"Rules for effective reunions of rock & roll bands"

[DirtyMartini]

I haven't had the chance to read the article yet, but I thought folks here might appreciate/argue with Rick Moody's "rules for effective reunions of a rock and roll bands" [emphasis below his]:

1) The maximum number of original members should be present in the reunion.

2) Or: the maximum number of members from the period of greatest effectiveness should be present for the reunion.

3) The band should be able to play, without additional players, their preeminent works.

4) The band should tour first—before heading into the studio.

5) The band should play the major works on the road, though obscurities are also reasonable.

6) After touring, the band should attempt to write and then record new material with the same lineup as during the reunion tour.

7) The reunion should not be concerned with what is happening now, as much as it should be concerned with what was happening then.

8 ) The new material doesn’t need to sound exactly like the old material, but it should be aware of the old material.

9) The band does not need to love one another in order to conduction a reunion, but the band should be aware that the reunion itself is an expression of love.

10) The reunion does not need to proceed indefinitely. Knowing when to stop a second time is as important as knowing when to stop the first time.

If you follow this template, your reunion is bound to be of interest, at least dramatically, to the audience that initially spent time with you when you were here before . . .

[sockii]

Pretty cool - I give those rules a pretty hearty thumbs-up.

Also encapsulates so much of why Yes sounded like absolute garbage when I saw them earlier this summer...

[63falcon]

Probaly why Tourzilla ended up morphing into just that, after the initial 4 or 5 months of dates were initially announced. An astute band The Police is!

[Tamadude]

I really wish #6 came true after 'zilla.

Who knows. Maybe there WAS an attempt.....

[Tamadude]

....and for #11, I would add:

Rotate setlists frequently, and try to insert as many songs as possible from the catalogue, throughout the tour.

[smudge]

What I love about this piece is that it starts off with generalisations that seem awfully familiar. It spends paragraph after paragraph largely discussing a band I've never even heard of, and then concludes with bullet points which seem awfully familiar. It's simultaneously a validation of our collective insanity and a scary insight into it. Thanks Kellie!

[smax]

good list.

there's a missed one that the police stuck to:

Don't bother releasing much old merchandise in case people question how good you now are compared to 'back in the day'. Don't worry about the fans being disappointed as they'll all be so pleased to see that you're back that they'll go to as many gigs as possible, so you'll still get their money"

you could also chuck something in about the fact that your shows are going to be bootlegged to hell so you might want to vary what you say in between songs or the set list itself otherwise people may become a little disenchanted with the predictability of said bootlegs.

oh, and don't say in the official fucking tour programme that you're going to release an acoustic album if you're not actually capable of being in the same room with each other to record any bleedin' songs....

[samburusunset]

Hmmm...sort of, more or less sounds like some people we know.

Varying the set list woulda been nice, too.

(And, that acoustic album.....woulda like to have heard that too, Smax)






Re Yes: I have to concur. Saw them with Frampton last year. Thank God Frampton played first (He was AWESOME). I had to leave 1/2 way thru Yes set. Got tired of everything being 10 minutes long and sounding the same while the lead singer spun around like a whirling dervish. Cut my losses and got to the garage before I got gridlocked in.