Bands in Your School That Intimidated You

**ArtyBoy** · 04.24.19, 12:49 PM

Awhile back we were talking about bands in our school years that intimidated us. This is (one of) mine. These guys were my school's Van Halen. They were already a professional working band at just 18. They were the house band at Six Flags, got paid to play other school's proms, and even played fraternity parties all over the Southeast over the summer.

What you see here is a cornerstone of my musical memories and development. I was a 15 year old freshman with a Peavey T-15 and an amp with a 10" speaker. These guys rolled into the high school talent show not in their mom's van, but a real BOX TRUCK, and the equipment just kept coming...and coming...and coming! They owned a PA big enough to play a 1,500 seat theater, with their own sound man. During rehearsals, every time the curtain opened, the guitar guy had a different axe. They had a wooden road case painted white that had a bunch of girl's handwriting on it that read like a bathroom wall: "I wanna lick your nuts!" I couldn't believe this was sitting in the middle of the gym floor!

I was backstage as part of the talent show cast, and I remember when they were announced you heard a rumble like the bleachers had collapsed. When the curtain opened, I couldn't believe the entire gym had rushed to the front of the stage. People were out there on their friend's shoulders giving the devil fingers like a real rock concert! If these guys were in my high school gym in Bumfuck suburban Atlanta, what else was out there?!

For some bizarre reason, like so many extremely talented people I've known, they kept at it for all of maybe a year and a half after high school, then quit. A few of them have recently reformed as a band playing Bruno Mars and yact rock type stuff for us middle agers, and they sound great, if that's your thing. The guitar guy is a pastor and one of my Facebook friends (due to this video) and only recently started playing guitar again after a decades-long layoff.

When spring hits my mind always goes back to this night. It almost scared me out of playing music, yet made me dream about what might be possible.

Songs: "I Want You to Want Me" and the jam half of "Freebird." The long drum solo is edited! Watch the whole thing!

I wondered if this deserved its own thread, but we've got 200-page long threads on Drivin' n' Cryin' and Devin Townshend that have one poster each, so why not?!

**billy007** · 04.24.19, 01:52 PM

I don't know about intimidated, and I knew very few kids that were in actual bands, not the high school band, but one year during the Camp Waban telethon (a local telethon for our camp for special needs kids (they weren't called that then) that was broadcast on our local cable access channel) there was a band comprised of a few guys from school and I was kind of impressed by that. I think probably because I was friendly with some of the guys but didn't know they had a band. Once I went to college, even though it was a small two year school in Yonkers, New York, there were tons of dudes with guitars in the dorm. My roommate let me make weird noises with his a few times.

**japeape** · 04.24.19, 01:57 PM

When i got out of high school & moved a few miles into Boston, i'd see these guys tear it up
every month at The Channel club.

At that moment i realized i wasn't in Kansas, anymore.

**Bugs Meanie** · 04.24.19, 02:19 PM

There was a group of 7 or 8 of my same-age friends that had all started playing guitar anywhere between 5th grade & 10th grade. Unfortunately, I was one of the last of my friends to start playing so I had a lot of catching up to do. I wasn't intimidated to the point I wouldn't play guitar... but I was intimidated to play in front of any of them without apologizing first.

I still play and I still have a hard time playing in front of any kind of audience (except the wife & kids, they have to hear it). It's not because of my friends or intimidation tho, it's probably just because I'm introverted about my playing

**Dave's Dreidel** · 04.24.19, 02:50 PM

There was a guy we called "Moondog", can't remember his real name. Man, that guy could wail, was playing gigs all over the place with real local bands when he was 16, 17 years old, playing clubs in DC and Baltimore. Always liked him, shared a few drinks and a few blunts with him back in the day. This thread made me think about what happened to him.

**Rokgtar** · 04.24.19, 03:03 PM

We had a battle of the bands when I was in high school; some guys I sorta knew had a band played and they had a slightly older girl singer, who was good looking , sang with attitude and could command the stage. I remember them playing ATBL and I thought the roof was going to blow off of the place! I was just starting to learn guitar and couldn’t believe these folks my age could play so well. After that, they were rock stars at school. I wasn’t intimidated, just blown away and it made me want to play guitar even more.

