The Heist

The first carnation of The Heist was found playing student nights at various venues across Leeds, England back in 2006. The student scene was a challenging and ideal environment for the newly formed but untested band. Playing under the moniker of ‘7thday’, it was the natural outcome from the many years of jamming sessions between drummer Aaron Dadia, Guitarist Joel Sopel and the mutual desire to put their talents to a creative and fulfilling use.

Aaron Dadia grew up in a family consisting of popular wedding singers and drumming enthusiasts while Joel Sopel was encouraged by his parents to learn the piano from the age of six but once in high school felt a stronger bond with the 6-string. Naturally both Joel and Aaron found their passion lay in the music room and their mutual appreciation of the indie and grunge rock scenes which in the 90’s was undergoing a huge renaissance.

Fuelled by their influences which included Nirvana and Rage against the Machine in the US and the Britpop explosion of Oasis and Blur in the UK, they soon made the music room their home and started jamming together at every possible moment covering 90’s hits such as Smells Like Teen Spirit, Wonderwall and Song 2. The only downside was the gradual loss of hearing suffered by their supportive music teacher as a result of being on the frontlines of the endless riffing and tribal like drumming!

Another regular at the music room was Roni Nahum who years later would join The Heist as their singer. Brought up on his dad’s record collection to the sounds of the rock legends including Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, Roni’s devotion to all things rock was finally sealed when he got hold of Guns and Roses ‘Appetite for Destruction’ at the tender age of 8. He picked up his first guitar at 10 and spent his school and university years honing his songwriting and performing with his band ‘XSDREAMS’.

After returning to London from university, Joel and Aaron were left with a dilemma. Their three years of playing to crowds had left them with much higher aspirations to turn the band into a livelihood. While bass duties were covered by a university friend, the difficulty lay with a singer who was living in another city and unable to travel back and forth on a regular basis. With this in mind, the decision was made to recruit a singer with the talent and presence to take over as the face and voice of the band.

Roni Nahum’s talents had not gone unnoticed during his years spent at the same school and university as Joel and Aaron. Roni was asked to come down to try out for the lead and after one rehearsal session and a name change later, the band was complete.

In October 2008, the first ever performance as The Heist took place at a house party in front of 50 people and was soon followed by shows at small pubs across London until the beginning of summer 2009. On July 16th 2009, The Heist played a headline set at the iconic 100 Club in Oxford Street, London. Through the years the venue has hosted many greats including The Rolling Stones and Queens of the Stone Age. The Heist played a 45 minute set to over 200 people and introduced themselves with an explosive and franticly paced performance.

With shows coming thick and fast, the bassist soon struggled to devote all his attention to the band while training for a career at a law firm. The bassist chose to leave and as a sign of his friendship agreed to carry on until a suitable replacement was found. Feelers were then put out that The Heist was on the lookout for a new bassist and after a fruitless search and a couple of failed tryouts, an advert was placed on a UK music jobs board. Out of the few people that replied to the listing, one stood out.

Born in Milan, Italy, Jon Gaglione took up bass after his father, a passionate blues guitarist bought him his first bass guitar and hired a teacher who taught him the basics. Taking what he had learnt, Jon started playing in punk rock and cover bands and then began his first serious project called ‘Minecreep’. After three years with Minecreep, Jon moved to London and is currently studing bass at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance where he is learning genres that differ from his rock nature and incorporates them into his playing.

After a session which was a secret rehearsal just prior to an important show, Jon was asked if he would like to try out in front of an audience. With barely anytime to prepare, Jon had studied and perfected the majority of the Heist’s songs and played a flawless set with The Heist at Proud Galleries in Camden. The audience response was overwhelmingly positive and it finally looks like ‘The Heist’ has found its permanent members.

In the three short months since Jon joined The Heist, the band have gone on to headline over 10 shows and played in packed venues around the thriving music scenes in Camden, North London and the East End of London. They finished off 2009 with a headline show at The