The band, who made their formal public debut on the night, had already been scheduled to play when vocalist Mark Ritchie suggested donating their performance fee to support the school’s recovery after the November 29 fire.
That idea quickly snowballed.
“We were already booked to play, and Mark came up with the idea to support the high school,” guitarist Chris Bodey said.
“It started out with us just deciding to donate the band fee, but then we got talking with the RSL and P&C and it went from there.
“It’s the typical Deni thing, the community coming together and supporting one another.”
RSL operations manager Jamie Hicks said the club was more than happy to get behind the initiative.
“The band came up with the idea, and we were just happy to be able to support it,” he said.
“It went really well. The raffle was a big success, bar donations as well, and the band fee all contributed to the total raised. The community really got around it.”
By the end of the night, the fundraiser had collected $13,222.
The money will be held by the school’s P&C and used for items identified by students once they they return to class.
It will be used to cover the “extras” not covered by insurance and grant funding, but which make a difference in day‑to‑day school life.
“Things will pop up. Once students are back at school they’ll know what they are after,” school captain Baxter Cowley said.
Fellow captain Samara Watson said the support had been overwhelming.
“We’re really grateful to the RSL, the band and the community for coming together like this,” she said.
For Reminiscing, the night was both a debut and a reminder of why they play.
“We’re keen to play more often; we do these things because we want to play,” Mr Bodey said.
