• The KillerFrogs

We got off the bus...

T

Toad Jones

Active Member
Unloaded the equipment and assembled. Prof said let's walk through it before we go into the stadium. Most if not all the TeeSip were laughing calling us the littlest band in the conference, even went so far as to compare us to a high school band. The air went out of us, and we were dreading the half-time performance. Prof gathered us around and said, you heard all of that, I'm sure. We may be small in numbers, but we're as good as any band in the conference.. So...gather all your courage, stiff backbone and let's show these Texas people who we are. Fill those lungs like never before and let's show them who The Show Window Of TCU is.

I was in the booth surrounded by various types, sports writers, TV guys and so forth. Our people hit the field, and you would have thought Patton was going to show up Any minute. We were tremendous, strutting to the tens and blowing folks out of the stadium. The Austin American writer standing next to me said, Wow, listen to them play. How can such a little band sound so loud, be so good.

I walked back with Jim after the performance and saw this band was spent, some even crying from emotion. That day, The Show Window Of TCU was the best ever. Later, Jim said to me, I'm so, proud of these guys. They put it on the line and came through, I feel like crying too. BTW, as I remember, we beat Texas pretty bad that Saturday afternoon.

Dr. Jim Jacobson, band director and one of the finest men I ever met!
 
BleedNPurple

BleedNPurple

Active Member
Toad Jones said:
Unloaded the equipment and assembled. Prof said let's walk through it before we go into the stadium. Most if not all the TeeSip were laughing calling us the littlest band in the conference, even went so far as to compare us to a high school band. The air went out of us, and we were dreading the half-time performance. Prof gathered us around and said, you heard all of that, I'm sure. We may be small in numbers, but we're as good as any band in the conference.. So...gather all your courage, stiff backbone and let's show these Texas people who we are. Fill those lungs like never before and let's show them who The Show Window Of TCU is.

I was in the booth surrounded by various types, sports writers, TV guys and so forth. Our people hit the field, and you would have thought Patton was going to show up Any minute. We were tremendous, strutting to the tens and blowing folks out of the stadium. The Austin American writer standing next to me said, Wow, listen to them play. How can such a little band sound so loud, be so good.

I walked back with Jim after the performance and saw this band was spent, some even crying from emotion. That day, The Show Window Of TCU was the best ever. Later, Jim said to me, I'm so, proud of these guys. They put it on the line and came through, I feel like crying too. BTW, as I remember, we beat Texas pretty bad that Saturday afternoon.

Dr. Jim Jacobson, band director and one of the finest men I ever met!
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Prof was greatness. Thanks for sharing!
 
namollec

namollec

Full Member
Found Prof Jacobson inspiring. Leaned on that in my career.

Personally, he was comforting in the time of my dear friend's passing 5 years after graduation. He remembered us and had such kind words about my friend.
 
T

Toad Jones

Active Member
Frog DJ said:
My sophomore year, Prof heard me on KTCU and asked if I’d like to be “the voice of the band.” I jumped at the chance!

I asked him what kind of voice he wanted me to employ and he responded, “Whatever you do will be just fine, young man.”

An incredible guy!

Go Frogs!
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same here DJ, same here. The Spinning Flat Jack Drums.
 
TxFrog1999

TxFrog1999

The Man Behind The Curtain
I loved getting to know Prof about 20 years ago. By the time I joined the band he had retired and we only saw him once a year when he was invited to marching practice. However, I was asked to write, produce, shoot, and edit a 100 year documentary of the band and was able to record Prof telling many stories of the old Show Window days. I've got to dig up that footage sometime and post it here, he was phenomenal and an amazing wealth of history.

My favorite story was one he told of the stockyard parade downtown. Apparently one year several members of the band bringing up the rear of the parade decided to take a left flank into a bar that used to have an entrance on Main St. but also had an exit to Houston St. They enjoyed a pint while the parade continued down Main, turned to come back on Houston and then they rejoined the rear flank as the band passed by the bar.
 
