The DayJob Refugees - Classic Vinyl Revue

Although in Brian's case, it was really their wives.

Dave “Neener” Welker and Brian Bertrand met in 1994, after Brian and his wife moved to Dallas. Their wives had been college roommates, and the connection brought Brian and Dave together. They quickly discovered a shared love of music, particularly the artists and songs that would eventually become the foundation of what DJR still plays today.

A couple of years later, Dave met Corey Marr through church. Corey was barely out of high school, but Dave recognized a drummer and singer who fit naturally with the music he and Brian wanted to play. Corey joined them, and the musical partnership at the heart of The DayJob Refugees was in place.

Brian on guitar and lead vocals. Neener on lead guitar and backing vocals. Corey on drums and lead vocals. Two very different lead voices, three musicians with a common musical vocabulary, and the beginnings of a songbook that would continue growing for the next three decades.

That was 30 years ago.

Along the way, a few other musicians became important parts of the DJR story. Original bassist Julian Gonzalez was a fine musician and a strong vocalist who gave the band another lead voice. Though he eventually left the lineup, he remained a friend of the band for the rest of his life.

Years later, Drew Taylor joined on bass before moving to keyboards and vocals, opening the door to songs the band couldn't easily tackle before and adding another voice to DJR's already harmony rich sound.

Then Dave found somebody else.

Barry Stephens and Dave had played together briefly in a faith band when Barry's other band reached the end of the road. Dave recruited him for an upcoming DJR gig.

There was no audition. There wasn't even a rehearsal.

When Barry first introduced himself to Brian, he happened to overhear Brian saying, “Yeah, we're going to be playing with some guy named Barry in a couple of weeks. We'll see how it goes.”

Fifteen years later, Barry is still the “new guy.”

After college, Drew moved away and the band settled into its familiar four piece lineup.

Life interrupted things for a while in 2017 when Brian moved to Arizona for work. DJR worked with some other musicians, but nothing ever quite jelled. Then came COVID. Eventually the band went silent.

Then Brian returned to Texas in 2022.

The four got back together.

It was as though they'd never stopped.

Today, Brian, Neener, Corey, and Barry have played together long enough that they often know where another member is headed musically before he gets there. When somebody misses something, the others throw a glance and a grin, somebody covers the gap, and the song just keeps going.

The music has remained remarkably consistent through all of it. DJR plays the songs these four genuinely want to play. In fact, the master song list has a simple rule: if somebody no longer enjoys playing a song, it comes off the list.

The bigger problem is deciding which songs to add next.

After 30 years, there are still far too many good ones left to play.