it started in Rocky Mount, VA, on 9/25/2016..

"..So ..when we first started this band. We just wanted to get together a bunch of musicians, to help work on whatever projects anyone needed help with, along the way, while assisting eachother with new ideas, teaching & learning different techniques & attributes, so, anybody could join in on something, if they liked a whole project or a specific sound, or maybe they just want to get "en" on some tracks.. or just play a show, while some of us became more and more dedicated to the band or the whole concept overall of these many different sounds and all the random songs..  thats pretty much how we got this sound.. like any given song could be hard, slow, fast, loud, or soft, or all of it in one song, it doesnt have to be every song fast or every song slow, fast or HARD af, but we don't really care either way cause some of us love it and we DO enjoy the randomness, and the added versatility can make it a more fun experience playing LIVE either way....Our main goal is to make cool friends, live a good life, and make some awesome music..

..& maybe a few people will like it but who fkn cares really.." -AJ Keaton

"..it all started out

with just a few songs.."

its been almost 4 years, Over 230+ LIVE Shows (and counting), Hundreds of Fans, Thousands of stickers, & 17 Albums  later! Over 36 terrific Musicians have been a part of Dé Merè (in some way or another). While some, may have only appeared once on a LIVE stage with us, or just Contributed a little something to an album or just helped us on a song. Many good people have come and gone.. for instance we've had about 13 awesome different Men & Women drum for us, in just over 9 years.Weve probably had 85+ other people audition, or jam with us at some point.. Along with the hundreds of fans, shirts & Tickets sold, and all the stickers given away, around the world, id say, lots of people consider themselves part of this story, & were here to let you know that you are & you always will be.. ❤️ 

it all started a long time ago in the middle of nowhere, on a dirt road with James & AJ back in Rocky Mount Virginia

James & AJ are inside the "Jail House" jamming out on Volume 11 & making some hard rock songs (as they had been for a few months), and Tim & Jake are both inside with them, having a relaxing day after work. Chugging some 4Lokos in a smokey room.

"..i remember one of them asked us.."

"..d*mn you guys are getting pretty good, have you guys found a band to join yet?.."

& James replied with;

"...dude we dont even know anything about the Rock or Metal or whatever kind of scene theyve got here....and on top of that most people we do know (who jam) arent  gonna be f*cking serious about anything like this....like playing drums or.. guitar, like i think we are, i know we both just want to make some f*cking songs and rock, but i don't know if we could ever really be ready to play shows with anyone.."

so AJ said;

"..Well what the hell are you saying dude? should we f*ckin quit? im not F*cking quitting dude, id rather just do this than never jam, or never play any shows.. i think we can do it, and even if not, this sh*ts fun.."

James;

'..Nah.. im not saying quit jammin, im saying we probably wont find a band to join, at least we probably won't anytime soon.."

AJ;

"..well, oh well, dude.. what do YOU think we should do?.."

James;

"..we should just start our own f*cking band... ...make like.. a page, find a drummer, practice & start putting out our own stuff, that's probably what everyone else does anyways.."

(AJ Met a Drummer named Aaron P. the next day, at a party)

 We at First called it "Maggot N' the Flies", with James on lead Guitar, AJ had been writing songs (like "an Oddesy of me", "Out of the Sea", "Blasphemy" and "Lovely") while he was learning his Rhythm Guitar & coming up with these "voo doo styled" songs, James was creating a combination of Metal, Hard Rock, Bluesy, & Psychadelics to add to the Loud, Soulful, "Grungey" style vocals AJ was just beginning to come up with. 
& They've just put a new guy named "Aaron P." who jammed with Dé Merè on Drums (off & on) for about 6-8 months, at least getting the ball rolling, and making us both think about the extra element of Drums & bass to Rhythm & Lead Guitar.

(Aaron P. later moved on to NC for family), but James and AJ continued on with Jake & Tim around too, keeping the party going strong..

