In the aftermath of 2025’s Oundle pop showcase, Re:Loaded, I met with the charismatic character behind the scenes, our very own Chris Gardiner – or CJG to his inner circle. For those unaware, CJG is head of ‘anything that has been created in the last two hundred years and requires electricity’ in the Music Department. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility, and Mr Gardiner does not fall short on the latter, managing: guitars, drums, percussion, OSCAR, music production, and the studio. Since adopting his position at the school in 2021, he has been enhancing each field with drive and prowess.
I asked Mr Gardiner about Re:Loaded, Oundle’s primary pop/rock/country/metal concert. For those who’ve been around long enough to witness it, the transformation of Guitar Madness into the more streamlined, Re:Loaded is a perfect example of Mr Gardiner’s perfectionism. He ‘likes everything in its right place’ and this quality control is as evident in Re:loaded as a flying saucer would be in a western film. Over the last four years, he has strived to improve sound quality, lighting, offstage/onstage organisation, and the stage set (utilizing Oundle’s best-looking amplifiers) to maximal effect. ‘I think this Re:Loaded, our fourth effort, is kind of where it should be,’ he told me in his office after lunch, that Wednesday in February. ‘The [new mixing] desk is really good; the sound is the best it’s ever been. I think it’s where I wanted it to be to give pupils a chance to perform and do their thing’.
He described to me his attempts to bring the production values of the West-End productions on which he works to the School, to showcase the pupils at their best, without the artistic interference of adults. After his initial address at the beginning of the evening his goal is for ‘people [to] forget that [he] was actually involved,’ a cause this article is jeopardising!
I could also never ‘forget’ the various ways in which he has streamlined rock music at the school. Another project of his has been the enhancement of the studio. It’s clear just looking at Gascoigne’s top floor how tight a ship he runs up there. After removing ‘two skips worth’ of irreparably broken equipment, the Music Department has put together a complex with a live room and sixteen channels of audio recordable onto brand new Mac computers. I will now self-promote shamelessly and without inhibition: Eardstappa, my band and Oundle’s only heavy-math-pop power trio are soon to become the first pupil band to record an album of original material in the School studio, aiming for a release in the near future.
So, if you’re still reading you may be asking, ‘What’s next? Will Mr Gardiner’s run of relentless progress ever end?’ and to that I say, ‘NO!’ He described to me his ‘five-year-plan’ for school rock/pop music. He hopes to increase the number of electric drumkits available for practice in boarding Houses and re-open the RocSoc rehearsal room. I know for certain Eardstappa can’t wait. Additional rehearsal opportunities will give us no excuse to underperform at the new concerts on the horizon: Re:Loaded Introducing (a casual Re:Loaded for new bands – established in 2022) and Re:Loaded Unplugged (a new summer show with a ‘campfire vibe’ for bands and singer-songwriters). This year also contains a landmark Easter Concert in the Chapel, it being the first to include a pop/rock band – Mr Gardiner’s Pop Band.
Finally, there is talk of Mr Gardiner and Mr Mansell-Grace working together in the school studio on a charity single in aid of men’s mental health. Watch this space!
To conclude, Mr Gardiner is a man with a plan and a bro with a studio, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does next
