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WHILE the cast of Horsham Arts Council’s new production Rent has been busy rehearsing their lines, the show’s band has also had a lot to learn.
Musical director Mark Block said the band comprised Josh Young on drums, Nic Campesato on bass, Kessia Peterson on keys and himself on guitar.
“I made the choice to have the bare minimum of instruments to give the band more clarity and simplicity in the sound,” he said.
“Nic, Josh and I have been playing together in and out of bands for more than 10 years however this is Kessia's first time with what some might describe as a rag-tag bunch of wannabe pub rockers.”
Mr Block said the band had been rehearsing since April.
“We knew it was going to be a complicated arrangement,” he said.
“Unfortunately we had quite a job finding a keyboardist, which is by far the most difficult role in the whole show, until Kessia stepped up and agreed to take on the challenge.”
Mr Block said being involved in Rent had been challenging.
“Even after rehearsing for many months, there are still intricacies in the music that we are fine tuning,” he said.
“It has been a challenge for all of us to play across so many different genres and styles, along with playing along to cues from an array of extremely talented vocalists.
“The raw rock and roll nature of the opening track initially drew us in and we now have a love-hate relationship with the catchy riffs that sound amazing but are difficult to play.”
However, Mr Block said despite the hard work, it had been an amazing experience.
”It is an experience that none of us have had before and it has been a fantastic opportunity to grow as musicians,” he said.
“It has also been amazing to meet and work with the talented and dedicated workers who have gone above and beyond anything we have experienced in the industry before.”
Mr Block said the band was on track for opening night.
“The one benefit of so many years of live experience is that we all have a knack for improvising,” he said.
“I'm confident that the audience will struggle to keep their posteriors in place.”
The show will open on Friday night.