scared. The flags had on those ugly-smelly two piece pantsets.
Our new
uniforms came in the following week. I remember my dad's
reaction when he saw me in that lil outfit...I could see his
face from the
field. I also remember the following; Mr.Redding trying to be serious with
us...Mr.Abel punching his
and through the upstairs window in the band
room....Mr.Scarbrough almost missing the bus, When he finally made it on
the
bus the song " I Missed The Bus" came on the radio, we fell out!
One night at practice Mr. Redding sent the percussion
section home for cutting up!...when they left the rest of us looked a mess out on the field...They continued to cut-up
but he never did that again...Chelsa Holmes and I on the bus cominghome from a trip, decided to decorate Eric Blackmans face
with our make-up....Not being able to see"Z" on the bus at night...Some of us being a lil tipsy on the band trips...Always
eating at Shoney's on the band trips...yuck....Band Camp and our jam section...Getting pumped for marching season.
My
band days were some of the BEST times of my life. I'll always
treasure them! Shout out to the Flag Sqaud 1991-1994!
From Nikki Lee, Majorette, Class of 1997
All I can say is that my four years of being a Million
Dollar Majorette
is something I'll never forget. Even as a little girl when Ms. Young
had Jamille and I out there
with the older girls all I can remember is
saying I can't wait to be a majorette. The memories I have are those
Tallahassee and St. Pete trips that I looked foward to going to every year
and New Orleans where the entire band had
to fight some spectators in
the crowd boy was that CRAZY. And I'll never forget how our Perfect
Percussion section
always got challanged and of course always defeated the
opponent. How me and Jamille (Pete and RE-Pete) stayed in trouble
as
freshmen cause we were always into something. And all those practices
and JHS specials I make my nieces and newphews
do when I'm mad. In all I
miss those days and I will never forget them. Thanks Audrey for
letting us experience
these memories again.
From Sheilitha Adams, Majorette,
Class of 1994
Being a Marching Majorette from 1990-1994
was one of the best times of my life and I will cherish those memories
forever.... Gotta say hello to the famous "click"
yall gave us that name...lol
boy we had fun didnt we... Audrey and Ja'Juan, my best friends, I will love you guys forever!
Cassandra R., Keisha Cooper, Shirah, Nia. I hope everyone is Blessed and doing well!
From April Spooney-Simmons,
Class of 1979
What I enjoyed most of all was the family unity that existed in the
band from 76-79. Being DM was the beginning
of my leadership qualities and
I credit that experience to my leadership qualities today.
Plus..anything to keep "Chief"
from throwing the eraser at you during class!!! :)
Great job on the website..keep up the good work!
From Maisha Brown, Flag, Class
of 1997
I remember when we went
to St. Pete and Dee-Dee Mack played on the drum
"OOH , AH YO Mammy!" and we got in trouble and Mr. Redding said we
couldn't
march. We was so bitter! I think we were all in tears. I remember
the wet cold Christmas parade when Marlisha heel of
her boot broke and
she marched the whole parade with one boot! ha ha ha. I also remember the
big fight in New Orleans
because it started with the flags.( being the
flag captain) I remember turning around to call a different routine and
half of the girls was swinging. Majorettes and flute players start
running back to help us. I remember Mr. Redding
running back asking us are
we okay, when we replied yes, He said, "Let's Go, Take it from the top!" I
have all good
memories of the band and that's why I will never regret
being a Tiger!
From Bernarris McClain, Trumpet/Drum
Major, Class of 1991
WHERE DO I BEGIN? I HAVE SO MANY
FOND MEMORIES OF THE BAND. FROM CHIEFYELLING YA YELLA BELLY SAPSUCKAS TO I HEARD YA PREISTER YA SAID M********R. I CANT'T
BELIEVE WE MADE THAT A SONG. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU REMEMBER "THE MAN" DOC ABLE. "BAND ARE YOU BAD".THE NAVY BASE
CHRISTMAS PARADE WHEN WE ALMOST ROCKED THE BUS OVER ON IT'S SIDE.
BY THE WAY I HOPE YOU ALL ARE ENJOYING THOSE NEW
UNIFORMS, WE HAD TO SELL ALOT OF KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS TO GET THEM.
OLD SCHOOL MEMORIES C/O '91
From Jaiya Keys, Flute/Flag Corp, Class of
1997
I'm sure everyone thinks their time period was the best but the 97'
Auxiliaries
vs The New Orleans crowd was the brawl of the decade! I mean
this thing was major. We stuck together like a true
family. Some of my
best memories are with my Tiger Family from doing JHS specials before
practice to when Jarvis "Scrappy"
Jacobs "put em on the glass" during a
band trip, but my favorite will always be when the percussion section
does "
Let's Introduce Ourselves" Once they played that cadence it was a
done deal!
