By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Long-time residents of Reserve may have experienced a blast of nostalgia recently as the music of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s wafted through the air around St. John Theatre.

The reason was not a revival of the musical “Hair” or anything like that. Rather, the force behind the tunes was the Reserve-bred band Image and their upcoming reunion show at San Francisco Plantation.

The band, which began as The Outer Limits, will feature original members Ron Keller on vocals, Richard “Derf” Oubre on bass and Jeff Luminais on guitar. Kevin Aucoin, who was a fan of the band during their heyday, will sit in on drums.

The band got its start in 1966, when the members were all around 15 years old and attending local schools. During the early years, they even rehearsed at St. John Theatre, so the recent reunion rehearsals represented something akin to coming full circle for the band.

Although the band had to start from scratch — the members did not even own all the necessary instruments much less know how to play them — within a few years, it would make an appearance on a national television show. It was the first regional rock band to achieve such a feat.

“The TV show aired the day of my senior prom, so I was really popular that day,” said Luminais.

After that television appearance, the group released a single that got some attention from local radio stations.

Also around this time, the group was playing regular gigs at just about any venue they could find. They played VFW halls, firehouses, schools and fraternity parties as well as local clubs.

Aucoin remembers seeing the band play many times as a youth.

“I was a fan of these guys,” said Aucoin. “These guys supplied us our fun. This was a big thing for us.”

Of all the venues the band played through the years, one in particular stands out.

“In Norco, you had the famous Pink Potato,” said Aucoin. “It was fun because it was an actual club.”

In fact, Image played the first gig ever at the Pink Potato and also played the final gig at the venue in 1975.

Around this time, the band members began thinking about careers, and some parted to begin “real” jobs. Keller, who still makes a living in the world of music, played in different incarnations of Image for a few years before disbanding it to concentrate on other endeavors.

In 2005, Oubre’s father passed away, and it was at the funeral that the band members began discussing a reunion.

“Everything happens at the proper time,” said Oubre, who has made a living as a pharmacist in the intervening decades.

And although even this one-off show has taken years to finally come together, the anticipation has been palpable.

“It’s really gotten folks together,” said Keller. “It’s a family production.”

The Show is happening Saturday at 9 p.m. at San Francisco Plantation in Garyville. Attendees can expect to hear familiar tunes from the Moody Blues, the Beatles, Steppenwolf and the Rolling Stones, along with a couple of originals.

“There will be lots of material we did back then,” said Keller.

VIP tickets for the concert, which include a meal and time to mingle with the bad, sold out quickly, but some $20 general admission tickets are still available at San Francisco Plantation. Visit www.sanfranciscoplantation.org for more information.