Darage Bang

Darage Bang is my most passionate project I run in my spare time. My name is Frank Meyer and by day I work as a 40 year old graphic designer at an advertising company in Germany. By night, either I sit down and do doodles and digital paintings, or – more often – I plug in my guitar and record riffs and hooks or try to glue everthing together, so it can be called a song. Seriously, I’m not a singer at all and my tracks probably will always be instrumental, at least until I meet that special person who can imagine some nice vocals on my stuff.
I started up making music in the late 80’s. I really had no clue even how to tune a guitar, so it was a matter of skill that my first band was hardcore punk. It was much fun, noise and sick things and I really don’t want to miss this time. After a couple of years our singer who also played the bass wanted to focus more on the vocals what was really funny, because his stylistic idols have been Napalm Death & Co. So I switched to the bass-guitar.
In the early 90’s the band split and after jamming along with friends I found a new musical home in a very nice Guitar-Pop project with a punkish hook and over the years we had a nice set-list and did a lot of cool gigs in small clubs all over Germany. But everything’s doomed and in the end so was the band.
To that time I started my apprenticeship as a media designer and the more I got stuck in work and graphics the more music became a private passion. No time anymore for bands and silly discussions about style and sound or about how bad everyone else was performing at the last gig. Maybe you know what I’m talking about …
Well, I still was affiliated with music, but this time I made my living from designing CD-booklets, flyers and catalogues for several regional labels like Semaphore, Stickman Records, Empty Records or USG-Records. Some of them are still alive, some of them … ok, I don’t want to be mean.
Briefly spoken, now I’m a professional graphic designer but music still is my passion. Some years ago, I discovered Apple’s Garage Band application for home recording. At least by now you can comprehend my silly project name – Darage Bang, eh?
Anyway, I was thinking a lot about changing it into something more cool and mystic like other names in this genre. But then I found it very unique and recognizable and as I don’t take myself too serious I think a silly name fits to me very well.

I really can’t clearly define my musical style. Of course there are many ambient influences starting with Budd and Eno, Steve Roach or David Sylvian and everything from the electronic universe. But I also love Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker and Ministry. I’m still a fan of good Rock and Metal, I love Jazz from Esbjörn Svensson Trio, classics form Elgar and Holst and last but not least I really have fun with Ska- and Skate-Punk.

There are two people I want to mention here in particular. Their names are Roman Leykam and Frank Mark, who run a small label (Frank Mark Arts) with a couple of very unusual and highly creative artists, e. g. Sandbox Trio, Casualty Park and of course their own Project Roman Leykam & Frank Mark. It was Roman who asked me to do a booklet design and who gave me so many insights into electronic and experimental music. Thanks from here!

It’s not my intention to copy any styles, although it’s nearly impossible to avoid it completely. In fact it’s weird mix of everything I like and it steadily evolves. To be honest, I can’t tell what the next track will sound like and that’s what it makes it so appealing to me. For the future I hope to be courageous enough to try new things and I’d love to do some collabs – maybe with vocals – with nice and creative people.

October 2009,
Frank Meyer