Earlier this year, The Dismen, a local band from Stonewall, powered by nostalgia and good times formed to create good memories while entertaining.
The Dismen started as a pipe dream for Derek Gaboury. The band includes Gaboury, the drummer and one of the vocalists; Brendan Fast, bassist; Jamie Longe on rhythm guitar; Garret Wilkinson, lead guitar and vocals; and Dan DiMuzio, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, and harmonica.
Gaboury, a musician his whole life, has played in multiple bands. He grew up in Brandon, so when moving to Stonewall, there was a shift in learning who is out there for different players.
In January and February of this year, Gaboury got serious about finding other bandmates. It was only a few short weeks until he established a group of other like-minded musicians and formed the The Dismen.
“We were able to hit the ground running,” said Gaboury.
In the spring, the group finally started rehearsing, and they formulated a plan of what they wanted to do as a band going forward and what their goals were as individuals.
“When talking with one of our other members, Jamie Longe, he and I came together and said we wanted to do something a little more nostalgic for ourselves. We wanted to hit the 80s, 90s, early 2000s era of music and be able to get out there and do it in a way that is fun for us, but at the same time still get into the idea of putting out a product, that we can facilitate good times for everyone as well,” said Gaboury.
While performing onstage, the band’s main goal is to create good memories by playing nostalgic songs and bringing back memories. The Dismen covers are rock but hit on light rock, pop and country.
“The focus for us moving forward, and starting this, was always about event facilitation, so we very much want it to be event and venue specific, so when anyone calls us, it’s trying to produce a product that they are specifically interested in,” said Gaboury.
“We all recognize that songs are nostalgic and that they take us back to different times in our lives or you feel different emotions with that, so we enjoy that part of it for ourselves, but also emulating that out to the crowd that’s in front of us, whether that’s through earlier songs, or later songs, we just try to emulate the fun we are having out to the crowd as much as possible.”
Since the band started, they have been busy playing gigs, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Last month, the band played at the World Police and Fire Games, which had special ties for the band, as every member is an active or retired emergency medical services (EMS) worker.
“It was quite a fun gig to do, not only because of the stage production, but just being able to go up there as first responders, both active and retired and play for our brothers and sisters in that environment was pretty special, and we were very happy to be allowed to be a part of that,” said Gaboury.
The Dismen will be playing The 40 in Brandon Oct. 13 and 14, and locally on Nov. 4 for the Veteran’s Dinner at the Stonewall Legion.
The The Dismen will continue diversifying their setlists and their known repertoire of songs and move towards private and public socials and major events.
Most importantly, the musicians want to promote local music, said Gaboury.
“The goal here as well is to not only promote ourselves and let people know that we’re here but that there is other local music within this community that is very eager to play and go out there, so we’re looking forward to the opportunities,” he said.
All in their late 30s and early 40s with young families, the bandmates share a lot in common with where they are in their lives and similar goals for what they want out of the band.
“We have all come together very quickly. The chemistry between us as players and as personal individuals has really melded quite well, so we are kind of just looking to build on that and the fact that the chemistry between us is really good for putting out a fun product and the fact that we are having an absolute blast,” said Gaboury.
Follow the band’s Facebook page, ‘The Discmen up and running,’ to stay up-to-date with what the band is working on.
To book The Dismen for your next event, contact Derek Gaboury at (431) 336-5981.