From Rod Zeigler, Percussion,
Class of 1989
I
have a million fond memories of being a Drum Major in the JHS band.
But the thing I miss the most are the people.
I miss every one of them
and I feel good when I see you all out there in your careers, starting
families, and becoming
the good people that our parents, Chief, and
Jones High would want us to become. God Bless The Marching Tigers of
Jones High! Lawd Have Mercy! We might not have been big but we were D***
Sho Nuff FUNKY! And we
could play. Shout outs to anybody who marched
in the band and threw down in the name of J-O-N-ES -ES! Especially
my
mom,COOKIE, and my sister Danielle (Ribs). Love all of you and wish the
best for the present band. PEACE and LOVE!
From Mike Bynum, Tuba, Class of 1978
Along with marching in the
Grand Bi-Centenial Parade in Washington, DC;
I have to laugh uncontrollably when "Chief" had "Kangaroo Court". I
hate
to admit it but I had to attend "a few" of those sessions (being a
Tuba Player). One time somebody had the audacity to
say "Since we're
havin Kangaroo Court, we need to go get some Kangaroos. I'm not going to
even write about what happened
after that! It was OOOOOOOOON!!! LOL!!!
TIGER 4 LIFE!!! 76-78
From Leroy Lloyd, Alto Sax, Class
of 1989
I have fond memories of my days in the baddest high school band on the
planet.I made some lifelong friends
and shared good times together that I'll
always remember. My days in the band began before I was a member, but as
a
elementary school student attending summer band camp where I met Rod
Ziegler, Shelley Mathis, Tracy Gordon,Sherman Woodard,
and Greg Massey.We
were not a very big band back then but we played and performed with JHS pride.
From Tim Brown, Alto Saxophone
I remember
the smell of the grass the first days of summer band camp
1992, my freshman year on the Alto Saxophone (T-phi-S). I remember
the
smell of the hard wood floor in the “old” band room and the nostalgia
of tradition that filled the air.
I remember my skin crawling and my
spine tingling when I felt the entire band struck up “Get Ready” for
the
first time in that old band room. We played the music in summer
band class but when the full band assembled in concert…we
“felt”
the music. I remember my eyes blinking and shoulders flinching every
time those snare drums
“Rat-a-tat-tated” behind me, like high powered
pistols, followed by the bass drums boom. My favorite memory
however is
marching in the NFL pre-season game at the Citrus Bowl….feeling the
energy from the thousands of spectators
and sending it back through my
horn! Through the Marching Tiger Band I learned, personal courage,
team work, self-discipline
and leadership. All of these skills play an
instrumental role in where I sit today, as a Father, Husband and Professional.
Thank you Marching Tiger Band and fellow Marching Tigers. May God bless the band and all future graduates of JHS!
From Kristina White, Flute/Piccolo, Class of 1993
Wow...band memories so many. I remember
those long hours on the field trying to master the formation. Mr Redding with his megaphone yelling "we betta get this
or we will be there all night", yeah right. My momma sitting there waiting for us to finish for like 45 minutes and
then another 20 minutes to make it to the band room and back downstairs LOL. My fondest memories would have
to be FAMU homecoming and Celeste wearing the gold candy wrapper on her teeth (you know people thought that was a real gold
teeth). I remember my 9th grade year there was a member of my section who had some kickin breath and she was always
in somebody damn face(go figure). I used to love suiting up for the games and getting hyped up for the march down to
the citrus bowl. We were the shiznick. We were pointin them toes like it was a crime. Oh and cannot not
forget those pep rallys Cheif . He kept us all in line. I wanted to make band every period. I had so much
fun. It was one of those "w
ish you were there moments". JHS Marching Tigers set the stage for our future band
journeys. We learned from the best and that's what made us the baddest band in the land. Oh those were the good
ole days. JHS c/o 93 FLUTES RULE!!!
From Shelly Mathis, Trumpet, Class of 1989
Well, Well, Well, yes I remember those days of marching in the baby FAMU band as we use to call ourselves, whith
members and good friends such as Corey Fallings, Leroy Lloyd, Rod Zeigler, Kevin Priester, Adrian Johnson,
Antoinette Taylor, and Tracy Gordon, and the list goes on. It all came from Chief Wilson keeping all of us in check and beating us with those
drum sticks all the time, lol, Glad to see all my friends doing well in their careers out there.
