Reunited and it feels so good or does it? Some bands won’t do, some bands can’t do, and some bands shouldn’t do reunions. The reasons are drawn out and complicated and I don’t have time to review them here. Bitter memories is sometimes to blame. Another reason is not wanting to live in the past. As reason to call it quits, Bedhead once claimed that they didn’t want to be a Bedhead tribute band. Doing a reunion show is like a tribute to your own band. Look at us, weren’t we something? Then another reason that I won’t bring up is not wanting to re-learn all those stupid olde songs. It’s just a worthless hassle. This last reason is akin to the “not wanting to live in the past” reason so I definitely won’t put it in here because it’s redundant like saying something twice or repeating oneself.
So those are the reasons and the only reasons that bands won’t can’t shouldn’t do reunion shows. That and the free agency market which draws the best players into the Ringo Starr All Starr Review and leaves the rest to wonder how they manage to live with themselves. So this leaves me wondering why some bands do reunion shows. To make a little cash I suppose could be a reason. But that doesn’t explain why I do reunion shows. And that’s the real question here isn’t it? Look at me, wasn’t I something? I do them because I have nothing better to do with my time on earth during the two week holiday break around Christmas. And I do them because I have so much fun getting together with my old H-town friends, all of whom still have their chops and most of whom are still using those chops for choppy good things. And I do them to show off. Because my chops just keep getting better and I’ve got some new tricks that I need you to see because I desperately need to be liked by everybody.
One thing I don’t like is to do the songs the way you, the nostalgic fan, remember them. I like to mix it up, make it interesting. You know, throw a Puerto Rican Snake-gang member on the nylon stringed guitar for a change, par exemple. This approach is not always relished by my reunited band mates. One thing I don’t like to do is get silly drunk but sometimes I do. Please help me. Do not buy me that drink, Rudz is providing me plenty as it is. Instead why don’t you buy me a car? Rudz never buys me a car.
Last year I reunited with Texas Guinness Lovers for a New Year’s Eve show with JW Americana. It was one of the most fun NYE’s of my life (see this important video for details). TGL incorporated churchbus trumpeter Chris Erin so along with Bo Morrison we had that Calexico type double trumpet sound thingy that makes songs like Ring of Fire and San Antonio Rose soar. I got to play with Jo Bird of Two Star Symphony too. And I was reunited with my brothers Chris Bakos, Bill Savoie and Tony Barilla (unfortunately due to complete lack of knowledge of his whereabouts, we failed to reunite with our mumbling red headed brother Thomas Ayersol…and Phil Gayle was in NYC). Anyway, it was the shizzit. I made a bunch of cd-r’s from the board mix so if you see me in H-town over the holidays ask me for one. I ain’t charging for them, maybe you can get me a beer or a car or something.
This year I get to play with my brother brother Christian, my main man Johnathan Sage and my old writing partner Brandon Holbrook for a de Schmog reunion. Diane can’t make it because she doesn’t do reunions, no that’s not true it’s because she got knocked up and suddenly a very little girl is like thee most important thing in her world or something. Thankfully somebody cares about us. Mari Pool of Sad Like Crazy is gonna join us. I’m very excited about that.
So in conclusion bands should never reunite because Bedhead is so pretentious they thought it was necessary to write a boring letter to explain why it was so important that they stop bothering us.
P.S. Come out to Rudz Saturday December 30th – Bright Men of Learning, de Schmog, Jug O’ Lightnin’
Quality concerns aren’t quite the same as “I don’t want to live in the past.” Instead, it’s “I will gladly relive our glorious past, but ONLY if it’s not going to be stupid.” That’s probably the most sensible reason to avoid a reunion show. No one wants to be worse than the original. Or worse than the pastiche of memories that contain and define “the original.”
A corollary to this line of thinking is the “I’ll only do it if we can get the entire original lineup” argument. I have to say, I endorse this rationale in situations where the band is trying to trudge on without a crucial member (e.g., Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors).
None of this to say I think reunions are bad, or that de Schmog shouldn’t play because Diane won’t be there. I think these annual reunions are really great. Seems like I miss it every year because I’m out of town. Finally, I’ll get to be there. No, I dig on local reunions whether an they manage to capture an idyllic past or not. I’m just saying that having to live up to the past is a different and more crucial concern than not wanting to live there at all.
This is all fine, except that Bedhead is the best band of the 90s and I think their letter was perfectly valid (even though there’s an argument to be made that The New Year is a Bedhead tribute band anyways.)
Wow Greg, that’s quite a declaration. Oh well, we all love what we love.
Kilian, I’ve always thought of you as the king of reunions. Personally, I have no problem with it. It’s music, and if there is an audience, then who cares. I know people will love being at the show and that’s all that matters.
wish my stopover in houston were a bit longer.
I hope you have a blast! Give C.K. my best and anyone else you run into who might care.
