AS an employee of Lander’s Music and drummer for local metal band Deprivation, it probably comes as no surprise that for Albie Bevan music equals life.
Having struggled through the earlier years of his life balancing work and managing a household while completing his Higher School Certificate all at the age of 17, his passion for music has always helped him overcome these little battles in his life.
While Albie has always been strongly drawn to music and been a regular customer at Lander’s since he was eight, he says it is not something that runs in his family.
“Definitely not, my mum used to drop me off at Lander’s when she did the shopping and it was like my music-shop nursery.”
However it wasn’t until Albie was in year eight that he became really inspired to take his passion for music to a professional level after seeing a musical performance by students at Orange High School.
“I think that is where my music inspiration really took off,” Albie said.
“I though ‘these kids are my age and doing that’. Orange High has such an inspirational music program.”
Albie pursued his passion for music right throughout his high school years before enrolling in a music course at TAFE with the hopes of becoming a music teacher or becoming involved in the industry. Due to financial issues Albie was unable to keep purusing his goal through TAFE and took up a job at Electrolux alongside his father.
Despite having to leave TAFE, music was far from disappearing from Albie’s life.
Local metal band Deprivation had just lost their drummer at the time and were looking for an enthusiastic musician like Albie to take up a place in the band.
Despite having always harboured a love for metal music, Albie had dismissed playing the genre until that point believing it would be too difficult.
“I always though it was too hard and might hurt at the end of the day,” he said.
But once again, Albie’s passion for music overcame his doubts and he quickly began practising on the drums up to seven hours a day for three months straight to make his mark in the band, which has now became a major part of his life.
“My main focus is Deprivation, and it always has been. I have moulded my life around them.”
Albie had an instant rapport with the drums and believes it is the most fun and personal instrument.
“You throw your whole body into it, and you need no skill whatsoever. People come in and say they have no coordination but all I ask them is if they can count to four, then that is all they need to know.”
As a testament to the amount of effort Albie puts into his drumming he says he has lost up to 32 kilograms simply from the intense physicality of it
“I have spewed on stage before because I gave so much,” Albie admitted.
“My motto is that if you come off stage and don’t feel like you want to throw up then you haven’t given enough.”
Albie even prepares for Deprivation’s shows similar to an athlete, stocking up on carbohydrates topped off with a Red Bull before a performance to help him play that little bit harder.
Having landed a job last month at Lander’s after trying to gain employment there for years, Albie is now able to truly combine his passion for music while being able to put food on the table.
“They have been the best employers I have ever had and understand that to me music is life.
“Music makes me so happy, it is an outlet for when things get hard.
“Without it I probably would have been dead in a gutter long ago.”
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