DZ Deathrays Announce New Grant To Support Guitarists From Regional Areas

DZ Deathrays are set to help support guitarists living in regional areas, announcing a new grant opportunity today. 

The much-loved Queensland act have partnered with Fender and The Artist Studio to create an opportunity designed to assist and inspire the next generation of guitarists from regional Australia with the Positive Rising Grant. 

With founding members Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley both hailing from the regional city of Bundaberg in Queensland, knowing how much it meant to them as young music fans when bands played at their local, DZ Deathrays 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," said Ridley. 

"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."

The three recipients of the grant will each receive a Squier guitar and 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.

More info about the Positive Rising Grant is available here and entries are open now, closing 11pm AEDT on 31 March, with recipients announced in late April.