Those Darlins Still 'Get Loose' Despite Leaving Wild Ways Behind

Posted on Oct 7th 2011 2:00PM by Eric R. Danton
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Veta & Theo

It's true Those Darlins have established a reputation for out-of-control live shows, but Jessi Darlin tells Spinner the Tennessee trio (now a quartet, actually) has reined in its wilder side.

"You can't get f---ed up every night and really hit it that hard every night for the rest of the your life," the singer and guitarist says. "You still have get up the next day and go to the next town and do the next show."

After releasing their second LP, 'Screws Get Loose,' in March, the band is currently touring around the U.S., playing some dates with Drive-By Truckers and Lucero, and has just released the video for the album's title track. Jessi Darlin tells us about a performer who inspires her, keeping a musical edge on the road and interacting with fans.

So Those Darlins are no longer as crazy as your song 'Wild One' would have us believe?

We've definitely gotten more serious about what we're doing and more serious about being musicians. Sometimes it's kind of funny, because we've done a lot of crazy stuff in the past. We still have some wild nights, but as a group, on the whole, I feel like we've calmed down a lot in terms of seeing this as our profession.

Why do you think that is?

We were just learning how to perform and when you're young and in your first real band with a bunch of rowdy girls going, "Let's have fun," all the excitement, all the anxiety and anticipation and adrenaline would lead to just going crazy. After a while, you get used to it and it's more like a job, but it's an awesome job. Also, once you start doing crazy stuff, people just start expecting you to do crazy stuff all the time, and you start to wonder, "Am I just doing this to outdo what I did last time?"

Watch Those Darlins' 'Screws Get Loose' Video

Does the hard-charging image affect the way male fans interact with you?

There's a lot of people who are definitely intimidated, and then a lot of people who are really weird and think that because we're girls, we're just immediately going to be into them. It's like, you know, we meet a million people every day. I don't know why you think you're going to be more special than anyone else. You're drunk at the merch table right now, and no one is into that.

Do you describe yourselves as feminists?

We all consider ourselves feminists, but none of us would say we make feminist music. That's not why we write music. We just write music about our everyday lives, and if certain things come across as feminist, that's just because that's how we live our lives.

The band spends a lot of time on the road. How do you maintain your musical edge?

You have to love it. I don't ever get nervous before I play, I never think about who's watching, I don't get jittery anymore. I haven't for a long time. But every time I step out, it doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in, I could have had the worst day, as soon as I start playing, I feel 100 times better.

With the second album out, what are the band's goals now?

You're always trying to get better and tighter, and personally, I'm always studying other people. Outside of trying to become a really awesome songwriter, I always think in terms of live performance. I want to be the best I can be. It's not like there's a book written about it, there's no college course you can go take about how to be a great performer. It's something you have to pick up and learn on your own.

Who inspires you in that way?

I really like Tina Turner, especially when she and Ike were the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. She's just one of those people who can get on stage and just command attention. Watching her dance and move, it's just insane to me that one person could get up there and basically make everyone in the room's jaws drop.

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