Hey Kilian,
Nice flier. What is the optical illusion you have happenin with the feet/bed/hand..chicken cone…
Nice drawing of Chris.
Personally, I’m ecstatic that Bedhead has decided against a reunion show because I always thought they were a typical 90′s indie jerk off band whose incredibly boring music was only surpassed by their wallpaper-esque personalities. I also hate beards. They have beards, don’t they? Hell, I don’t care…you know, VH1 classic has been showing a lot of these concerts which I think are for a good cause…I mean, I think a portion of the proceeds goes to certain charities, but I’m not completely sure, but anyway: maybe some of you have seen some of these recent ones(Elvis Costello, Pretenders, Skynyrd) along with a ton of special guests. Well, for the most part…they’re fucking awful (Heart with Jerry Cantrell, and Dave Navarro? Costello with Fiona Apple? Chrissie Hynde with Incubus? How in the world do these people meet?) But the one that really shook me to the core was the Skynyrd one. There were 3 guitar players, 3 backup singers, a keyboard player, a percussionist (which I hate in almost any band), a drummer, a bassist, and the lead singer. Out of all that-only 2 people were on the stage that were ever actually members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. In other words, they played on the albums, did the tours, and most of all…they were on the fucking plane, because they were in the fucking band. And while this “Skynyrd” was playing, a video screen behind them was playing footage of Ronnie, and Allen, and Steve, and Leon, and Ed, and Artimus, and the Honkettes, and basically the “band”. And these goofballs on stage were acting like they were just fucking “it”, man. I mean, it was truly disturbing they way they were parading themselves around as this actual entity that no longer exists, but at the same time they still had the footage behind them of the real deal, and i tried to be objective and say “well, they’re friends, relatives, what have you…they’re trying to pay tribute, or homage by keeping the music going, etc…but I just couldn’t deal with it. It just seem so dishonest…I mean, it really bugged me, it was weird. But I can’t honestly say how I would approach a reunion show. I’m a much better guitar player, now, so it would be fun to show off, sure…I guess, enough time has passed that I’ve made peace with my musical past, the good and bad, so it might be okay. But this is a question for John, and Killian, or whoever else might have had experience with it: when I was in the Jinkies, and people would request a Smile 69 song it would always bother me, like “this is my new thing, dammit! I don’t wanna play that old shit from that other band!”. Do you guys feel the same way at all?
Where do they meet? They meet during the garden parties at the Rock and Roll country club. It has pretty exclusive membership, I hear.
I guess some people are a fearin’ they can not live up to their own expectations.PRIDE KILLS!
What more of an explination is there.
If you played basketball with friends, you might get together and play basketball, with old friends.
If you played music in a bar you might get together and play music in a bar.
I play cause I feel the need to play.
Most people who have played in bands have the same need.
As far as reliving the past, fun as it was, who could at this age? Besides, why miss the moment your in?
I get nostalgic all the time, go skate , get hurt, stay hurt longer.
I have Bedhead on CD.Great for Sunday housecleaning but live?
Wish I had Party Owls on CD but much rather see them live.
Marshall – I suppose you’re right about quality. Some bands consider a reunion and then can’t agree that it won’t be a debacle so they cancel out. This to me means their hearts were in the right place anyway. Reasons why they think the show woudn’t be quality are interesting to me and I wouldn’t agree with all of them. I like reunions for the evidence of time not the attempt to mask it.
I am looking forward to playing with BMOL – see you soon!
Greg – I remember at the time thinking the Bedhead Good-bye letter was utter pretention which btw I can deal with. Creativity and pretention so often go hand in hand. Something about the fan reverance and the serious nature of the band seemed at odds with the goofiness of the band name. It’s like they were telling themselves to lighten up but they just couldn’t too young and moody. Anyway in retrospect they did have valid reasons didn’t they.
John – I guess I am becoming the H-town king of reunions. Somebody will have to compile reunion shows and see who has the most.
Electramummy – the feet/bed/…hand? illusion creates a never ending stairwell.
Matthew – I certainly have been disheartened by crowd expectations with de Schmog especially with shows we did after Brando left. As a musician I say carry on, let the fans and the critics decide what your best line up was. The fan base especially can be harsh. Typically for pop music, fans aren’t looking for ongoing creativity as much as consistency.
Right on Jman – Kisses.
Matthew, you should try the Ovation Channel, way better concerts and music shows that are actually about music (as opposed to how much speed Lemmy was doing when he recorded Ace of Spades). The Jools Holland show mixes some pretty interesting (some crappy, some not so crappy, some great) performers without actually having them play with each other, and at worst you only have to put up with one song before they move up to the next act. I just saw an old one with Leonard Cohen doing a live version of “The Future” that totally gave me the chills. So Ovation, call your cable provider… Or check it online. And buy Sara Lee poundcake, best poundcake for dipping cause it doesnt crumble in your milk.
