Not too long ago I posted a picture on Facebook for Throw Back Thursday. It was a shot from a photo shoot I did with my old band Lank Fame. This was prior to me going solo and acoustic and certainly before I ever dreamed I'd be writing and performing for kids and families.
One of our old friends posted a single word comment under the photo that simply said "Reunion?" After chuckling at the response I just as quickly started to realize that it wasn't a bad idea. I was a little freaked out because I've been so focused on new things that I never considered doing that. Not to mention I have not played an electric guitar in over 10 years. But as I warmed to the idea I started to get excited.
I called Tommy and Ryan and they both thought it would be fun.
Back when I played with them I used to record everything and then write notes on all I had recorded. So I went and grabbed a handful of old tapes. (I love cassettes-more on that soon) and prepared myself for a bit of embarrassment. But as I started to listen I was really way more into the songs and our playing than I expected. Other than a handful of tunes most of what we did all those years ago still held up and totally impressed me. When I wrote these songs I was trying to break free of the erratic and disorienting music I had been playing. I was embracing songwriting while still striving to be interesting and unexpected. Lyrically I had made huge leaps forward and was proud of what I heard.
It was weird. I had to relearn songs I had written. It was like studying another persons playing.
So as of today the three of us are slowly rebuilding our old gear and preparing to play. My hope is that we set up a show this fall or early winter. We had our last show around 2002 so it's kind of crazy to be going back to these songs. It's like entering a time machine. Weirder still is how little some things have changed. I sprung a few of the songs I had just been practicing on Ryan at a recent kids band rehearsal and we locked in almost immediately. We used to practice all the time so it was all still there. I can't wait to play. It's going to be fun and weird and loud. Get ready.