They played Message in a Bottle too, quite well.

**Raldo** · 04.24.19, 03:39 PM

Matt Starr who drums for a lot of people is from my hometown. He was a year ahead of me 8n school. Go by his house and he’d be wailing away on his drums.

**MasterP** · 04.24.19, 05:25 PM

There were a bunch of us who started playing around middle school. Back then you'd be changing band members left and right to find the right combination of players and personalities. Two of the guys I went to high school with who achieved some notoriety: Pete Prown who wrote for Guitar World and still writes for Vintage Guitar and Dave DiPietro who played with TT Quick.

**Naked Wake** · 04.25.19, 08:06 AM

I went to high school with this guy, but I wasn't intimidated by him. I was looked at as one of the more respected guitarists in the school but he was much better than me. I was ok with that. He hung out more with the popular crowd so I don't even know how many people really appreciated how good he was (and he's probably much better than that now).

http://www.chrisbuono.com/

**Wildman** · 04.25.19, 11:38 AM

I was never intimidated by anyone in high school. The bands at my school during the time were the Figskinz and they were only big because they consisted of popular kids, not because they could play.

We had one shredder at my school, but he wasn't great at it. A lot of people had the impression that I was the best guitarist in school, but they were grossly mistaken. I could do some things really well, and I was fast. I didn't play in an actual band until I was out of high school, though. My reputation far, far exceeded my capabilities. lol

The best musician at my school at the time was Rusty Zinn. Not because he was necessarily really good then, but he just had "it." He's still playing and recording.

Santa Cruz was a different place. There was always competition, but at the same time, most everyone was cool with each other, and supportive.

**bsbll4** · 04.25.19, 11:53 AM

There was a punk/ska band that was pretty well known locally when I was in high school but the name escapes me. I remember my friend at the time inviting me to a battle of the bands where they were going to play. They were awesome even if it wasn't my favorite kind of music. The gym sized crowd was eating it up and the lead singer owned that gym. I later found out they were "retiring" as the band was splitting up just a couple of months later as I'm guessing they were all heading off to different colleges. I always wonder what they could have been if they stuck with it. I'm sure that's a common theme of many bands.

**PrideofPasadena** · 04.26.19, 12:44 AM

None of them intimidated me. We had two great bands. One was VH and other metal rock stuff. The guitarist was amazing!
He could play VH perfect. And everything else.

The other was a pop/alternative band. They were awesome! Female and male singers, great keyboard guy, sax player...they were good.

It was just fun having these bands playing all the parties. It made for the best parties of my life.

Four or five really good guitarist in my school/neighborhood. No intimidation. Great to watch them and get lessons. And a couple of them were really close friends.

**PrideofPasadena** · 04.26.19, 12:54 AM

Those band in my HS weren't "professional", so, the mindset was more fun.
But yeah, we had a warehouse district where all the pros practiced. That was a down to business attitude.
The bands were usually cool. It was their fans and girlfriends that annoyed me. " That, this is the greatest band ever attitude and everything else sucks".....shut the fuck up!

**Sam Vs. Dave** · 04.26.19, 02:17 AM

Nobody. Man, we air-guitared and lip synched our way through high school, but nobody that I knew had any actual talent...

WASHINGTON STATE!!! Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Still don't know how they "made it"."

**ArtyBoy** · 04.28.19, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Rokgtar

We had a battle of the bands when I was in high school; some guys I sorta knew had a band played and they had a slightly older girl singer, who was good looking , sang with attitude and could command the stage. I remember them playing ATBL and I thought the roof was going to blow off of the place! I was just starting to learn guitar and couldn’t believe these folks my age could play so well. After that, they were rock stars at school. I wasn’t intimidated, just blown away and it made me want to play guitar even more.

They played Message in a Bottle too, quite well.

I looked for the old thread to try to remember who I had been talking to about this stuff. It was you! In the "Best YouTube guitarists" thread back in September 2017!

Sorry I keep going down video memory lane, but I'm still stuck back on that gym floor. The band I posted was invited back to play the next year after they graduated. They played "Girl Can't Help It" by Journey, and it's stellar. If you like Journey at all, check this out! Attempting these harmonies could potentially break up a band.

Of course they gave up just months later. Foolish!