After around a year & a 8 months, AJ & Jake moved North into Roanoke City/Salem & James kept it going by himself back in Floyd Va, while AJ took a "short mental break" spending time in Salem and in the process he hung out more often with Corey L. McGuyver who taught him a few "classic" 90's & Late 80's style songs. 

After about 3 months off AJ was back in, as James  (now, also in Roanoke) introduced AJ to 2 New Faces, & later  we  all 4 became a true "band on the run". David AKA "Ras Edu" (on acoustic), and William L. working on the Intros/Outros, and we all started to get on a roll, as musicians, learning more & more songs. (until Leandra stole william away from the 3 of us)

(James also had decided to take some time off for a personal issue around these days, but he planned to return shortly.)

"..in a way, this time was where a lot of the 2nd wave of new song ideas started to come from, because we all learned to work as a team, and we definitely became a band, during these times.."
(some of us also switched instruments and our whole playing styles around this time, such as, Ras Edu learning the original songs & got a pair of drum sticks (since we didnt have a drummer) and dedicated himself to switching instruments, all the while AJ Finally starts Singing  the originals in public all in this short window of time).

We already had many songs written (in a rougher form) like "a little fire", "Goo Fazeys Song", & "BvW", but jamming and staying out all night, with "musicians", carrying all the instruments with us everywhere we went, & "acting like fools" had it's many benefits. 

this is at a time when the band name was switched from "LaughterBirth", over to to "Dreaming Sgt. Shears" (for about 2 weeks), & Finally to............ "Dé Merè"

"..AJ & James had started to Come up with an idea for the "first" Album cover (when he did come back around to hangout or Jam.) & we called it"Blasphemy: Volume One" however only William L, Ras Edu, & AJ we're there to take a vote (so..)

but we really started genuinely believing in our music.. 

we were constantly looking for other musical talents to keep us sharp.

~Winter, en 2017~

Its not really cold yet, but it's mid-October & William L. has just  completely stopped coming to practice with the band, hanging out, or answering our calls. Its also during a time where AJ decided to put the "Band-Mobile" AKA "Sgt Peppers" into the shop, so hes been talking the bus, riding his bike, skateboarding or just walking about 9 miles, 3 times a week, to practice in a Williamson Road Garage.

it's also, beginning to get harder & harder for Anyone to get in touch with Ras Edu due to his random work schedule. Sometimes he shows & sometimes he just can't make it. 

& One of those same Nights AJ got a message from Toni Tee saying "does your band got room for two more?.."

"..Hell yeah, dude just bring yourself and your instruments."

 
Now we're expecting everyone to show up cause blake is planned to audition be a lead guitarist & backup vocals & Toni Tee Planned to audition for Bass & backup vocals foe the next few practices.
(along with AJ on Rhythm Guitar & Lead, & Ras Edu said hes going to plan to do "either rhythm guitar, maybe bass, or Drums")
Only 3 (out of 5) of us showed up for practice that next Friday, but we all had a blast. it's a whole day of Rock n Roll, like we immediately took a BIG step forward as a band..
 AJ seen the shredding style Toni tee was using to play bass the same day and said "..dude you should Learn the FKN Guitar and be our Lead guitarist, then we COULD find a bassist bc thats easier, and maybe they can use your bass too? so they can learn.."
Over the next few weeks, Ras slowly did the same thing (as william used to) when we moved practice from Williamson, over to 13th street. Either due to his Job working him a lot after graduation, or his Living situation. We could tell his heart was in it, but he probably needed a little break from all that, or just some time off. so we pulled the plug after a band meeting.

"..and the only thing we heard about Ras after a good while, was that, he was moving to Detroit.."

~13th Street & melrose~

the 2-Piece Dé Merè or "Dós Merè" (Toni Tee & AJ Keaton) later had a few sets of auditions with a couple sets of people. Two of the most known/notable are named Justin R. (who played lead guitar AND bass really well), & Damian (who played lead guitar, piano & bass). They both auditioned together with us. but we ultimately decided to practice with Justin R. more, with a major chance of putting him in the band, over Damian, because Justin was the good kind of "funny" crazy & damian was like.. actually crazy.. 

