In mid-90s London, England, at the age of 15, Dain excitedly listened as his best friend Matt suggested that they start a band. They had formed a similar music taste, with R.E.M. and Crowded House being the artists that made them want to transition from being mere music enthusiasts to becoming musicians. Dain eagerly agreed. They then set about their first task: to actually learn to play musical instruments.
Borrowing Matt’s father’s acoustic guitar (the action on it was about as big as the River Thames…Dain still shudders at the memory of those painful fingertips) they borrowed two sheet music books from the local library (R.E.M.’s ‘Out of Time’ and Crowded House’s ‘Woodface’) and – after a little instruction from Matt’s father on what guitar chord boxes were – set about learning the songs of two of their favourite bands.
Before too long, Dain had gotten his very own guitar – a sunburst Hohner Stratocaster copy – after begging for one for his 16th birthday. He’s gone electric and loved it! ‘Webster’ was born not long after, with Matt on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jimmy sharing lead and rhythm guitar duties with Dain, Denzil on bass, and Charlotte on drums. The Britpop scene was at its height, and with bands like Oasis and Blur harking back to the music of the likes of The Beatles and The Kinks, there was a renewed interest in old-school bands that had real musicians playing real music. Webster was soon playing gigs at local pubs, function rooms, and the school rugby club as they badly (but with great enthusiasm) belted out the music of the aforementioned Blur, Oasis, R.E.M., and Crowded House, along with tunes by Radiohead, Weezer, Pulp, and The Beatles. They even played a few original songs which got a surprisingly positive response from their friends.
Webster disbanded after a while, but Dain’s love of playing guitar remained as he jammed with friends over the years and began to get more serious with his playing. There were some dry spells over that time, especially with Dain focussing on filmmaking, but a relocation from the UK to Northern California several years ago, and subsequent new-found friendships with musicians, gave him a renewed interest in music. He also took up playing the bass a couple of years back, which gave his guitar-playing a new direction. Then, in late 2019, a meeting with Mick Orton of The Silvers led to a new chapter as he was invited to become lead guitarist for the band.
Dain counts Crowded House, R.E.M., Blur and Radiohead as being highly influential on him, along with Pavement, Stephen Malkmus (and the Jicks), Supergrass, Wilco, and The Clash.
Categories: About Us, The Silvers
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