J. Willoughby hopes tonight's reunion of the Newboys goes well. He's crossing his fingers.
Because after parting ways in 1990, the band - a staple of college parties and Birmingham concert stages in the late 1980s - is getting together at WorkPlay after just one night of rehearsal.
"We've been e-mailing back and forth, and we planned to get together Thursday night, and I told them we have a 30-minute reminiscing rule," Willoughby says from Orlando, where he is a radio personality. "Then, if we get all the stuff down OK, we can sit down and do it again."
The Newboys headline tonight's Iron Bowl of Rock and Roll, which also features the Plaid Camels and Month of Sundays. (Tickets for the 9 p.m. show are $12, available at 380-4082 or
).
Here are five things you may want to know about Willoughby and his bandmates:
Home again:
The Newboys started when Rob Thorworth called Willoughby, who was songwriting in Nashville after graduating from the University of Alabama, and convinced him to come back to Tuscaloosa. The original lineup was Willoughby and Thorworth on guitar and vocals, Stephen Collins on bass and Keith Shamblin on drums and vocals. Chip Arn and John Scalici later became the bass player and drummer, respectively. All six will play at WorkPlay tonight.
What's in a name?
The Newboys got its name from two places, according to Willoughby. First of all, both Thorworth and Shamblin were "new boys" in a fraternity when the band began. Second, Pink Floyd's "Young Lust" opens with the line, "I am just a new boy."
Big company:
College radio music charts in 1987 included the Newboys' "Newboys" LP in the top 10, alongside LPs (those were albums, youngsters) including Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is," Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" and Beastie Boys' "Licensed to Ill."
By request:
The band's biggest hit, says Willoughby, was "Dramatics of Love." You can hear it tonight and on the Newboys' My Space site (
www.myspace.com/thenewboysband
).
Beginnings and endings:
The band's first gig was at Galette's in Tuscaloosa in December 1984. The guys last sang together in September 1990 at Birmingham's Louie Louie's.
Alec Harvey