Not enough of us get to really enjoy a hobby, a pastime, an avocation, for a period of ten, twenty, or thirty years. We find we can’t run as fast or as far, we don’t have the time or resources, or the people with which we once shared that experience are no longer part of our lives.

Like the movie plot out of something like The Perfect Storm, the Rejects have been able to maintain the roots of performing as a musical band without sacrificing their friendships, their passion for performing songs new and old, or the love of being with people who love music as much as they do. We find ourselves truly fortunate to have nurtured a small spark into the flame that warms us every time we take the stage. People often remark about our ability to look like we are having fun. Little do they realize just how much fun we truly have as individuals and as a group.

The enjoyment doesn’t start with the first note; it starts with pizza. Pizza? As many Tuesdays as we can, we meet to practice, share a meal, and catch up with each other. When once the stories focused on children, these days the stories tend to center on grandchildren as often as not. Yes, we have been blessed with remarkable children, but several of us have also been fortunate to enjoy a second generation of young ones in the added role of grandparents. It gets better and better.

We could tell stories for hours about the times we took the long way or the wrong way (Never let Brian be in the lead!) to a destination. Fortunately, we have never stayed lost forever though our arrival and set up time has been feverish on occasions. When we do arrive, we move with the easy confidence that everyone knows their jobs and responsibilities from hanging up the sign to lifting the main speakers up on their stands. We know when to tape down cords, when to plug in instruments, when to look for another member of the band who might need an extra hand so that we might help.

When the time to perform does arrive, we know it is the time for us to enjoy the music we play, but it is also time for us to help everyone in our audience enjoy it as well. When we see people laughing, singing along, dancing, or just quietly smiling, we know we have done our job. That is such a powerful feeling and frequently drives us to such great lengths in expending energy in our performance, we are totally exhausted by the night’s end. Then it is time to reverse the process and break down the stage and load the equipment one more time. But the night usually isn’t complete until we cement the day with an ice cream social of our own be it Graeter’s, UDF (our favorite!), or the local soft serve whippy dip. Then it is time to go back to our families and our homes a little bit happier, a little bit more content, a little bit luckier to have the people in our lives who share this bond. Some people are never fortunate to be a part of such activities; others share it only occasionally. To have been a part of such a singular group? It is more than a MasterCard commercial when we say what we do is priceless, for who can begin to measure everything that goes into being a Reject?

So, what do you want on your pizza?

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For fun, click on the "GarageBand" box above. You can listen to vintage Reject music, download it for free, and even offer feedback to the Rejects regarding their recordings. Check back often as we hope to add more songs, some of which have never been released before!! The Rejects are Steve Flaum (alias Dr. Humm), Brian Hinders (alias Brain), Mike Hill (alias Mickey), Beth Hill (alias Betty), Don Corbet (alias Donny), Dan Hill (alias Danny), and Trish Hill (alias The Lovely). We hope to see you all soon at a future gig. Check out our calendar page.

 

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