Tales from the Band Van: 13 auditions later, in a hot and humid shed, we have our drummer

We always said the drummer and the bassist are the heartbeat of the band, so we were on a search to find the drummer that would fit that LILAKK sound.

Now just like our 90s idols such as Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains that started out in garages, we too come from humble backgrounds. Finding a practice space in the beginning was difficult until a couple from Sylvania, Marcie and Christopher Doyle, offered us their shed as a practice space.

Now Sylvania is out in the country — lots of farm land. Our genre isn’t the norm for this area so we were very grateful for them to offer us their space. It was also in that shed that we held all 13 auditions before we found LILAKK’s drummer, Zachary Young.

Credit: Calli Joiner / For Do Savannah

Credit: Calli Joiner / For Do Savannah

It was the start of summer, all 13 auditions took place in the hot and humid practice shed, which also had no air conditioning. Now we had drummers from all different counties travel to audition for us, some that even traveled from as far as three hours away. All walks of life poured their hearts out and were very talented but there was still something missing.

Months went by and we were starting to get discouraged that we would never find the right drummer.

When you are in a band, its more than connecting through friendship. The look and sound all have a major contribution, but it’s also connecting on that spiritual level. It’s a feeling and vibe that you can’t really explain or know until it’s there in your face.

Then it hit us, a young lad showed up at our door.

Credit: Courtesy of LILAKK

Credit: Courtesy of LILAKK

Standing at 6’2, 200 pound with long dirty blonde locks and a goofy smile, no expectations at this point, we gave him a shot.

We introduced ourselves and then we walked into the shed and Kirk directed him on one of our songs. Zach hit his bass drum and he hit it hard and fast, and Kirk and I looked at each other and smiled.

We spent the rest of that afternoon going through each song.

It wasn’t forced, it felt natural like we had been playing together for years. The vibe in the room felt right and euphoric and without even saying it we all were in agreeance that this was it.

We had found our person, LILAKK’s drummer, and in that tiny shed on that hot summer day, we found the final piece to our puzzle and it was the start of something extraordinary.

Calli Joiner is the vocalist and rhythm guitar player for the Savannah-based band, Lilakk. Her diaries from the road can be found at savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tales from the Band Van: 13 auditions later, in a hot and humid shed, we have our drummer