DeVere - PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the hard rock/heavy metal band, DeVere, reveals what they do before taking the stage. You can check out the rituals below:

3:00 PM: The band arrives at the venue and unloads the cheapest hire van we could find, packed with level-29 Tetris precision. With the help of our roadies (mates) Norman, Nick, and Jonjo, we carry the four Marshall amps, two Ampeg bass amps, double kick drum kit, four guitars, two basses, one Audix OM5 microphone (lovingly named Linda), lights, hazers, skulls, chains, coffins, and other hard rock paraphernalia up whatever hellish, labyrinthine staircase the venue has in store. (Labyrinthine is not a word, but it should be!)

4:00 PM: One beer each to celebrate our achievements thus far.

4:20 PM: The shrine of equipment that has gathered in the venue, upon whatever floor appeared least sticky in the darkness (great title for an album, by the way), is carefully and methodically set up, mic’d up, and plugged in on “stage” until it looks reminiscent of a Ronnie James Dio arena show in the '80s if you squint and use your imagination.

5:00 PM: Another beer to celebrate that nobody got electrocuted. If they did, they get two beers.

5:20 PM: We soundcheck, get a level we’re all happy with, and, most importantly, the venue is happy with. Then we turn it up to 11 while the venue manager is occupied arguing with Jonjo about the pyros that have somehow magically appeared on stage. We’re all shocked and appalled, obviously!

6:00 PM: This is a sacred time. The band gets ready while the venue fills up. It’s usually just the four of us in this moment, and if you’ve never dressed head to toe in leather and studs with three other dudes wearing eyeliner in a room only slightly bigger than an airplane bathroom, then you won’t understand JUST how sacred this is.

6:30 PM: Beer while wearing leather pants. This beer always tastes different. Again, if you’ve never drunk a beer in leather pants, it’s hard to describe.

7:00 PM: We watch the badass support band go on and hype up the audience as we feel the air temperature start to increase. Word of mouth has been good to us; so much so that at 7:30 PM we’re obligated to head outside and apologize to those who can’t get in because the gig is sold out (it’s always sold out, we told you to book in advance!) before making our way back inside, where we’ll have a beer in honor of those who didn’t make it.

7:50 PM: We stand in the wings ready to rock. Final touches are added. Will (bass) puts on a cowboy hat and sunglasses. George (drums) takes off his rings, knowing his hands will be bloodied by the time he finishes his drum solo. Mike (guitar) makes out with his fiancée or, if she has time, she’ll give him a tattoo (this is not a euphemism; she’s a tattoo artist, and she’s f***in' awesome). Sam (singer) takes off his shirt; we don’t know why he bothers to put it on in the first place. We check there are buckets at the side of the stage in case someone is sick (it happens) and that there are beers next to said buckets.

8:00 PM: The band huddles together as the lights dim and the crowd calls out our name. We pray to the old gods! Gods of our ancestors, of our blood! We ask for a glorious death and cry, "VALHALLA!"

8:04 PM: Time to rock. DeVere takes to the stage. To be honest, it’s a blur. But for a moment, just one brief moment, rock 'n' roll is well and truly alive.

(Note: Some facts have been altered for entertainment purposes. For example, sometimes we play at 9:00 PM.)

Keep up with DeVere on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and their website.