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Date: 3/9/2021
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Four high school students from West Springfield are making noise throughout the community as a fully-formed hard rock band.
The group, which consists of vocalist/guitarist Darren Chraplak, guitarist Eli Olesen, bass player Ian Gallacher, and drum player Bruce DuMont, have been creating music and performing cover songs under the moniker Theater of Malum for a couple years now.
The four friends formed the group in seventh grade after performing Metallica’s 1991 song “Sad But True” during a school talent show. Chraplak and Gallacher were also in the same band class during this time.
“That’s how we decided this is what we really wanted to do, and how much we really enjoy making music,” said Chraplak, when describing the early stages of the band.
The band’s YouTube page is filled with their own renditions of classic hits like “Paint in Black” by The Rolling Stones, “Snuff” by Slipknot, and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day. They have also recorded an original song called “On My Deathbed” which ended up on the local radio station Lazer 99.3, and is also available to listen on their YouTube channel.
“Being on the radio has had a huge domino effect on the growth of our band,” said Chraplak. “We’ve reached a whole other fan base because of it.”
The band has garnered this local fanbase with the help of their executive producer Kevin Smith, who met Chraplak at a local record store when he was just eight years old. According to the singer/guitarist, Smith asked Chraplak’s father how a young Chraplak knew so much about vinyl records, so they showed Smith some of the live performances Chraplak and the band did in the past.
“When I was 8, I got a guitar for Christmas, and I started performing and just doing solo stuff,” said Chraplak, who added that he used to spearhead a comedy music show on a Northampton radio station for four years before transitioning into playing rock music.
“Kevin, he told me that he didn’t even have to hear the band play before he asked us to record in the studio,” said Chraplak. “And that I think is pretty crazy.”
As for the rest of the band, DuMont said he received an electronic drum set in second or third grade for Christmas, and started playing seriously during band class in seventh grade. He acquired his first official drum set last year.
“I’ve been playing for about seven to eight years,” said DuMont. “I played for about five years without having an actual drum set.”
Gallacher meanwhile said that his bandmates and music teacher influenced his decision to start playing guitar in seventh grade. He became the band’s official bass player after their old bass player decided to leave.
“I’ve really only been bass since November of last year,” said Gallacher. “I’m a lot more influenced specifically by Cliff Burton, the Misfits, and a lot of punk bands from the 1980s.”
Olsen began playing the guitar around a year ago after seeing many of the band’s concerts. He told Reminder Publishing that he would spend about six to eight hours a day learning to play the instrument before officially joining the band. He practiced by playing songs from The Beatles and Oasis.
“I was just grinding because I was essentially hoping that I would potentially get a chance,” said Olsen. “I thought it would be so cool to be in a band like that.”
The rockers are currently balancing schoolwork while in the process of recording an original album at Easthampton’s Sonelab, according to Chraplak.
“I’m either doing school stuff, practicing guitar, vocals, or practicing with the band,” he said. “We practice twice a week for four hours, and it eats a lot of time, especially since we really enjoy doing this.”
The band is set to open for another local band at Geraldine’s Bar & Grill in Chicopee on July 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale for $25, and the concert will be for ages 21 and over. For more information on that, as well as where you can find the band’s YouTube channel, visit the Theater of Malum Facebook page listed here: https://www.facebook.com/Theater-Of-Malum-101692024787221.