Exclusive Interview: Those Darlins

DeadJournalist.com Exclusive Interview: Those Darlins
by Chuck Norton
11.17.09

Those Darlins (Photo by David McClister)

With the release of their debut album and several national tours it has been an exciting year for the Murfreesboro, TN-based band Those Darlins. Formed in 2006, Nikki, Kelley and Jessi Darlin (no relation), have been making a name for themselves with their energetic live shows and their country-tinged rock.

With a common influence of traditional country, the band sound osculates between cow-punk and riot-pop. Touring tirelessly, they’ve has performed with artists ranging from O’Death and The Avett Brothers to Dan Auerbach and Deer Tick.

And in a story-book, rock ‘n roll romance, after touring with Deer Tick, Those Darlins’ Nikki Darlin and Deer Tick’s John McCauley were engaged. As McCauley told DeadJournalist.com earlier this year, he, “Fell in love instantly.”

Currently, the band is on the road with King Khan and BBQ Show, and will be touring on the West Coast and Canada trough early December 2009 before taking a few weeks off around the holidays. They return with shows in the Carolinas in January 2010.

For more information on the band, visit their Web site: http://www.thosedarlins.com

DeadJournalist.com is proud to bring you this exclusive interview with Kelley Darlin of Those Darlins.

Those Darlins (Photo by Travis Huggett)

You recently posted a note on your Web site discussing how the common misconception that Those Darlins are more country-pop than cow-punk. Given the band’s raw, energetic live performances, do you find this misconception frustrating or does it add extra motivation to prove otherwise?

KD: I think making a record is a different art form than playing live. I think records should be timeless and playing live is about the moment, having a good time, and entertaining the people you’re with. For us, that means getting a little rowdy and dancing, so naturally the live show will be more energetic.

It’s also been a general progression of the band to incorporate a lot more punk and rock n roll into our sound as we go through phases of what we like and are into. I think the genres you mentioned: country, pop, and punk are all present in our music and listeners will draw from their own experiences to relate to our music.

I don’t find it frustrating at all; I think the diversity is great and leaves a lot of room for the band to grow and make new music.

The band’s influences are well documented, but have your found the band’s sound and style have evolved during the past year?

KD: Yes, we all clicked at the beginning over our love of early country music, but we like all kinds of music and got tired of playing acoustically. We wanted to change things up, so we added electric instruments, drums, and pedals.

Making the record had a lot to do with the progression because we had time to think a lot about recordings we like and how we wanted the songs to be communicated. That’s also when we added a drummer to the line up and that really changed everything. We were touring on and off while we were recording, so playing live influenced the energy of some of the songs and the progression of the band.

Going back to the writing and recording of your current album; what did you learn about the process that might shape the way you would write or record future albums?

KD: I would like to have a general idea of what the record will be like and have all of the songs written before we go into the studio. With this album, we recorded the songs in batches as we wrote them, so we really had no idea what the final record would be or sound like until it was done. It was a really organic way to work and accounts for a lot of the diversity of the album, but I think the next one will be a little more holistic and move a little faster as everyone will have an idea of how they like to work and what the end goal will be.

When writing a song, is it a collaborative effort or does each member write independently? What most influences your song-writing process?

KD: All of the songs are influenced by our experiences; I don’t think any of us write in the voice of someone else or about hypothetical situations. We sometimes write together and sometimes separately, but eventually everyone adds their own parts and it becomes a Darlins song.

Is the band working on songs for a new album? If so, is a tentative release date set?

KD: We’re always channeling new experiences into song ideas and working on new material individually, but we have been so busy on the road that we haven’t had much time to collaborate. We’ll probably be touring a lot next year too, and I think it’s interesting that a lot of artists end up writing about being out on the road because it really does become your life.

If you draw directly from your experiences, it makes sense that the imagery of being on the road makes it into your music, either as a positive like Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” about the excitement of being out traveling with your friends or the road as a really lonely place like Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway”.

So right now is really a time of observation and experience, kind of like an artist’s study. I figure we will start working a new album together sometime next year.

Which do you enjoy more: performing live or writing and recording?

KD: I like being in the studio, because you can be creative in a controlled environment. I like being able to choose whether to obsess about a particular detail or to make broad strokes. I approach recordings as pieces of art instead of historical documents and I like the permanence of recordings as finished pieces of art.

