Practice makes perfect

It is cold in the garage, but the members of The Onset don’t even notice-they’re too busy practicing for their first show.

Drums, guitars and amps take up floor space as rock music fills the air while the band practices its songs.

The Onset formed when two of its members, drummer Eric Bandy and lead vocalist Charlotte Kennedy, were both in different bands.

“Charlotte and her friend Emily had played at a talent show at Hanover High School and decided they needed a drummer,” Bandy said. The other band “was more of a side project band-just something for me to stay busy with.”

Before long, The Onset became more than just a side project for Bandy. His other band dissolved leaving just The Onset. They eventually were joined by two members from an unnamed group of musicians that never took off.

“Eric and Charlotte were starting something up and they asked me if I’d like to play with them,” said Devin McLean, a business major who plays bass for The Onset.

Christian Oguchi played music with his neighbor McLean before joining The Onset.

“My best friend across the street called and said, ‘Hey, they want you to join a band,’ ” Oguchi said.

The quartet has been playing together for about four months, practicing in Kennedy’s garage. The Onset’s genre is hard to define according to the band.

“We’ve got a mixture of . really chill songs and then some really upbeat rock songs,” McLean said. “It’s kind of like . indie-alternative rock.”

Bandy said it’s a fusion of many different genres. Kennedy simply called it different.

“I think people will be surprised. I think they’ll like it,” she said. “I’m excited to see their reactions.”

The crowd will judge for itself on Monday, March 2 when they play at Wild Willie’s in Mechanicsville.

The Onset said it is excited about its first show, but nervous. Its will be opening for The Hoodies, a band from New York, and Roslyn from Richmond.

“Both are really good and I felt intimidated after listening to whatever music happened to be on their MySpace pages,” Bandy said.

Despite the anxiety, the members of the band feel confident that they will be ready for their first show.

The Onset has one more practice the day before the show. McLean said it has plenty of time to work out any issues it might have.

“I’m really excited,” Kennedy said. “I think we’re definitely ready.”

Bandy said, “We are practicing harder now than we have ever done before. We are really getting better and better with each practice.”

The Onset is planning to record a demo to hand out at the show.