I have a lot of hobbies, including playing in a band.
I joined Sydney hard rock band DNF this time last year. I'd been playing guitar and songwriting for five years, and I'd only just started to learn bass guitar. I decided I wanted to join a band, and I was adamant about achieving my goal by any means necessary.
So I put up an ad on gumtree.com claiming to be a rhythm guitarist/bassist/songwriter.
Wasn't exactly true at the time, mainly because I didn't own a bass guitar, I was just borrowing one from my guitar teacher. Nevertheless, I put out the ad, and within a few days people began to reply.
That's when I met DNF. They told me they were looking for a bassist, and if I was keen they'd give me an audition. I quickly said yes, and then they sent me a list of four cover songs they wanted me to learn, and two original songs. I had a week to learn them before my audition.
At first, I was ecstatic, but then I realized, oh shit...now I actually need to learn these songs.
The cover list included "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns & Roses, "Creep" by Radiohead, "Come Together" by the Beatles and one of my all time favourite songs "Zombie" by The Cranberries. Luckily for me, I'd learned how to play Zombie on acoustic guitar a few years back, so I looked up the bass tab and followed it through without any major dramas. As for the rest of the songs, I found myself on YouTube, frantically trying to find bass lessons for the remaining songs. I found some helpful videos, but I was still somewhat puzzled, so I called my guitar teacher and asked for a bass lesson.
In one hour lesson, I somehow managed to work out the four cover songs, plus the two originals.
Audition day had arrived. I rocked up outside the rehearsal warehouse feeling very much out of my comfort zone. Figuring it was too late to back out, I walked inside the warehouse and met with DNF. I had with me a tiny Squire amp (yep, not even a bass amp) and the guys took one look at it, and suggested I plug it into the PA instead. They helped me set up my gear, mainly because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and then I had to tune up my guitar. My tuner wasn't working, and again, it was probably because it was a cheap $30 one I'd brought over five years ago.
I'd already made an impression without even had played a single chord. And that impression was not a good one. Nevertheless, I got through the audition, and I played pretty mediocre, and made plenty of mistakes. So I left the audition, feeling liked I completely arsed up my chances, and chalked it up to an experience.
Then a few days passed and they called me back for a second rehearsal. Could not believe my luck.
And the rest is history.
I've been playing with DNF for a year now, we've been doing gigs for the last six months all across Sydney, and I've enjoyed every second of it. At the moment we're in the process of recording our five track EP, and we've got a gig at the Sando on the 21st this month - the first one of the year, and hopefully the first of many more to come.
http://www.myspace.com/banddnf
- JD
No comments:
Post a Comment