In what most performers would consider a dream come true, a Bayonne band got to take a trip to Nashville to perform recently. However, the journey turned into a nightmare when someone burglarized a van full of the band’s equipment, leaving the performers without instruments.
John Doris, one of the band’s members, said they made the trip for a private performance for a music agent, hoping to gain access to recording companies.
The Devlin Drive Band, which includes Doris, Anthony Kurasz, Joseph Iorio, and Timothy Surber, checked into a Nashville motel at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 9 after driving south from New Jersey.
In the morning, they awoke to find their van ransacked, and two guitars, a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender, missing along with other equipment.
“We were scheduled to play in Staten Island on Nov. 20, but I don’t see how that’s possible.” –John Doris
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However, their luck started to turn around.
They were talking about the theft in a diner when Lucas Hendrickson, a freelance reporter for “The Tennessean” newspaper, overheard their conversation and arranged for the band to rent equipment they could use at the audition.
Doris said the performance went well enough for the music agent to ask them to keep in touch.
“But it wasn’t our sound,” Doris lamented. “The instruments didn’t have our tuning.”
Doris said he is not certain whether auto insurance on the van will cover the loss. But during a telephone interview conducted while the band was driving through Virginia on their way back to Bayonne, he said the band may have to cancel some performances in the area until they come up with replacement equipment.
“We were scheduled to play in Staten Island on Nov. 20, but I don’t see how that’s possible,” he said.
On the rise
The band has been together about two years, gaining a good reputation through self promotion and numerous gigs throughout the New York City area.
Earlier this year, the band recorded its first extended play CD, “Get Down or Get Out,” at Portrait Recording Studios in Lincoln Park. Since the release, the band has shared the stage with a handful of national acts and has begun to gain the attention of music industry professionals throughout the country.
Doris said if insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the equipment, the band may consider doing a fundraiser, although the best way to help the band would be to order their CD at Sound City in Bayonne, Tunes in Hoboken, or online through interpunk.com.