Here are five instances when rock musicians attended the same high school before achieving success later in life.

Some instantly bonded and formed a band, while others reconnected only after receiving nominations at awards shows following their rise to fame.

From taking each other to their first Judas Priest concert to skipping class to hang out at 7-Eleven, these five rock duos first met in high school.

Adam Jones (Tool) and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)

High School: Libertyville High School

City: Libertyville, Illinois

What they said about high school: Tom Morello once referred to Adam Jones as the “sole talented musician in our high school band.”

He also credits Jones for shaping him into the guitarist he is today. “He showed me chords, ‘pinch’ harmonics, drove us to see Judas Priest at Alpine Valley (Music Theater) in his pick-up truck for inspiration, and was ceaselessly encouraging when I was a beginning guitarist,” Morello stated in a 2024 Facebook post.

The two later became roommates when Morello relocated to Los Angeles.

Slash (Guns N’ Roses) and Lenny Kravitz

High School: Beverly Hills High School

City: Beverly Hills, California

What they said about high school: Lenny Kravitz was convinced that the guy with long hair and a top hat sitting in front of him at the 1990 American Music Awards was someone from his high school. The two had not seen each other since their time at Beverly Hills High School.

“He and I just kept looking at each other like, ‘I know you… Not ‘I know that you’re Lenny Kravitz and you’re Slash – but, like, I know you,'” Kravitz told Music Radar. “Then we realized we knew each other from high school. So we started talking and were excited to meet each other again, especially the fact we were both making music.”

Flea and Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

High School: Fairfax High School

City: Los Angeles

What they said about high school: Anthony Kiedis had only one friend when he transferred to Fairfax High School in the 10th grade, and it wasn’t Flea.

Kiedis shared that he was hanging out with his buddy outside of school when another kid named Mike (Flea) approached them and put Kiedis’s friend in a headlock. The future Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer wasn’t pleased. “He told me in no uncertain terms, ‘Lay off him,'” Flea recounted in an interview with Fuse.

It turned out Flea was also friends with the other kid and was just joking. “I was scared of (Kiedis). He had a crew cut that nobody had in our 10th grade. Every kid had a bush in his back pocket and hair feathered back.”

READ MORE: Before They Were Famous – See Over 150 Rock Star Yearbook Photos

Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee (Rush)

High School: Newtonbrook Secondary School

City: Toronto

What they said about high school:  The friendship between Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee began when they found themselves sitting at the back of the class in junior high. “He was really funny,” Lee told AXS TV. “We sort of connected, and he played guitar.”

This connection led to jam sessions between the two.

Lifeson was already in a band called Rush at the time, with Lee joining later when the original bass player couldn’t make a gig. “I didn’t know at the time that I would be spending the rest of my life with this crazy Serbian guy.”

Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)

High School: Pinole Valley High School

City: Pinole, California

What they said about high school: Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day met while attending Pinole Valley High School. They also spent a significant amount of time together NOT attending Pinole Valley High School, often opting to skip class instead.

During a ceremony at a 7-Eleven across from the high school in 2024, when the band was presented with the key to Pinole, Dirnt stated that the two would skip school “always in the search for something creative and finding our people, our tribe.”

Those friends were crucial to Dirnt and Armstrong continuing to play music together. “Almost everyone but our friends ignored us,” Dirnt said in an Instagram post where he shared a photo of the two performing on stage in high school. “But playing for friends was the best, and always will be!”