Bonnie Dune: Not Just For ‘Gleeks’

If rock bands were football teams, drummers would be the good ol’ solid defenders, while frontmen are the star quarterbacks with flashier, crowd-pleasing moves.

But indie rock up-and-comers Bonnie Dune subvert the formula: Their drummer is the quarterback — or, at least, he plays one on TV.

Cory Monteith, the actor behind affable singing football player Finn Hudson on the wildly successful musical comedy “Glee,” is the man behind Bonnie Dune’s kit. But unlike his primetime character, he isn’t the ringleader of the group.

That doesn’t mean ‘gleeks’ aren’t snatching up tickets to all of their shows. Their very first gig at the Roxy in January sold out, and they’ve continued to pack venues across California — including the Loft, where they will be headlining next Sunday.

The Guardian caught up with Justin Wilczynski, the band’s lead singer, to chat about playing in Finn Hudson’s shadow and the burgeoning group’s pre-show jitters.

“It’s been really great that kids have been coming out to support Cory,” Wilczynski said. “I feel like once we get them out to the show and they hear the music, I hope it organically starts to become more about Bonnie Dune as a band, rather than just coming to see the guy from ‘Glee’ play the drums. I think it’s hard to expose people to new music these days, and if that’s how we’re going to get people to the show, hopefully the music keeps them coming.”

Bonnie Dune started as a songwriting project between Wilczynski and childhood friend Jason Massey (who now helps produce and co-write the band’s tracks). After moving from Paso Robles (just outside San Luis Obispo) to Los Angeles, they intended to start the band, but those plans came to a halt when Massey got a job in Nashville as a country songwriter. Instead of going forward on the project, Wilczynski took a stab at acting.

“I went to a casting with a friend for a Target commercial audition,” Wilczynski said. “I was just along for the ride, but while I was there, they asked me to audition. I said no; I was kind of embarrassed. But they talked me into it, and I auditioned. I got a call back and then I booked it. That ended up being a really big Target campaign… Ever since then I’ve never had a real job.”

Wilczynski then got involved with “Kaya,” a short-lived scripted MTV show about musicians, where he met Cory Monteith.

“Organically, Cory and I became good friends writing music together and we really connected,” Wilczynski said. “After he started working on ‘Glee,’ he kept telling me he wanted to start playing music again. Cory was kind of the inspiration for getting the band back together; he really wanted to set aside time and start this band.”

With bassist Joshua Kerr and guitarist Seth Roberts on board, the foursome got together to run through their first song. It clicked.

“It sounded perfect,” Wilczynski said. “We all looked at each other and were in shock. We knew this was our band.”

The band has taken to playing live just as quickly, though not without any initial nerves. At one of their first shows at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, the guys found the perfect solution.

“We got together in the bathroom because there were so many people backstage,” Wilczynski said. “We ran through a couple songs together, singing and having fun, and we knew there was nothing to worry about. So now before we play shows, we’ll go backstage and the four of us will sit down and have a little acoustic jam sesh.”

With pre-show jitters out of the way, Wilczynski says the band has a blast on stage.

“I think when we play, we have more fun than anyone else at the show,” Wilczynski said. “I’ve been in bands where it gets to a point when you become obsessed with how many people like you… and we didn’t want it to be like that at all. If the kids show up, it’s great. And if they don’t, we’re going to have a good time anyway.”

Wilczynski said he hopes to get an album out later this year.

“We’re writing a lot of new songs right now,” he said. “We’re looking to play as many shows as possible, to see which songs work. Once we feel like we have a really strong set list, we’ll record them.”

Bonnie Dune will headline a sold-out show at the Loft this Sunday, March 13, at 7 p.m.

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