Local band Tusk is holding a fundraiser show after fire tore through its Bamawm studio in March.
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More than $40,000 worth of music equipment was lost in the fire along with a computer with recordings and lyrics saved on it.
The fire is believed to have been started by an electrical fault.
“We were on our way to rehearse when we got the call that the studio was on fire,” band member Jaydon Weppner said.
“There was a lot of shock when we saw the damage. It didn’t sink in for a good month.”
Weppner said a 1970s drum kit that belonged to The Casanovas was lost in the fire as was a drum kit that was once the Cosmic Psychos’.
There was a lot of shock when we saw the damage. It didn’t sink in for a good month.
- Jaydon Weppner
The studio was also home to local band The Desert Eagles and was used by a number of other bands as a rehearsal space.
John Palmer, who plays with both The Desert Eagles and Tusk, said it was a massive shock.
“You don’t think anything like this could happen,” he said.
“There were about five amps, three drum kits and a computer in there that were destroyed.
“A couple of guitars didn’t burn but their cases were melted.”
Both bands have had great support from the music community with music gear and amps being loaned out to them.
Tusk’s fundraiser gig on June 3 at the MusicMan Megastore will hopefully help the musicians secure new equipment.
“All our friends have given us gear to practice with for the meantime,” Weppner said.
“We were midway through recording a CD that was on the computer, so we have to restart all that. It was about four months worth of recording. This is our first gig back but it will be hard to recreate what we had done without the gear that we need.”
Tusk, which is a duo consisting of Weppner and Palmer, has been playing together for two years.
The Desert Eagles is a trio that features Palmer and his two brothers Matt and Royce. They have been playing for more than 10 years.
Tusk’s Fire Relief Benefit Show is on Friday, June 3, from 8pm at the MusicMan Megastore in Williamson Street, Bendigo. Entry by donation.