~en 2018~

     Going into 2018 we probably had around 45-50 Originals, and by this time we'd completely stopped doing cover songs and started focusing soley on Original Jams and we would Practice, Practice, Practice.. with Toni Tee now figuring out specific guitar riffs and solos to use with certain songs, & AJ is becoming better as a vocalist & starting to write better songs (for all of us, that's partly due to practice at home, then working the same songs into a group setting).

"..At a Reddrum Concert AJ & Toni Tee attended in mid-2018, "..we approached Mr. **** (lead singer of Reddrum) and asked him a few questions about the scene. He asked if we were in a band, and guessed what we played.. we asked him for a show and he said he'd see what he could do.."

LOOKING FOR A DRUMMER!

Now it's AJ & Toni Tee, with Justin R, We know we need a drummer so we get the word out.. and for a while we had no luck with it. probably sent out hundreds of links.. we put up countless paper flyers.

So after around 5-6 months... We get word that James had just went off to Alaska (to serve in the army or marines.
& "Ras Edu" who had taken time off to "persue career opportunities" has now come back into the picture.

 He went from just hanging out with us at Practices, to later becoming the 100% dedicated Drummer we'd been looking for.. along with a 70s classic Rock n Roll drumset, as AJ got the "band-mobile" going on all 4's again, & the Newly formed 4-Piece Dé Merè is Rockin' & Rollin' better than ever, with Justin on Bass & the new Drummer!

We got a call from Mr. David T. after a few months had went by.. and he got us a show opening up for MDC! one of the godfathers of Punk Rock!& we got our first LIVE show!..[..yeah, he Really put the pressure on us there, rumors of some punk a$s nazis trying to kill us and Sh*t.. police patrolling the streets, and all the alleys all night.. D. Marcin spent over $2000 just on security for that night!].."

"..Carrying our guitars everywhere & either driving 35 Miles Away to go swimming, or jamming on the roof of abandoned buildings.. and all in between....

-----oh yeah, and then get up early to change strings, and go to practice before the show.."

~Equipment Upgrades~

by the end of 2018, while we'd just moved into "the ShredQuarters" played probably around 9 LIVE shows & events, but we still hadnt released an album. Plus we noticed that most of the equipment we used wasnt up to "LIVE show standards". Toni Tee said we needed to switch the Amps out for Other ones, and we all agreed to take all of our amps together and try to switch them out at a pawn shop. We probably had 8 or more all together so we were certain we could make a trade for 2 Larger ones. Toni Tee Switched them alone and ended up paying over $100 extra dollars (when the rest of us said not to, if that was the case), and about 4 months later, started asking us to pay him back.. after james gave him $100 he didnt drop it and after a few months Ras & AJ decided to move on (until Toni Tee could cool off.) So Dé Merè became a 2-Piece once again with a few people filling in for us on Lead/Bass at times.
 
(and James Actually came very close to making a suprise appearance with corey L. McGuyver & Dé Merè, one night at a small show at TFR in Roanoke, but was ultimately  thrown out for being 20 years old. its the closest weve come to seeing AJ & James in a LIVE setting).

FIRST RADIO APPEARANCE

after the outdoors holloween show, Ras & AJ got to do some bigger shows. like being contacted to do Holidays in the Park, Parkway Brewery & some at the Spot. WBJR Radio Contacted us and we ended up doing a radio show a few months later LIVE on air, at TFR & as fun as that was we couldn't help thinking about the other 2 members (James & Toni Tee), but it was still one of the best.

...Weve been doing many awesome shows and playing different venues like the Spot on kirk, parkway brewery, & the Pirate sip barrr. We even played 2 shows in the same day at highland park & the Front Row, (the same place we performed with MDC) because, by that time, we've become "regulars" there. 

