DZ DEATHRAYS ANNOUNCE POSITIVE RISING GRANT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FENDER & THE ARTIST STUDIO

I OH YOU are very proud to announce the DZ Deathrays: Positive Rising Grant. The band have come together with Fender® and The Artist Studio, to create an incredible opportunity designed to assist and inspire the next generation of guitarists from regional Australia.

With founding members Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley both hailing from Bundaberg in South-East Queensland, knowing how much it meant to them as young music fans when bands played at their local, DZ have always felt a great desire to try and ensure they have a chance to connect to fans all over Australia. While touring has been difficult over the past 12 months, the grant was created with the focus of connecting regional musicians to quality instruments, and quality tutelage, regardless of their geographic location.

“One of the biggest hurdles starting out in music for me as a teenager was just being able to afford quality equipment that was not only actually enjoyable to play but also capable of being used for a gig, or even just an amp loud enough for playing with a full band. Also growing up in a regional town, the quality and range of instruments available at the time was really limited. To be able to help people overcome that initial barrier and give someone the ability to jump straight into it is something I’m very grateful to be a part of.”  
– Simon Ridley, DZ Deathrays

The three recipients of the grant will each receive a Squier® guitar & Fender® amp, a year’s worth of fortnightly online guitar classes through The Artist Studio, a copy of DZ Deathrays albums Positive Rising: Part 1 and Positive Rising: Part 2 on vinyl and a limited-edition pack of DZ Deathrays guitar picks.

“We are super excited to be teaming up with DZ, Fender and I OH YOU for this awesome opportunity. They will learn from one of our super talented guitar mentors how to be an all-round guitar boss, from basic techniques to solo’s and can even dabble in some songwriting. Looking forward to it” – The Artist Studio

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with DZ Deathrays & The Artist Studio for the “Positive Rising Grant.” Fender® is committed to supporting new players all over Australia, and what better way to do this than equipping budding musicians with a Squier® guitar & Fender® Amp. To start learning guitar with an instrument you love from day one can change everything, so we hope our contribution to this grant sets the recipients up for a lifelong obsession with music.” – Heath Blows, Fender® Music Australia

ARIA Award winning DZ Deathrays continue to solidify themselves as an Australian favourite, with a top #5 ARIA debuting album, the 3 piece have taken home consecutive AIR and QMA awards and played hundreds of live shows and countless festivals across Australia and overseas. Showing no sign of slowing down, the band gear up to release their fifth studio album Positive Rising: Part 2 on Friday 9th July 2021.

Entries for the DZ Deathrays: Positive Rising Grant are open now via dzdeathrays.com (Ts & Cs apply) and will close at 11:00PM AEDT on Wednesday the 31st of March 2021. Grant recipients will be announced on or before Friday 23rd April 2021.

DZ Deathrays are currently amidst the ‘All Or Nothing’ tour, which kicked off at the end of February and continues this week with 3 shows in Victoria.