Michigan’s Darling Down recently released their highly anticipated sophomore release Never Tell and it’s a great example of why this band is poised for bigger and better things in the near future. The band consists of Amanda Legault on vocals, Ryan Hudson on drums, Dustin Claud on guitar and Jim Dokurno on guitar. The band has all the elements needed to take their game to the next level including well writing songs, crafty hooks, outstanding musicianship and the fine art of knowing how to bust a move. After a twelve hour plus van ride to a gig in North Carolina, the band and I hoped back in that van for one the funniest interviews that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of this year.
Thanks so much for agreeing to do this. Can we start with a little history on the band such as the origin of the band name?
Ryan Hudson: We got together pretty quick like and we weren’t even sure at that point if there was going to be a band. We had one practice and it went really well and then we decided that we needed to come up with a name. The usually takes forever to figure out, but I received a phone call while we were all there. It was from my friend who has a rare disease, she was really feeling down and I remember saying something along the lines of hey darling, why are you so down? I thought, ok, darling down and everyone else was like ok, that’ll do. We figured it mixed the femininity with the masculinity, so it wasn’t too girly of a name.
Dustin Claud: It was emo. (laughs)
How did the four of you meet and form the band?
Jim Dorkuno: Craigslist. (laughs)
Amanda Legault: Actually, Ryan and I actually went to high school together, but then I moved to California and I met Dustin. Then, Dustin and I moved back to Michigan and we placed an ad at a music store and Ryan called me out of the blue and it was just meant to be. Then, we found this guy (Jim Dokurno) on the side of the road.
You pick up a hitchhiker and he happens to play the bass; that’s a major score! Well, that’s one mystery solved, now let’s address another one. How did you end up working with producer Chuck Alkazian (Soundgarden/Pop Evil) on your newest album?
Dustin: We were going to contact him through a lawyer and then Ryan just hit him up randomly.
Jim: Chuck’s been a part of the Michigan scene forever.
Dustin: He met with us and we talked to him for a few hours and it was great. We decided to roll the dice on it and it proved to be a good move.
Amanda: Yeah, we’re really happy with the product.
Were there any moments in the studio where he may have pushed you out of your comfort zone?
Dustin: No, he’s actually a really friendly guy and if you’re playing something that sucks, he’ll just tell you ‘hey man, that really sucks,’ and you do something else. (laughs)
You also have a pretty impressive list of guest stars on this album.
Dustin: It’s blackmail.
Amanda: It really about networking and who you ask.
You’ll never know if you don’t ask.
Amanda: You’re exactly right and you’d be amazed who says yes if you take that chance.
Jim: We’ve known Stephen (Richards) from Taproot for five or six years, we’ve known Vinnie (Dombroski) from Sponge for fifteen or twenty years, but I think the trump card was Clint Lowery from Sevendust.
Dustin: Yeah, we just asked him via Twitter.
Amanda: He was great and even sent us a video clip of him playing the lead.
Jim: The lead on the album is actually his first try; he sent us a bunch, but that one was definitely the one.
Dustin: It was great that he sent that video because then I could actually learn how to play it. I mean, it is Clint Lowery.
So, that’s a very positive thing to have so many great artists agree to appear on the album, but let’s switch gears a little bit and look at something negative if we can. What’s been one of the toughest hurdles for you guys being an indie band?
Amanda: Money’s always a tough one.
Jim: The industry right now is really tough and it’s hard just to get people to come out to a show. We’re dig much better today, but things are a lot different than they were ten years ago.
Amanda: Jim’s really good at making Facebook friends and inviting people to our shows.
Jim: I don’t think bands have fans anymore, I think they have friends.
Dustin: You have to genuinely care about them too because they have so many options out there to choose from these days. They’re going to look at who actually cares about who is listening to their music and that’s what we’re working on.
Jim: It’s way different than it was in 2004, but that’s not to say that we’re super old or anything, but it’s much different than when we started.
Amanda: Although, we did see My Space. (laughs)
Can we go around one by one and tell what it was that inspired you to go into music?
Ryan: There was a girl that lived across the street that was three years older than I and she had a good looking friend that I wanted to impress. So, I learned some Poison, some Hootie and the Blowfish and it worked great.
So, you impressed the girl.
Ryan: Oh yeah!
Jim: The late 80s and early 90s, from The Melvins to Sponge. There was something about that decade and a half of music that was just phenomenal. I remember I was in third grade and I saw the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video.
Amanda: I grew up listening to a lot of Barbara Streisand, musicals and Disney. I sang in church and I’ve pretty much been singing since I could talk.
Dustin: I remember hearing Amanda sing karaoke in California and I knew I could use that. So, I looked at her like a tool, objectively.
Amanda: So the truth comes out; I’m just a tool.
Jim: Is this like Taxicab Confessions? (laughs)
Dustin: I went to a show when I was a freshman in high school and there were some local bands playing and it was packed. The energy in the room and the excitement convinced me that it was something I needed to do. I felt an adrenaline rush and I wanted to be able to capture that.
Speaking of confessions, who’s the biggest prankster/practical jokester in the band?
Amanda: That would be Jim. We get to hear lots of poop jokes or worse. I was actually trying to keep it PG in here.
Jim: We actually came up with a t-shirt line called dick-jousting. (Jim then proceeds to hold up a t-shirt with the logo on it)
Amanda: Ryan, I think you should tell the dick-jousting story.
Ryan: I don’t know; do you want to hear the dick-jousting story?
Darling Down – Pressure Lyric Video
[embedplusvideo height=”300″ width=”590″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1zy8gHG” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/PZ2CkUwvjRk?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=PZ2CkUwvjRk&width=590&height=300&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep6696″ /]
I think I’m already invested in this conversation, so it would be a travesty if I said no.
Ryan: I can’t remember if we were at practice or after practice or exactly what we were doing, but there was drinking involved. I remember someone had mentioned that there is just so much competition in the local band scene and we’ve never understood that. We try our best to go out there and support each other, buy each other’s shirts and CDs and stuff, but not everyone is supportive of other bands like that. So, we came up with the dick-jousting hashtag to use when we wanted to talk about it, but not actually say it. Then, I had a buddy who is an artist who came up with a design and we printed up some shirts.
One day when we’re old, we shall sit around a campfire and share the story of the legendary dick-jousting origin with our grandkids. As much fun as this has been, I know that it must come to an end because you have to go set up for your set; any closing words for the readers?
Jim: I don’t know what happened, but music’s supposed to be fun. Now, people join a band and want a fucking 401K and a health plan. I don’t care if it’s rock and roll, metal, punk or whatever; just got out there and fucking have fun.
Dustin: Yeah, we’re all about going out there and having fun; that’s our biggest thing.
Jim: Viva 2015; VMAs here we come!
Connect with Darling Down! (click on the icons):