"...We all wanted to be the "house band" at some venue and if we are, thats the place (the front row)..."

after about 4 months of almost non-stop shows, AJ once again considered the possibility of bringing in another guitarist to focus strictly on Lyrics and vocals. To make Dé Merè a 3 Piece again, so auditions continued here and there, while we both finally started concentrating on the 1st album.

originally we were calling it "how low" 

"..it was originally just going to be a compilation of demo & instrumental songs we all made separate but helped out with as a group..
..then it evolved when things happened like when AJ started to sing we didn't have many instrumentals, &  when we had James or Toni Tee we added solos to a track & everyone wanted them both on the album, & when Ras was in the zone on drums he was the best hype man ever and made everyone better.."

we added many tracks over the years

So, Slowly over time "How-Low" started to become "Blasphemy Vol. 1" and we'd started to focus on that here & there.

After an Audition Day, for Lead & Rhythm Guitarists, the best one we interviewed could only play piano.

then the same night Toni Tee started sending messages to Ras & AJ, possibly trying to find a way back into the band. While AJ was considering it, Ras, at first, kind of wasnt. For another 2 months Dé Merè Performed LIVE as a 2-Piece, while staying friends with Toni Tee. However after Ras had missed 3 practices and AJ had to perform an unannounced Solo Show, AJ decided to let Toni Tee back in for the next few shows. (& Within a week we had also added another new face, Blake as a bassist).

From having lots of Songs to having lots of Shows

By this time we're a 5 to 6 piece band. [basically all of us fighting for a place] reguardless of if you wrote the songs, or had been in for 2 years, or played lead, drums, or sang. & It's all just because many good musician's wanted in, more-so now, than ever.

However, It only took a few "sub-par" shows until we all [at a band meeting] finally agreed that; 

"..the max is around 4, and we can always have other musicians involved, but as far as LIVE shows are concerned, with our Raw style, we dont want there to be more than 4 on the stage... like.. mainly because of the clutter from all the overlapping, and theres no extra room to play around, like.. any free-space on the songs, cause that extra room, the extra like.. what you throw in on the spot, in the zone, or in the moment. that's what makes it so fun, and what makes a song so good.. but we can always swap musicians out or have an extra 4th or 5th on a song or a show or something.."

~en 2019~

Going into early 2019 Dé Merè is back to Ras, AJ, Toni Tee, & we've just added another member with Blake on Bass as we continue to work on Shows, & the First Album is pushed back due to "the Graveyard shift Tour - 2019" (which ended in the middle of the night with AJ & Blake drunk, and getting free tattoos.)

"..Holidays in the park.."

While Toni Tee was out still auditioning people for a new Bass Player, and at the Highland Park 2019 Show & after our set, we stumbled across this kid looking to join a band as a bassist nicknamed "the 2nd Original Aaron" but really just "Aaron T" & we still had blake but he had kind of stopped practicing after taking big strides in the first few weeks. Ras was Great when he made it, but he slowly started to miss practices, but AJ wrote more New songs for Dé Merè while spending lots of time alone, either with his girlfriend, Corey L. McGuyver &/or David AKA "Ras" still performing, as well as, Toni Tee Practicing with Blake & then Aaron, after he eventually joined, Plus we later bring in Richard & Thaddeus in early-mid 2018.
...Show, after Show, after show, after show..
We were playing about a show a week (sometimes less, someone's more)

& it's awesome. Were starting to stay indoors more than usual, to get much needed rest. Our schedule for a while was to get a shower, grab your instrument, go meet up with the band, go eat, stay out and stay up jammin, or at least, until the last person passed out, wake up late for the studio, AJs gotta brush his teeth & needs coffee, Ras & Toni Tee need some food, barely make it to the studio on time, finally get done, finally eat, go & charge up all The phones, and get ready for the show.. 

Coreys Crazy Uncle