I like the experience of listening to a record over seeing live performances, though I appreciate both for different reasons. I think performers that can engage the audience and break down the barrier between stage and audience are some of the most gifted people. I find that to be a challenging thing to do and feel that I can best express myself through recordings.

Playing live is really fun though, like playing a game of sports. You learn to dodge curve balls and are constantly problem-solving, taking in your surroundings and adjusting to them. You learn something new each time you play: about yourself, your band and how to improve your performance.

Kelley Darlin

As a performer, what is the most important aspect of your live performances?

KD: For me, it’s tone and playing well … and of course putting on a good show. I think connecting with people is important but sometimes you can’t control that aspect. Sometimes the energy of a show surpasses the importance of technical performance, but playing well is really important to me.

One of my favorite things about playing live is when things are falling apart onstage and no one in the audience notices. It makes you feel like a magician because you’re covering for each other and pulling it off. I think that’s one thing that makes you a real band instead of several individuals performing together.

What do you to keep the songs and sets as fresh as possible at each tour stop?

KD: We challenge ourselves to improve each show by tweaking the setlists a bit until we get one that really works, or we try to pace it so some songs flow into others. Small things like that help keep it fresh, but in a live setting every variable is already totally different at each venue. The room sounds different, the PA is different, the energy of the crowd is different, even what you are wearing can influence the tone of the show.

There are so many variables that already make each show so different from one to the other that sometimes the less complicated you make it, the better the shows become as the tour goes on.

I think what really keeps it fresh is just having successful shows where you feel like the crowd really got what you were doing and everyone had a good time.

What have been the highlights if your tours this year? Have you had a tour stop where you were surprised at the turn out or fan base support?

KD: Our last trip to Seattle was really great. We played to a packed crowd at the Sunset Tavern that was ready to party. We started off the day with a recording session at KEXP and it was the best in-studio we’ve ever done. The interviewer, engineer and photographer were really on their game and really cool people.

Then we went over to Sonic Boom and performed a short set. We played on a stage that they folded out over the record bins that was 5 feet tall, so we had a really cool view of the store and the people there.

We did some record shopping and picked up some cool stuff. Seattle was great … for all the other highlights of our tours, read the blog at www.thosedarlins.com!

Those Darlins in NYC (Photo by Travis Huggett)

What is the most bizarre event that has occurred to the band while on tour?

KD: One time we were on a direct flight from Nashville to Providence, Rhode Island and the plane landed in Philadelphia for no reason. Everyone was instructed to get off of the plane to meet a connecting flight, but there was no connecting flight scheduled until eight hours later so we were all stranded.

We were discussing our options with a young woman who said she had made a friend with a businessman whose secretary had already called a rental car and he had offered her a ride. She asked if we wanted to go with them so we rode six hours with two people who 10 minutes earlier had been total strangers.

We were getting to know each other and she said she was a writer. We thought she meant books. It wasn’t until several hours into the trip that we realized she meant songwriter!

Her name was Ashley Monroe and she had recently recorded a song and made a video with Jack White. She showed us photos from the sessions and Jessi was floored because she loves Jack White.

We learned that the Indian businessman who was driving us to Providence was the president of an oil company and lived a very strict, detailed life that had been planned for him since birth. He was having such a great time hanging out with all of us and still comes to our shows when we are in Providence.

It was his first trip to Nashville and he admitted he almost bought a cowboy hat, but instead “came back with four beautiful country singers!”

What are the most enjoyable aspects of being on the road? Likewise, what are the biggest challenges?

KD: The most enjoyable aspect of being on the road is playing music, hands down. You travel sometimes 10 hours in a day, load in, load out, live in a van, etc … all for the 45 minutes or an hour you get to play onstage with your friends. It really makes you not want to blow it!

It’s a strange life for a musician, because if you were at home, you’d probably be playing music several hours a day, but I think a lot of that can be attributed to the size of the tours we’re doing and the level we’re at. We’re working hard to get to a point where we can travel on a bus and have more space. Then you could probably play a lot more or work on songs.

Probably the biggest challenge for me right now is just personal maintenance – making sure I get enough rest, decent food, some kind of exercise. It’s really hard to feel like a person sometimes when you are dirty and spend every night in a bar. While I feel way more comfortable in that atmosphere than any 9-to-5, it can start to wear on you after a while.