As for reunions, if you want to play with somebody, play with somebody, and if someone wants to listen, where’s the crime in that. Don’t let anyone tell you diffrent. Who cares about the past. The solidarity of bands (four lads against the world) is a fake construct mostly for marketing purposes and to give the band members that special feeling of belonging to the club (it never lasts). The deSchmog catalog is a great one, it could be a great show even if none of the original members were there, the fact that original members are there just makes for a great social situation as well as a chance to listen to some great songs.
I’ve only been to two reunion shows (that I know of). The Pretenders with Gay Dad at the Verizon in (I think 2000 or so), and The Bangles at the Arena Theater in 98 or 99. They were opened for by the romantics. My wife (then girlfriend) really wanted to go, and I’m ok with the Bangles, so we paid our 45 (yes, you saw that right) bucks and got second row seats. The romantics were the embodyment of everything you mention vis-a-vis NOT doing reunion shows. Tired, faking it, grasping at lost “glory”; generally being their own cover band. And they were all wearing leather trousers and jackets. In Houston. In July. The Bangles themselves were not much better. The highlight of the evening was during the frighteningly long break between sets when the sound guys played the entirety of the Replacements “Let It Be.”
The Pretenders fared better. At least Chrissie Hynde was still ass-kickingly good. And, unlike the Bangles, they were actually performing new material, some of which was decent.
Jesus, compared to all of you, I have been to so few shows of note. The best I have to offer is a handful of Yo La Tengo shows, two built to Spill shows, and 1.5 Shins shows. I need to get out more, don’t I?
That comment about the Bangles show was me; not sure why it came up as anon?
Hey Matt, no one ever came to any of my band’s shows, and when they did, they didn’t request anything. Unless it was Curt at Grimm shows yelling for the “Horsie song,” or Jay Hovah constantly yelling “Freebird!”, God that guy is a douche. If people actually requested Smile 69, you should be happy that they knew about your older stuff, I think I’d be flattered by those sorts of requests. I think.
Oh, I’m hip to that Ovation channel with Jools’ show. As a matter of fact, he had an episode called “British Legends” with the Plant/Page reunion where they did a really breakneck paced version of the “Wanton Song” that just rocked so fucking hard I almost fell off the bed. I don’t know who the drummer and bassist were…probably the same 2 guys that played on the Albini record…this was like late 90′s, I think the bass player’s name is Charlie? Anyway, just to see these 2 old geezers who are both pushing 50-60 easily blow away any young upstarts making records today, it just soared my spirit, they were really laying it down. You know, the thing about those VH1 shows…I really dig the Pretenders, Elvis and the Attractions, and Heart, and I’ve seen all those bands with their original members and they kicked ass…it was really the special guests that bothered me. This seems to be the prevailing thing these days, and I just can’t understand it. Why do they need to align themselves with the newest hitmaker? In an effort to appear hip, it just backfires rapidly…I mean, why do Norah Jones and Wyclef Jean seem to be appearing with everybody these days? The Pretenders were onstage with fucking Incubus? And Kings Of Leon? The top of my head blew off.
No, I can remember people asking for Mike Gunn stuff at Grimm shows, and I always used to think “Man, fuck these people, this is his new thing”…but then once, you guys played “Clean” and Carlos and I were like “Wow, that was cool…” so I totally contradicted my own knee-jerk attitude. You know how Hendrix on the live albums used to say “When I say ‘toilet paper’, THAT’S when you come rollin’ out!”…I love that shit. One time, at Rudyard’s…and I think Ramon might’ve been there too…some shmuck yelled out “JETHRO TULL!” during a Peglegesus set. And they immediately launched into something from Aqualung. No one said shit after that.
That schmuk that yelled Jethro Tull was probably me. Peter Voskamp’s love of Jethro Tull was well known to me and they would often do JT covers in their set. They singlehandedly revindicated JT music for me, so I would often call them to play it. Turns out once you get rid of Ian Anderson standing in one leg playing flute, they actually wrote some pretty cool songs. But the Peglegasus guys were also well known for being able to play covers as if they had written them. A lot of it because they were just so damn good. The only other band that I feel could approach that ability at the time was the Jinkies.
matthew thurman: it was really the special guests that bothered me. This seems to be the prevailing thing these days, and I just can’t understand it. Why do they need to align themselves with the newest hitmaker? In an effort to appear hip, it just backfires rapidly…I mean, why do Norah Jones and Wyclef Jean seem to be appearing with everybody these days? The Pretenders were onstage with fucking Incubus? And Kings Of Leon? The top of my head blew off.
Yeah, what I find annoying is all the newer artists are getting younger and younger and whenever you do hear about them it’s always about something other than the music they make. And the music they make seems to be made by everyone else but the artist. Seems the artist is just the “thing of the moment” that’s gonna make everybody rich.