My Highschool Band's First Time

When I was 14 years old, I was in a band (I had a used guitar) as we all like to think we were, even if we couldn’t really play anything. We rehearsed once a week and made a lot of nolse rather than music!! We were enthusiastic and loved the notion that we were now rock stars.”

We never really thought about gigs or anything serious, we just plodded along rehearsing in my mates lounge with our 10 watt amps when his parents were at work and we were skipping school. We had no idea how bad we were and I thought I could play anything, anytime, anywhere. Nobday was aware that we had to play in a key or in some sort of scale!! I just played any music!!!

Eventually, we found our way to the year 10 leaver’s dinner/social at the local memorial hall. The enterainment was always live back then. DJs didn’t really exist (yes, it was that long ago!) and so bands were hired. By some miracle, we got to be that band.

The band that was performing was rather lame, performing songs not really suited for a bunch of hormonally challenged 14 – 15 year old youths. In fact, they reminded me of the scene in the “American pie” movie where the band is doing an awful version of ‘don’t you forget about me’ and all the kids are bored.

A few of friends at school knew my friends and I had ‘a bit of a band going” and suggested we get up and play. All of a sudden our self assurance disappeared and we got all shy. We’re not ready we said. We just jam for fun. Fright entered all of us and none of us wanted to go. 

However, next thing we know, the “tough boys” who played football and were athletic heroes came over and told us we should play. We didn't want to play but they insisted. We pushed back. Then they said "get on stage or we will beat you up.".” It appeared we didn’t have a choice.

So with the prospect of our heads being smashed heads and loss of any degree of cool we ever thought we had, we trundled toward the stage. It never feels right playing someone else's instruments- it is like wearing someone elses's underwear!!! But we got up there any way, ready to be booed off the stage and into the dark recesses of the hall. Everyone was singing and dancing and yelling while we played. Once we got on stage, it wasn't so bad. No one really seemed to mind. Everybody loved it. We kept going and going. The tough boys applauded and the girls smiled. My guitar solos still not in any scale or key but hey, there we were a real band on a real stage!! We were suddenly too cool for school and the “it” thing at school.

What we thought was hell turned out to be heaven and we ended up getting a gig with the other band. It was the start of a long musical career that still continues to this day.