Of the couple hundred or more local shows I’ve attended as a Fort Wayne resident, very few – maybe 10, definitely no more – hold any place at all in my pocked memory. Yet another victory for the makers of cheap, tasty, intoxicating beverages.
One of those very few, a barnburner performance by the Nashville-based Those Darlins, comes to mind as clear as day. At the time, the three-girl-and-one-dude lineup was on a seemingly never-ending tour in support of their 2009 eponymous debut – a twangy record with standouts like “Red Light Love,” “Wild One” and “Snaggle Tooth Mama.” By the time the girls made it to Fort Wayne, they were a different band than the one heard on said record. They had a whole new batch of songs and had, for the most part, become something of a rowdy rock n’ roll band. That night the Darlins kicked and spit and partied, playing a blow-out set that captivated and energized everyone in the room.
Fast-forward to March 29 of this year. The Darlins are on the road somewhere, still going from town to town in their old van. On this day, their second record, Screws Get Loose, hits iTunes and record stores shelves everywhere. The write-ups are great and the record, released by the band’s own Oh Wow Dang label, takes the No. 1 spot on one of the many Billboard charts. Suddenly, this little self-made band seems anew. No longer are they the folk-influenced Southern Belle types. Not hardly at all. In their places rises a garage-punk crew with a record full of hit songs.
Four months and many cities since, I find myself on the phone with Kelley Darlin, one of the best-spoken rocker types you’re likely to come across. She is, once again, in a van somewhere in America, going from town to town with her bandmates, Nikki Darlin, Jessi Darlin and drummer Linwood Regensburg (who has seemingly played a big part in the band’s fuller studio sound, playing not just percussion, but a fair share of guitar throughout the record).
“Yeah, we’re in the van,” Kelley laughs. “I think we’re in the middle of the dessert, driving through Arizona. It’s only 94 here and it’s 96 in Nashville, where we’re mostly from.”
Two weeks prior to our talk, I’d heard “Red Light Love” coming out of my television, playing over a Kia Sorento commercial. This, of course, would have to be my first question.
“Our family members and friends get really excited when they see that commercial,” Kelley said with as much twang as a voice can handle. “In a way, it’s a big deal to them. It makes it more real to them, what we do. And I guess having your music played over and over again on national television is a nice perk we can’t complain about.”
Next up, I ask about the new Screws Get Loose, an album I’ve listened to many, many times since its still-recent release. Kelley, who as been talking about the record to phoners like myself for months, had very little to say. Call it phone fatigue. She told me that the band drove down to The Living Room Studio in Atlanta to record with Jeff Curtin, who produced their first record. Atlanta? Fitting, I suppose, when you consider the current garage-rock-heavy reputation that town has.
Then, predictably, I ask Kelley to tell me about the week the record was released. I ask this because the Darlins are a true DIY band. They own their own label and leave their finger prints on every piece of the puzzle that’s gotten them where they are today. So, that DIY backbone in mind, I was curious to know how the huge amount of recent success felt after years of tireless work.
“Well, we were on tour when the new album came out. When our first album came out we did a big hometown release show with the Black LIps that was really hyped up. All our family and friends came and it was a big deal,” Kelley explained, talking loudly over the howl of a nearby GPS unit. “But the new album just sort of came out while we were on the road. So even though the album made a bigger splash with national press and stuff, it didn’t feel like as big of a deal as the first album. So it was just kind of like: this is what we do, I guess.”
Eight of the record’s 11 tracks were written or co-written by Jessi, the band’s fiery little lead guitarist. Not surprisingly, Jessi had always come off as the most rock n’ roll-centric member of the band, giving off some serious punk rock vibes in the band’s music videos and live performances. (Kelley comes off as an indie rock/country belle hybrid while Nikki has a slacker/stoner/rocker appeal.) This in mind, I next ask Kelley about the band’s new sound, another question I’m sure she’s been answering for months.
“When we were playing out in support of the first album, it all just kept getting louder and more distorted. I think we kind of got tired of playing all acoustic, too,” she said. “And after a while we added a drummer, which changed things. So it was just a natural progression to go from more country stuff to more rock n’ roll type stuff. And we’d all been in rock n’ roll bands before. But I think we still love to play old country music too.”
For those unfamiliar with the Darlins, the band started off as an all-female trio based out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A place that, from what many have told me, is one of the most interesting small town in the country.
“Most of our band lives in Nashville now, but I still live in Murfreesboro. It’s just a college town, really, with a big school and a great music recording program,” Kelley explained. “So there are a ton of musicians. And since it’s a college town, more people there can afford the time to be creative. But things have maybe dropped off a bit. Ten years ago or so I think Murfreesboro had a better rock n’ roll scene than Nashville, which is like 45 minutes away. But now Nashville has a great underground rock n’ roll scene.”
Living in two different towns after years of living together, in the same house, in Murfreesboro, Kelley told me, hasn’t really changed anything. For the most part, she says, the band lives together in vans and hotel rooms, spending almost all of their time on the road over the last few years.
With a TV commercial that plays seemingly on the hour, a hit record and a solid touring reputation, I was curious to know what was next for the band.
“Well, we’ve been road testing some new songs already. Looking forward. I’m not even sure what genre you’d call the new stuff, but I think it’s probably more girl group-y than the other stuff we’ve done.”
Kelley then stops herself. There’s some noise in the van. A lost GPS signal, maybe. Some sort of confusion and chatter. When Kelley returns she starts talking, unprompted.
“We toured Australia this last December. There’s a label there that’s releasing our albums to the Australian market,” she tells me. “So we’re taking on Australia just as we have the U.S. – touring and touring and touring. So next I suppose we’ll go somewhere else and keep working towards world domination.”
Lastly, I’m curious to know if the dynamics have changed. From the outside, it seems as if the three-headed monster of Nikki/Jessi/Kelley has shifted, replaced by a full band dynamic that appears to be fronted by Jessi – a great songwriter with amazingly bratty vocals.
“The dynamics haven’t really changed. Jessi just had a lot of songs when we were ready to record,” I’m told. “Nikki had some great stuff but she was recovering from a broken arm, so that was a setback in a way. I think for the next album we’ll all really contribute as we always have. So It’s the same creative dynamic.”
Kelley continues talking as the signal comes in and out, most of her words lost in the bad cell reception of the Arizona desert. Before hanging up she offers me a parting pleasantry I’d never before received.
“So just call me back whenever if you need to ask me something,” she says, twangier than ever. “I’ll probably just be in this van, going somewhere.”
