School of Rock if it was 1988

Elysha and I were watching the last 30 minutes of School of Rock last night. I’ve seen the movie before, and I had planned to watching something else, but when you land on the last 30 minutes of School of Rock, how do you not watch?

When the movie ended, I wondered:

How many of those kids were actually playing their instruments?

Were they actors who wanted to be musicians, and were they musicians who the casting agent hired because they could also act?

What are they doing today?

If it were 1988, when I was sixteen years-old, I would wonder about the answers to these questions, then I would pick myself off the sofa and move on with my life, never expecting to find an answer.

Isn’t that incredible?

Prior to the Internet, you just didn’t get to know anything. Unless it was important enough to be written about in a book, and unless that book could be found in your local library or the Waldenbooks at the mall, you didn’t get to know a damn thing.

It was an amazing time. Frustrating, too, but also amazing. Uncomplicated.

It was also a time when knowledge was power. If you knew something, it had value. It made you interesting. People who read widely were prized for their conversational appeal.

Now everyone get to know everything at all times.

So instead of picking myself off the sofa, I reached for my laptop, and in seconds, I had an entire page of links to articles entitled “School of Rock: Where Are They Now?” and “School of Rock Then and Now” and many, many more.

Dozens.

More information about these kids than I could’ve ever wanted.

Not only was I able to learn that all of those kids were playing their instruments, but I also discovered that the guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player are professional musicians today.

None of the backup singers pursued a career in music, but two of the three had careers in show business.

The manager of the band, Miranda Cosgrove, has enjoyed a fairly successful career as an actor.

The wardrobe designer, Brian Falduto, never acted again but garnered headlines back in March of 2018 through a piece he wrote for Advocate regarding the struggle he had in coming out as gay for 20 years immediately following the release of the film. He recently released his first album and publishes videos on his YouTube channel of covers and performances of his original songs.

And the bassist in the band?

Rebecca Brown turned to comedy after School of Rock, working with The Second City in Chicago. She continues to sing and play guitar, regularly sharing videos of her performances and covers on her YouTube channel.

On the age of the Internet, everyone gets to know everything at all times. Mysteries are explained with the tapping of a few keys.

Yet the number of stupid people in this world has seemingly swelled beyond measure in recent years.

But perhaps that’s the internet, too, just allowing the stupid people to make themselves known and amplifying their stupid voices.

I like the internet. In many ways, the internet has benefited me enormously.

But I also think that 1988 was pretty great, too.