When did you start the band’s blog? Is it something you enjoy working on or does it, at times, feel more like an obligation?

KD: We started the blog after our first nationwide tour with Dan Auerbach in March of this year. Jessi is pretty tech-savy and had a huge influence in the design and layout of the website and blog. She does all of the writing and used to wait until we got home to compile everything. I would add content and pictures from the nights she went to bed early or didn’t go out with us, but now that our schedule is so busy touring, she has adapted to updating it from the road. Otherwise, it would never get updated because the content would be so heavy. I’ll bet at times it gets to be a chore but she does it at her own pace … and it’s so much fun to read!

Are you are more reliant on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc. to stay in touch with friends and family or to market to fans?

KD: Our Darlins pages and personal pages are separate, but the Darlins pages are used to keep in touch with band contacts and let people know about all of the exciting things going on in Darlinland so they can join us and be part of the fun.

Personally, I like using Facebook to keep up with friends back home I would see around town but now never get to catch up with or to stay in touch sometimes with people we meet on the road.

With the holidays approaching, will you be on the road or will you spend time with family and friends? Any specific holiday traditions you especially love … or hate?

KD: We’re taking three whole weeks off to go spend time with our families! It’s gonna be great. I don’t get to see my family in South Carolina that often so I’m looking forward to time with them and eating lots of food, especially seafood like my mom’s fried shrimp and things my dad has killed during the hunting season like deer (and maybe duck or dove breasts if I’m lucky). I love the Holidays and all the warmth and comfort that goes along with them.

How difficult is it to find a point of differentiation between the band and your personal lives?

KD: There is no differentiation. We live in a van together.

Given the bands and artists you’ve toured and performed; has there a person or group that took you under your wing when you were starting out? Have you gotten any personal or professional advice that really stands out?

KD: Dan Auerbach told us to get off of his bus once … just kidding. Everyone we’ve been out with has taught us different things. I liked being on that tour and observing how a larger tour operates.

I’ve worked in live production in commercial country music and seen wasteful megatours, but Dan’s crew all traveled in one bus and seemed to have a good balance between comfort on the road and feasiblity.

One of the first bands we traveled with was O’Death and they taught us some survival skills. Right now we’re out with King Khan and BBQ and their tour manager has been giving us lots of tips on getting into Canada … cross your fingers!

Is there an artist that you’ve encountered recently that you’ve been recommending to your friends?

KD: I was just turned onto Kurt Vile and like his latest album a lot. A band from Nashville called JEFF just put out an album too that is really great. We played with The Wrong Crowd last night in Kansas and they were good.

A few weeks ago we played with a band of high school boys called The Chandails in Phoenix. They were so awesome live and I’m still waiting to get their recordings!

There’s also a really great band from our hometown called The Kindergarten Circus – check them out for sure!

In doing dozens of interviews is there a question you are most tired of answering?

KD: I never want to answer the question “how did you meet?” ever again. Read the bio!

What were you listening to in 1999?

KD: I was 16 and listened to a lot of 90s indierock. I loved Sonic Youth, Pavement, Archers of Loaf, Man or Astroman, Blonde Redhead, Mogwai, Beck, The Rentals, Built To Spill, The Flaming Lips and some of the Elephant 6 stuff coming out of Athens. I also really loved The Cure. I had friends who were way into britpop so I was surrounded by Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Suede, and The Smiths … oh yeah, and Dr. Dre.

Which do you prefer: MP3, CD, Tape or Vinyl?

KD: Vinyl

What Web site (s) do you read regularly?

KD: I like to check out www.yeahintheboro.org it’s an arts organization that has really cool programs for young people. The YEAH center in our hometown of Murfreesboro that has an all-ages venue, recording studio, screenprinting shop, media lab and library.

I helped start the organization almost five years ago and am on the Board of Directors, but I’m not there on the ground level so I like to check in and see all of the exciting things going on.

They have a really cool Facebook they update regularly that is embedded as the newsfeed on their website, it’s really cool. I also occasionally read the Nashville Cream to see what my friends bands are up to.

One Drink; One Movie; One Album:

KD: Gin and tonic. Labyrinth. ONE ALBUM? Geez … Plastic Ono Band.