Tennessee natives Those Darlins have spent their summer touring with Best Coast to promote their newest album, Screws Get Loose. The group is playing one of its final shows Wednesday night at the Majestic Theatre here in Madison before wrapping up the tour the next day in Chicago. I had a chance to chat with Jessi Darlin and ask her a few questions about the band’s influences, their experiences touring with Best Coast’s Bethany Constentino, and the process behind creating music that is both fun and multi-faceted.
Your band is a successful group of female musicians. How has the experience of touring with Best Coast, another strong female-fronted group, been like?
“We don’t really think of it that way. We’re all musicians. People get really hung up on the fact that we are girls and always want to make it some ‘girls club’ but the truth is we like bands for the music they play and the type of people they are. It’s more about musical identity than it is about gender identity. That being said, there aren’t enough girls rockin’ out onstage and sometimes the same ol’ sausage party just gets old. We totally support girls with guitars. Best Coast are great and we’ve had a really good time with them. Their audience is a really cool one to play in front of because they are young and excited about life. I don’t think they’re used to seeing a lot of females playing rock ‘n’ roll so it’s interesting to see their reactions.”
Those Darlins is a unique blend of influences, from country to punk rock. Where does the line blur between your Southern roots and your personal tastes as musicians?
“Somewhere around the Mason-Dixon line.”
Your albums have been both the product of and result of so much fun. What is the actual songwriting process for each track? Are your songs based largely off of your own life experiences?
“It just depends on the track. Someone writes words, someone writes a melody, everyone adds a bit here and there. Just have fun. Yes, the songs are usually about some experience we’ve had in our life or maybe a lesson we’ve learned. For instance, songs like ‘Be Your Bro’ and ‘Screws Get Loose’ I wrote mostly the whole song but with the drums and bass dumbed down, then brought them to the band and the rest of the band elaborated on the basic ideas on their own instruments. Nikki and Lin wrote ‘Hives’ together. I wrote the words, melody, and bass line to ‘Tina Said’ and Lin helped write the guitars and drums, etc.”
Are there any other musical elements you’d like to explore in an upcoming album?
“Yeah, I’m interested in exploring musically and wanna always be looking for something more than what I’ve already discovered. Keep it interesting. Try to create something new and unique. Lately I’ve been focused on the way the words are articulated — trying to keep them rhythmic, getting creative with the way you can say them.”
The Internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. What are your thoughts on the power of the web in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?
“In some ways it’s cool, because anyone can put music up and have a chance at getting people to listen. It’s also harder to stick out and last in the sea of bands popping up everyday. Also, I think that people have gotten lazy in terms of the quality of music they make because now it’s acceptable to put up some thrown together four-track demo and have people lose their shit over it for about 14.2 seconds.”