• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Your 20 years HS reunion.. Good gig?

gustobassman

gustobassman

I'm only here for the after party..
Supporting Member
Mar 31, 2011
4,877
15,630
Sandy Eggo
Disclosures
Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
#1
So, i was just offered the chance to have my current project perform at my 20 year HS reunion this summer. I have no idea about budget, location, any of that. The coordinator just hit me up on Facebook to see if i was interested.

Truth be told, i missed the 10 year reunion, didn't get along with a lot of my classmates, and have kinda stayed out of touch on purpose. That being said, this actually sounds kinda fun. :D

Anyone else have the chance to perform at a reunion? I'm still on the fence..
 
#3
I played a reunion gig with my high school band at the 20 year reunion and it was a lot of fun. We rehearsed for an afternoon the day before and played for an hour and a half at way too high volume... Just like old times. I'm not too sure how I'd feel about playing with people I didn't go to school with, but that's just me. It'll probably be a blast...
 
#4
My take on HS reunions: people would rather chit chat and catch up on old times. A band can actually be a distraction. Take very long breaks.....probably will be appreciated. Find some ways to feed into the reunion thing.....people coming to the mike to speak,,,,,etc.
 
#5
I don't know, if the money is good maybe.

I am just not sure if the reunion vibe is condusive to what a live band offers.

What do people go to reunions for. I think my 40th is coming up.I graduated from HS in 71?

Blue
 
#7
Haven't gone to any High School reunions but I moved back to my hometown a few years ago and this will by my 30 year reunion year. Fun fact is the band thet played at my Jr. prom in 1982 is still one of the biggest drawing cover bands around here. I think they have maybe one original member left, maybe none.
 
#9
Last summer, my old HS bandmates (who went to a different HS than me) decided to get together for the first time in 30 years to play a reunion for their school class. We did it smart, we shared any new tunes we'd like to play online, and we each had our parts ready to go. At the actual gig, it was magic!!

See, each of us continued to play pro/semi-pro since HS. So even though we had moved all over the country, we had the experience and chops to be able to instantly re-group and present a killer sound. It was awesome.
 
#10
Played several HS reunions (none of them mine). Each one turned out very predictable: at first, the participants are kinda into the reunion, they go around talking to all the classmates they haven't seen in a few years...then the food comes, and they eat. Then afterwards they talk a little bit more, but pretty soon they have all run out of things to talk about, and before the evening gets late, most folks are headed out the door.

A few hearty partiers will dance and drink later (a very few might go until sunrise if the gig and the booze lasted that long) but for the most part the band is pretty much just background noise.

Easy money if you don't mind little or no audience participation.
 
#11
This is a win-win IMO. You said you werent really tight with a lot of your classmates so this allows you to make the scene without really having to engage people (you're working after all). OTOH being in the band gives you serious "cool factor" which could make the break time interactions a lot more pleasant -- especially with the gals.

Go for it... And don't undercharge.
 
#13
There is no potential for any enjoyment at a High School reunion for me. Most of the kids I liked or hung with didn't go to the 10th, and very few people went to the 30th. My High School seemed to be populated by people who didn't think much of their High School years, and went on to enjoy their lives.

I'm friends with many of them on facebook, and I chat with some of them on the phone as well.

Of course, some of my favorites are dead...
 
#14
Didn't go to my 10th, 20th is still a few years away and I don't plan on going.

Didn't everybody else become musicians because of how bad high school sucked? I know I did.

...it's been too damn long to just call it teen angst.
 
#16
gustobassman said:
So, i was just offered the chance to have my current project perform at my 20 year HS reunion this summer. I have no idea about budget, location, any of that. The coordinator just hit me up on Facebook to see if i was interested.

Truth be told, i missed the 10 year reunion, didn't get along with a lot of my classmates, and have kinda stayed out of touch on purpose. That being said, this actually sounds kinda fun. :D

Anyone else have the chance to perform at a reunion? I'm still on the fence..
Click to expand...

Man oh man, our original band we had in high school played for our 20th (25 years ago!), and it was the most fun I've ever had!! 45th coming up this June and we'll likely do it again. We've done it every 5 years sinc the 20th, except one. Wouldn't miss it for the world. But then, I got along with my classmates, so...
 
#17
I'm with Joedog. People are there to catch up (or maybe measure up) with each other. If it's your class, you'd probably have more fun mingling with your old ridiculous classmates than being their entertainment. So yeah. If you do it, take long breaks. Let people sit in if they want. It won't be a regular gig. Or at least, it shouldn't be.
 
#18
I think it comes down to two very important questions:

1. Do you work some really cool, awesome job (unless music is your full-time occupation)?

2. Do you have a smokin' hot significant other?

If the answer to both of these question is "Yes," then you should do the gig. :D Let's be honest. A lot of HS reunions are brag sessions for people to show off how successful they are (or at least fake how successful they are). You might as be Joe Cool. Amirite or amirite? :D

Actually, my class had a pseudo-reunion about 8 years after graduation, and it was nothing like that. It was mainly just chilling at a local park, eating hamburgers and drinking beer. I couldn't drink, because I just stopped in on the way to a gig. We couldn't even get anyone really rounded up for a 10 year reunion. I came from a very small school and graduating class. Most of us aren't the type of people to try and impress everyone. It wasn't a big deal.
 
#19
I love the responses! It's still WAAAAY up in the air, but it might be fun. The coordinator is aware that it is an original act and we wouldn't be covering the entire night of entertainment.

I was the city bus kid going to the Mercedes school. The whole brag thing was something these people did years ago. Unfortunately i am used to that...

BUT, It would be fun to rock out and melt some faces. :bassist:
 
#20
IF you were kind of an "outsider" in HS and IF your band is really smokin and IF you are single and IF you would like a chance to possibly impress and score with the now divorced-with-three-kids prom queen who wouldn't give you a second look back in HS; then yes do it at any price.

If not, it is the same as any other gig.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back