What's Up! Magazine

Kelley Darlin, Jessi Darlin, and Nikki Darlin

Later this month Bellingham will have the pleasure in welcoming Those Darlins, made up of Kelley Darlin, the group’s bassist, Jessi Darlin, who plays guitar, and Nikki Darlin, on baritone ukulele. Everyone sings, and everyone writes the awesome country, punk, rockabilly infused songs that make this band so special. I recently spoke with Kelley of Those Darlins and asked some questions about their interesting lives and passions, as they make their way on a national tour.

Boris Budd: A listener can obviously hear country, rock, punk influences in your sound. To me you guys are totally punk, even when you go country. It’s about the attitude. What are your thoughts?

Those Darlins: I think rock ‘n’ roll is about independence, energy and expressing your ideas. There’s a lot of music within each genre you mentioned that seeks to recreate the same thing over and over, so for me making music is more about seeking an individual perspective as an artist than it is trying to work within a genre. There’s definitely an attitude of social and personal rebellion in punk music… but while country music doesn’t usually try to challenge the status quo, it can be subversive in subtle ways. There have historically been some very unorthodoxed characters in country and folk music, and their sense of humor and style resonates with us and in our music. We don’t come from wealthy families with archaic social rules of acceptance, so doing things a little “backwards” or making things up as we go makes a lot of sense to us.

BB: Let’s hear all about the band’s debut, self-titled record.

TD: It was a blast to record. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my whole life, and it was definitely the best time I’ve ever had in a studio. The album is the first release on our label, Oh Wow Dang Records, which is owned collectively by Jessi Darlin, Nikki Darlin, our manager John Turner, and myself. I’m really proud of how the album sounds and of the time in our lives that the album represents. I think it’s youthful and energetic and that people really respond to it on that level when they hear it.

When we began recording the album, we were a three piece and wanted to add percussion. We were looking for a producer who was creative and fun and who not only listened to our ideas, but could work with us to execute them. We went to New York City to work with Jeff Curtin, a young and talented producer. Jeff’s an excellent drummer and overall musician and he drummed on the first half of the album. Our friend Sheriff Lin began playing with us live, and recorded drums on the later half of the album. It took about nine months total to complete, working on and off between tours, and really evolved over time as the overall sound of the band evolved. We were playing a lot of shows on the road and songs would change by the next time we were in the studio, so we even retracked some of the songs because we were way more into how they were shaping up live and wanted to capture that energy.

BB: What can an audience expect at a Those Darlins performance? What was the band’s most memorable gig?

TD: I think people should come expecting to be part of the spectacle and have a good time. Because we’re playing the same songs each night and kinda know how it’s gonna go down, what makes it really special for us is the audience that shows up and how they contribute to the show.

The most memorable show for me was in Atlanta at The Drunken Unicorn. It was the first show of the tour and we had one problem after another, then we just kinda proceeded with a “f!#k it” kind of attitude. We were totally rockin’ out and I looked up and there was a guy with his bare ass humping the front center monitor. We’ve definitely played better shows, but that one is most memorable and hasn’t really been surpassed… yet anyway.

BB: I know the band writes its music as a team. But what actually happens in the practice room when Those Darlins are creating?

TD: Usually we make some cocktails, spend longer than we should setting up, at which point someone has to take a cigarette “break” from all of their hard work plugging in and tuning, then we reconvene, then Kelley or Jessi has to pee, then we reconvene again, and we kinda look at each other and someone says, “soooo…what do you wanna play?” If someone has been working on a piece of a song, they present it to the group and we all start figuring our chords and work shopping it. Then we take another break, drink cocktails and smoke cigarettes in the carport. Sometimes it’s best not to push things, because even if we’re not playing the whole time, it’s really valuable to have the hang out time to talk about ideas and band stuff in general. It keeps us all on the same page and into what we’re doing.

BB: What’s coming up in the next year for Those Darlins?

TD: Touring America and Canada, maybe Australia (fingers crossed), lots of interviews, writing new songs, maybe getting some new guitars? (fingers crossed again), meeting lots of fun and hilarious people, working really hard and having a great time.

