In the event you see a number of stay music in Sydney, Wollongong and surrounds, then you can be acquainted with the sight of David James Younger — however you won’t recognise his face.
“Folks simply see the again of my head so much,” he laughs.
David (aka DJY) is normally proper up entrance — dancing, having fun with the music and cheering on the performers.
A few of us may establish as eager gig-goers, however DJY’s dedication is next-level.
Final yr he fronted as much as 327 exhibits — a private finest — and this yr he plans to surpass even that.
World document
David is a 33-year-old author, podcaster, musician and self-described “man who goes to exhibits”.
In Might his associates began tagging him in a submit from Guinness World Information.
The explanation? A brand new world document for many concert events attended in a single yr had been introduced. Joshua Beck of New Jersey, USA, had recorded a comparatively modest 86 exhibits 2022.
As considered one of David’s associates commented: “Effectively these folks have clearly by no means heard of DJY.”
David turned intrigued by the concept of creating his personal submission.
“[It’s] like if there was a weightlifting document, and somebody obtained it simply by lifting a 20kg dumbbell,” he says.
“That is not how Guinness World Information work, you want an absolute freak in there. You want an insanely lofty customary to aspire to.”
Proof of rock
However securing a Guinness World Report is just not all the time simple.
In accordance with the rules, a present needed to happen in a venue with capability of 200 or extra to be eligible.
Secondly, if David had been given free tickets to overview the present then it couldn’t rely in the direction of his tally.
After adjusting his whole for these pointers he was nonetheless left with 211 eligible exhibits (on the time of our dialog).
There was one additional catch.
“For each eligible present, I want somebody to confirm I used to be there.”
David put a name out on social media, sharing an inventory of exhibits and asking if folks may keep in mind seeing him in attendance.
“The response has simply been wild,” he says.
“Of the 211 exhibits, I’ve obtained almost 150 of them coated already. I have been actually overjoyed with the response and the way keen individuals are to assist me out and help me.”
Seizing the second
David grew up in Nowra on the NSW South Coast, and thinks the city’s relative isolation helped forge him right into a relentless gig-going machine.
“It is 4 hours to Sydney on that prepare, and also you’d need to ‘Cinderella’ on the finish of the evening [to get home by] 2.30 within the morning,” he says.
“This was the stuff you needed to do to expertise stay music.”
David’s dedication was rewarded with a succession of distinctive experiences.
“That individual group of individuals, in that exact place, at that exact time … that can by no means occur once more. That’s the reason stay music is so treasured and so thrilling.”
He’s keenly conscious of the ephemeral nature of each efficiency — citing the poignant instance of catching Prince shortly earlier than the artist’s demise in 2016; and, conversely, his remorse at lacking rapper Juice WRLD’s Australian tour solely weeks earlier than his premature demise in 2019.
Neighborhood feeling
With a robust presence on social media, David is a tireless advocate for stay music, in addition to the sense of neighborhood and togetherness that gigs can nurture.
“After I began going to exhibits, I wished to be a part of one thing greater,” he displays.
“Dwell music makes me really feel much less alone, and [hopefully] I could make others really feel much less alone simply by being there, by being a pleasant face or no matter.”
He’s aware of the etiquette of filming exhibits (“I am completely not a kind of people who movie track after track after track”) however is keenly conscious that passionate followers have a job in spreading the phrase about music they love.
“I am not an influencer by any means, however I’ve had folks I do not know saying ‘I had by no means heard of this band and now I am an enormous fan’,” he says.
“If me sharing 30–40 seconds of a band on my tales can finally result in somebody shopping for a ticket, a T-shirt, or an album — then mission achieved.”
He additionally urges folks to embrace the pleasures of solo gig-going.
“Plenty of the time I do go to exhibits on my own, and other people have instructed me ‘I did not realise that was one thing I may do earlier than I noticed you doing it.'”
Love of music
Speaking to David, it’s clear that his stay music adventures are motivated by real enthusiasm. He’s a fan at the beginning, his dialog peppered with names of musical performers — from big worldwide vacationers, to the latest native up-and-comers.
“Music is a very powerful factor in my life — and stay music is probably the most tangible attainable connection you may need to it,” he says.
He’s having fun with the world document try, and devoted to the work required to stake his declare. However largely he hopes his efforts may encourage others into comparable epic feats.
“If I get it … I do not need to maintain onto it for very lengthy. I would like somebody to see what I’ve completed … and be impressed to exit and see as a lot stay music as they presumably can for themselves,” he says.
“I would like folks to embrace it and adore it and have it’s as massive part of their life because it has been for me.”
DJY’s 5 to observe
David James Younger suggests 5 up-and-coming acts value catching earlier than they get too big:
- The Empty Threats
- Intestine Well being
- Miss Kaninna
- Our Carlson
- Full Flower Moon Band
David may nonetheless do with some assist confirming the remaining gigs — and for those who suppose he seems acquainted (or recognise the again of his head), his Instagram is @djywrites.
