Hello, there. I’m Darren, and this is a collection of stuff I’ve written over the years, mainly about music but there’s some other stuff too, such as film, TV and merch. You’ll also find the odd bit of promo for videos and music I’ve made. Thanks for dropping by.
It’s not a question I overhear every day. An explanation? Aw, go on then…
This morning, despite it being a bank holiday, I leapt out of bed at 7am and dashed up to London’s Leicester Square to take part in a world record attempt: the biggest ever zombie gathering. The record’s currently held by the undead of - where else? - Pittsburgh, where on 29 October last year 894 zombies wailed their way around Monroeville Mall, a venue that needs no introduction to fans of the...
As someone who’s often stepped out of a venue and gasped in wonder at how good the cold, fresh, night air tasted, I welcome the ban on smoking in public places that’s recently become law in England. Though before I get tarred and feathered (mostly tarred, I’d imagine) by smokers, I’ll add that I’d have been quite happy for there to be smoking and non-smoking pubs, if that’s the way the vote swung, and in some ways it’s sad to see a sweeping, law-enforced sanitisation of England’s dens of iniquity....
It’s very, very wet… which, rumour has it, is just how Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler likes it. But for me, an evening spent in a field, walking on a carpet of mud, crushed cardboard cups and discarded fast food, is about as far from paradise as the last train back from Brighton on a Saturday night.
Twenty years ago, in my Donington-going youth, I’d have relished it. These days, I enjoy my homely comforts far too much to fully appreciate these huge outdoor shows....
Despite promising myself that I’d resist the lure of 12-inch Doctor Who figures (my five-inch collection takes up enough room/money), I’ve succumbed. It’s difficult to say no when Argos stick certain figures in their sales, and over the last month or so I’ve acquired the two toys - er, I mean collectors’ items - pictured in glorious blur-o-vision on top of my freezer (the can of...
"Play it, James" - three words that will be instantly recognisable to Elvis Presley fans. You’ll hear Elvis use them to introduce the lead guitar break in The Wonder Of You, a No 1 single in 1970. Recorded live in Las Vegas in February of the same year, the song stands as a public reminder of the high regard in which Elvis held guitarist James Burton, who’d joined his band the previous year. The players he assembled - guitarists Burton and John Wilkinson, bassist Jerry...
Getting ill on the road: it’s every musician’s nightmare. For a one-man, high-octane show such as Jason Ringenberg’s, it’s a potential disaster - one that seems to be chasing the Tennessean country-rock legend around as he embarks on his first UK dates for more than two years.
With the flu - “the kind that kills people” - doing its best to lay him low and turn that distinctive voice into a croak, Jason has come closer than he’s ever been to...
I’m not one to lie in bed all day, but I reckon risin’ and shinin’ at 6.30am on Saturday is pretty courageous.
Yesterday’s heroic streak was inspired by a mini Planet Of The Apes fest-type convention thing at Memorabilia, the twice-yearly movie/TV/sport collectors’ fair held at the NEC in Birmingham. I had a 7.52am train to catch, to arrive at the venue around 11am.
Forget tribute bands. There’s only one way to experience the spirit of Johnny Cash live now that he’s no longer with us - and that’s by going to see The Tennessee Three.
The name might not add up - there are five people on stage, two of which have drawn tonight’s close-to-sell-out crowd - but maths is the last thing on my mind as guitarist Bob Wootton and drummer WS ‘Fluke’ Holland lead the band through nearly 40 Cash classics at the Academy, Islington....
Ladies and gentlemen, The Yayhoos have left the building.
Well, almost. They’ve just walked off stage after a mammoth two-hour set at the Luminaire in Kilburn, and the vacuum they’ve left behind them is huge - and very audible. A minute ago, the venue was ablaze in fiery red light, eardrum-whupping rock ‘n’ roll spraying off the stage and running down the walls.
See that mess on the floor? It may look like spilt beer, but it’s actually genuine Yayhoos sweat....
When Willie Nelson asks you to clap along, you clap along.
It’s a thrilling experience, sitting in the front row at Wembley Arena, just 20 feet away from one of country music’s living legends as he’s performing a song by one of country music’s dead legends (Hank Williams, as you ask). But I’m tapping my boot when I should be putting my paws together, and I catch Willie’s eye. As he gestures towards me, I break into an ‘okay, you win’ grin and join the clapping throng. Before I know it, I’m singing choruses aloud and even...