BB: What goes on during the course of a “normal” day in the band’s shared suburban house?

TD: Hanging out, hangovers, blueblockers, BB gun shooting, record playing, dance parties, lots of sleeping between tours, catching up with friends and family, paying bills, washing clothes, making art, cooking food… you know, normal band house stuff.

BB: Describe the influence of Appalachian life on Those Darlins music and your collective outlook. Conversely, what does New York mean to the band?

TD: Nikki grew up in the mountains of Virginia and Jessi in rural areas of Kentucky so I think they have more of a personal relationship with Appalachian life and culture than I do. I grew up in South Carolina so the culture there is much more “low country.” It’s very flat and swampy and can be kind of gothic at times, with lots of ghost stories and nostalgia. But I think our shared perspective is based on values associated with rural living, like a respect of nature and land, the importance of family, eating real food (as opposed to fast food), being creative and making your own entertainment, and the prevalence of music and art in every day life.

NYC to me means progress and is the ultimate symbol of American culture and values, such as the old “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” capitalism and “melting pot” cliches. It’s so false and true at the same time. If you’re going to find those things anywhere in America, it’s NY. It’s magical, fun and tough as hell all at the same time. I loved meeting so many diverse people and seeing how so many different people choose to live, it’s like you can have 1,000 lives in NYC. The energy is tangible and that much energy concentrated in one space can be a huge source of inspiration, just as standing in the middle of nowhere on a huge mountain can be. Both situations can be very humbling.

BB: How did Those Darlins choose their name?

TD: We started with the band name THE Darlins, but it’s already taken so we went back to the drawing board. We wanted to keep the Darlins part and came up with lots of lame variations. Jessi and Nikki were working at a screenprinting shop Grand Palace and a friend of ours, Richie who plays in Ghostfinger, threw out “THOSE” Darlins….it made sense cause it sounded like the hard girls across the tracks or specific girls one is pointing at. Jessi and Nikki printed some band t-shirts and that finalized the whole thing.

BB: I find it energizing that Those Darlins are so passionate in regard to issues of equality. Tell us about some of the things that you guys have worked on and some goals the group has collectively decided to attain when it comes to helping people?

TD: We all work with the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp in Middle Tennessee to encourage more girls to participate in the music community. The camp is part of a larger nonprofit called YEAH (Youth Empowerment Through Arts & Humanities) that runs an all-ages venue and arts space. One of our biggest commitments is helping to establish and sustain this all-ages arts center in our hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As a band, we like to play and support all-ages shows and our friends who are in bands who are under 21 by helping them find opportunities to play and spreading the word about their bands.

While one person may not be able to tackle all of the issues they are passionate about, I think one of the best things you can do is to empower young people to think for themselves and feel a sense of community in which they can participate. Then the energy you invest has a ripple effect and they can hopefully go on to improve society. I think ultimately young people have some of the best ideas, the most unique perspectives, and a boldness that can sometimes be lost through the natural process of maturing or from not having a community that encourages them to be daring and creative.

BB: Please tell us more about the camp. What impact do you think it has on its participants and Those Darlins as well?

TD: I started the camp in 2003 when I was 18 and beginning my academic career at Middle Tennessee State University. I moved there to study recording and was really disappointed in the lack of females in my production classes and in the music scene in general. I really didn’t understand why after so many years of women having vital roles in the music industry and its history, that there would still be stigma attached to being a female musician. I heard about the Girls Rock Camp in Portland, OR and had to check it out. I flew out there and taught guitar and it changed my perspective. It was an oasis of women who were all creative and I wanted all girls to have that experience.

The camp has had a huge impact in connecting people in the music scene through volunteering and attending the camp. We all met through the camp and by participating in the music community that helps make the camp happen each year. If we had formed our band in another town we may not have had the support and encouragement we found in Murfreesboro and Nashville.

Catch Those Darlins on Nov. 22 at the Wild Buffalo. For more about the band, visit thosedarlins.com.