T

Toad Jones

Active Member
Then we were in Little Rock, unloading in front of the big hotel. Jim as always the first off the bus. Lightly it started to rain, so we thought. We looked up and saw about ten guys standing on the of top floor, urinating on the band as we off loaded.

I saw a different Jim Jacobson that minute. His face turned red and ran into the hotel with a couple of cops who were there for order. They were gone by the time he and the cops arrived. Oh, he looked for them for ten minutes, and probably a good thing he did not find them.
Prof filed a compliant with the LR Police and the Southwest Conference. The conference slapped a hefty fine on Arkansas and kicked those guys out of school.

Then there was an incident with that cult at A&M, the Aggie band. That's another story, but let me just say on that, every cop within a four block area came in on that fight. It just wouldn't end. Front page stuff for three days with the Star Telegram. Three days later, TCU came out with no one is allowed on the field, period, ever! Until five or six years ago, that held true until the kids stormed the field after a huge game.

Members of the old Southwest Conference were a proud, very competitive bunch. Everybody knew everybody, down to the QB's girlfriend at SMU. Ah, those were the days. Everybody hated everybody, but we loved everybody too.
 
T

Toad Jones

Active Member
QuilterFrawg said:
Fall 1971 - freshman year.
View attachment 14641
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Quilter, a hot cymbal player and a big sports fan too! Quilter, was John Giordordo around at that time?
John was well on his way to become WORLD renowned symphonic conductor. He's another one you can label outstanding gentlemen. Smart, musical genus who was personable and very famous. He and Jim made a heck of a team!
 
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T

Toad Jones

Active Member
Maybe at some point I'll tell the story of how two very popular, huge stars happen to be at the dedication ceremony of Schollmaier arena. In those days, it was called Daniel Meyer Coliseum. Who were the stars? Bob Hope and Henry Mancini

The Duke also came to our campus. He was a Sigma Chi and wanted to see them.
 
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BrewingFrog

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
Toad Jones said:
Quilter, a hot cymbal player and a big sports fan too! Quilter, was John Giordordo around at that time?
John was well on his way to become WORLD renowned symphonic conductor. He's another one you can label outstanding gentlemen. Smart, musical genus who was personable and very famous. He and Jim made a heck of a team!
Click to expand...
Giordano was, and is still, the only conductor to cue a part from behind his back...
 
QuilterFrawg

QuilterFrawg

CDR USN (Ret)
Toad Jones said:
Quilter, a hot cymbal player and a big sports fan too! Quilter, was John Giordordo around at that time?
John was well on his way to become WORLD renowned symphonic conductor. He's another one you can label outstanding gentlemen. Smart, musical genus who was personable and very famous. He and Jim made a heck of a team!
Click to expand...
Toad, I know Giordano's name, but he wasn't involved in the band, that I recall. Maybe someone else from that time would know more.
 
campdavid23

campdavid23

KMA
Toad Jones said:
Then we were in Little Rock, unloading in front of the big hotel. Jim as always the first off the bus. Lightly it started to rain, so we thought. We looked up and saw about ten guys standing on the of top floor, urinating on the band as we off loaded.

I saw a different Jim Jacobson that minute. His face turned red and ran into the hotel with a couple of cops who were there for order. They were gone by the time he and the cops arrived. Oh, he looked for them for ten minutes, and probably a good thing he did not find them.
Prof filed a compliant with the LR Police and the Southwest Conference. The conference slapped a hefty fine on Arkansas and kicked those guys out of school.

Then there was an incident with that cult at A&M, the Aggie band. That's another story, but let me just say on that, every cop within a four block area came in on that fight. It just wouldn't end. Front page stuff for three days with the Star Telegram. Three days later, TCU came out with no one is allowed on the field, period, ever! Until five or six years ago, that held true until the kids stormed the field after a huge game.

Members of the old Southwest Conference were a proud, very competitive bunch. Everybody knew everybody, down to the QB's girlfriend at SMU. Ah, those were the days. Everybody hated everybody, but we loved everybody too.
Click to expand...
Was it the “corp is full of worms” banner that the vigilante’s marched around the stadium (apple core with a worm sticking out in a cadet hat).. that emptied the stands
 

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