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Getting the band back together! ... One time reunion for a benefit.


Rocktone

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Received a call from an old high school friend about a benefit they were puting together for another high school friend who is dealing with Ovarian cancer. Of course I was interested in helping out. I was asked if we (my old band) would be willing to donate entertainment for the night. I was definitely interested but there are a few issues.

This old band we are talking about was made up of High school buddies (graduated in 98) who dominated our area doing cover shows back in 2003-2004. We jammed in highschool but didnt get serious until later. We were all in our 20's and we were playing Friday and Saturday nights almost every weekend for almost 2 years, playing and partying hard. We went from being a bunch of young guys doing Classic Rock to one of the more popular bands in the area. Finger Lakes/Twin Tiers area of NY/PA. We were not the best musicians in the world but could hang with the best and eventually did get good. We had great equipment (at the time) and we had one hell of a following. We couldnt get a gig anywhere at first (young inexperienced group, All the other bands were seasoned vets) but when the following showed up with us, places that turned us down were calling us to play.

We did get really good and as we got beat up with how much we were playing, we slowed the gigs down and over the next few years, we really spread out the shows. The last show we played together was almost 5 years ago and we really didnt end on a good note. Typical band drama but we had all moved on with our lives and everyone had their own priorities. It caused some drama inside the band and it just ended and we haven't spoke to each other since a few months ago.

We all agreed to do it because we are friends with everyone involved in this benefit. I think we can all move on from the past and do this as a one time deal. Thing is we won't have any reahearsal time since we all live in different areas. I have been playing in another band since, an original band, and not too sure about the other guys. I know we have had a lot of time in between shows in the past and were able to pick it up where we left off. But not a 5 year absence. I'm a little worried about vocals and lasting all night. I know we can all play and we will hopefully treat it as a jam session for a good cause but we all know whow these things can be.

 

Any thoughts......

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Back in 2009, several of us that performed in different bands back during the early 80's in East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State University) started talking about the very same thing.  The idea blossomed and culminated in a night at East Lansing's Rick's American Cafe - that had 5 of the premier bands for that time come together to each perform one set.  The guy who was our soundman back our college days worked with his PA company to provide sound (true pro gear - run by a guy who went straight to the airport after the gig in order to make his flight to New York where he was a session speaker at the AES convention). 

Every band that played that night has since spoke of experience.  Each and every one of them talked about their "pre-gig" rehearsal and how cool it was to reunite with old friends.  For many of us, it had been 25+ years since we had played with our college bandmates.  At the risk of sounding cheesy it was a mildly emotional thing. 

The bass player that I played with in college - now a software developer living in Oslo, Norway - did the vast majority of the work to contact musicians and potential audience and make the event happen.   He was an incredible Facebooker ... and managed to pull together 5 bands for "back in the day", all with original members as well as an audience of $650 paid attendees (which raised $3,250 for the East Lansing Arts Festival).

For me personally, it was a WAY, WAY, WAY cool night.   Reuniting with my bandmates from college was pretty special.   Plus, I met several players in other bands that performed who live in my neck of the woods now - and the networking introduced me to a couple of people that I've maintained contact with. 

If you have a chance to reunite with old friends - don't think twice!!!   Just DO it!

 

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We did a couple reunion gigs for my old band that hasn't played together in 13 years. It was fun.

The drummer, bass player and myself live here. I'm in a band with our drummer. Our singer lives 7 hours away.

So the 3 of us would practice and the singer/guitarist practiced on his own. We were able to have 2 practices as a full band. The gigs were a lot of fun and they went well.

We did 3 - 12 song sets, it was a good time. Looking to do more gigs here and there. We had one gig lined up in the summer but I had to cancel because of a flooded basement.

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