Hidden Track Interview: Those Darlins are Snaggle Tooth Mamas and Proud

JK: I saw some educational commentary on one of your songs entitled The Whole Damn Thing, which speaks of the lyrics as “feminist rebellion against the constraints of women’s appetites.” Would you care to comment on that?

TD: We think it’s a cool take on that song. Nikki wrote the song. Like with Snaggle Tooth Momma it’s about being proud of where you come from and who you are, and being comfortable and having a good time. But at the same time while writing the the song, I (Jessi) didn’t think about how someone would actually interpret the song, I was just writing a song. But we do agree that people shouldn’t worry about their image and feel like they have this certain body type or that type.

thosedarlins062709mercy02

[Photo by Steve Cross]

JK: What inspired you to put Carter Family and Dave Macon covers on your new album?

TD: When we started out playing together we’d just play old country songs, like the Carter Family, just sitting out on the porch. Once we started recording these cover songs, we decided we could make these [songs] go a whole other direction so we put a little punk rock in the songs and we’re really glad they’re on the record. And it’s really cool that it is Uncle Dave Macon, it’s something really unique for this area [Murfreesboro, TN],  and not everyone knows who he is.

JK: Let’s talk about the Murfreesboro music scene for a little, I see it as another southern music epicenter like Athens. We’ve seen bands come and go but every once in a while bands from Murfreesboro hit it big somehow. So with that in mind, what are some of your favorite artists from around Middle Tennessee?

TD: Kindergarten Circus! They’ve been playing for about three years now. They were like 13 and 14 when they started. It’s three boys, they are almost like our little brother band [laughter]. It’s garage rock. The first time we saw them we thought that by the time they are in their 20’s they will be the best band in the world. They’re already better than most bands we’ve seen and they’re dedicated. Their favorite bands are like the White Stripes and Velvet Underground and they formed through the after school program called YEAH (Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities) that is also the non-profit umbrella organization that over Southern Girls Rock’n’Roll Camp.

JK: What other bands outside of Middle Tennessee are you digging on?

TD: Heavy Trash, Deep Sea Diver and the Black Lips. It’s funny, but a lot of the bands we had the pleasure of playing with this past tour.

thosedarlins062709mercy15

[Photo by Steve Cross]

JK: You have all been involved with the Southern Girls Rock’n’Roll Camp in one aspect or another, as the founder, volunteers and even as original camp members. Can you explain how the camp has grown and how its influenced you as a person and as a band.

TD (Kelley): Well, the camp is definitely really established now. It has a big fan and support base. We have more campers than we had in the past. We have a stronger curriculum and we have a lot of teachers and campers that come back as teachers, so they are aware of how it runs. It’s more stream lined. One thing about it though, is since this camp has been going on for so long people assume that we have a large financial base to pull the camp off year after year. And we’re a non-profit, but costs to put the camp on are going up year after year.

Unfortunately, because of the increased costs we’re looking at not having the camp at MTSU next year. And we feel that the camp does a lot of outreach to get girls interested in the Recording Industry and Music programs at this university. So we’re looking at very big changes at the way we operate next year. We’ve tried to cut costs everywhere. The camp survives on $10-$20 donations and the money we collect from the camp goes into the funds to support the camp the following year. The camp can always use the financial support because it really is a great program, plenty of people benefit from it, and value it.

As far as how the camp has influenced us as a band…its influenced our value system. We make band and creative decisions in an egalitarian, open and fair way. And that exemplifies one of the exact core values taught at camp.

3789914743_f4030c20e5

[Nikki Darlin teaches guitar]

And for me (Jessi) I attended the first camp when I was 12. I played music since I was 9, but I didn’t know any girls that wanted to play music, I didn’t know how to be in a band, I didn’t know people who liked music. I would just sit at home and play music by myself. Then one of my friends told me about the Rock’n’Roll camp and she had never played an instrument before. So we went and I found a bunch of other girls who liked music and were interested in the same stuff we were. And I met Kelley and Nikki there.

The first time I ever played on stage or in a band or the first song I ever really wrote was probably at camp. It gave me something to look forward to each summer. It kept me going and kept me playing. And it influenced me to move to Murfreesboro which eventually lead to us forming.

JK: So, without the camp you wouldn’t be a band?

TD: It’s not like camp is our band. We had no intention of doing an all-girl band, we just started playing and found other cool people to play with. (Kelley) At the time I wasn’t looking for a new band or musician to play with, I wasn’t writing songs or deciding I needed to jam. I didn’t know I needed it but I needed some motivation and that’s how our practices started out, just loose, hanging out and having a good time. It wasn’t judgemental. It just happened.

Note: due to the loss in audio quality it was hard to distinquish which Darlin answered what questions so this an adbridged version of the actual interview.

Those Darlins hit the road on September 8 for a month and half long tour, that includes a handful of dates opening for Dr. Dog, and a Halloween show with The Meat Puppets at The Rudyard in Houston.

Related Content

5 Responses

  1. they had no business playing after the black lips this summer in nashville….king khan and BBQ will be back in November!

  2. I drove up for the c.d. release party they played in Nashville with the Black Lips. It was an awesome show and the girls rocked my socks off (after just having them rocked off by the Lips), but oh my lord was it warm in that place!

  3. Ha! I’ve seen posts that they will be playing on at least some of the King Khan and BBQ show dates. THAT will be a party.

  4. Ha! I’ve seen posts that they will be playing on at least some of the King Khan and BBQ show dates. THAT will be a party.
    Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter