the band doing some bonding

We played at the Ritz last night and did what we were told – so –  guess we “filled the bill”. The band has never played more quietly – and that’s just what the Event Planner wanted !!

Tonight we can let loose at Hull Bay Hideaway. This is one of our favorite gigs and lots of friends and fans usually stop by.

The bands been very busy lately, but on separate things. It’s all good because doing other musical projects makes us better musicians – and that helps the band indirectly !!

There has been a bunch of good music around the island lately – and this both inspires, and motivates us !! The community support has been tremendous and that is quite heart-warming – this community cares and supports the arts – Yea !!!

We had a very successful show at Foxy’s, on Jost Van Dyke for New Years Eve. The crowd was ready to party and dance in the New Year. Some folks were dancing as they walked in and the whole crowd was swaying by the 3rd song. Heard estimates of 6,000 people – a lighter than normal crowd due to the rough weather – it was blowing pretty hard out there! But it actually made it more pleasant as far as walking through the crowd to walk down the beach. A surprising number of our fans and friends from St. Thomas made the trip – Cheers guys !!  Tessa and Foxy were both impressed and had complimentary things to say, after the performance !! Cheers !!

The band has picked up some gigs at Tickles Pub in Feb. and March –We’ll let you know on our calender. Everybody is busy – but we still have some open dates on our calender…please keep us in mind for any functions you might hear about!!

Soon we’ll  have our CD and even tee shirts (maybe) – which  should help on the promotion side of  things!!

Cheers !!

Quite a juxtaposition between the front and back row

Matt appearing very focused in this shot.

Each of the band members has been very busy during this traditionally slow season. We each have a few things in the fire, and they all coincidentally,  came together for everyone during this “slow season”.  Counter intuitively, we should have more time to rehearse during the “busy season” – got that?

Some band members wouldn’t mind twice weekly rehearsals. It’s at the rehearsals that we get to try things out, take some chances – and just see how different approaches sound in the band context.   The band members can give input and feedback to each other without offending each other – that’s always a sensitive issue – and huge in this kind of artistic collaboration !!

Becca singing her heart out despite her ace bandages and sore elbow

The band was hobbled last night at latitude 18, yet still manged to deliver a really fine show. Danny’s hand is still partially numb, (although getting better every day), Becca’s elbow was sore from “tennis elbow”, and Robert showed up with a bandage on his hand.

The spirit of the music carried the show, and the crowd was very appreciative. The vibe of the room always affects the band and the crowd was definitely on our side, so to speak ! The first set was a bit tentative, but by the second set the band had found it’s groove !!

The song ” House of the Rising Sun” got a big applause, and has become one of our showstopper pieces !! The 2 Stevie Wonder songs, as well as the jazz tunes also got nice rounds of  applause !

Becca and Matt bathed in purple

Gigs are beginning to slow down – however the up side is that we have more time to rehearse, and also work on our recording  and promotion projects -( is there a  tee shirt in the works ?) – we’ll let you know !

As for the Monday nights, we’ll be back at Latitude 18 next season (around Thanksgiving). The band is sounding tighter and more in the groove lately. Now we just need some gigs – got any ?

It was nice to see the crowd response on “Trippin Thursday” at Jack’s. By one count at midway there were 122 people, and that probably went up since more folks were arriving even during the last set. With the new stage lighting  ( we’ve included  a shot of  Matt and Becca bathed in purple )- it feels more like a show !  This great shot, among many others was captured by Steve Danesi, the owner of Jack’s,who has a real knack for this – hey, ever thought about quitting your day job ??

Our Hermit was there and also captured some great shots, as well as recording and video-graphing the entire show !! We’ll keep you posted on that project ! Cheers !!

The band had a very productive day during our first recording session. We did 5 “scratch tracks’, for the 5 songs that will be on our upcoming Demo CD. Everybody feels fine with the drum tracks – so we’re on our way !!

Everybody did just fine in a “studio setting”, which is always a big question mark for a live band, such as we are ! We tried to recreate the live “feel” as much as possible by having 4 of us in one room, but of course the drummer had to be in his own soundproof “cocoon” !

In case you’re wondering which songs were chosen – they are :  Hey Boy, Margery, Suzie, One Way Out, and Jack Sprat. Our recording engineer Zan Llaneeza  felt good about the recording session – and that’s  a good sign !!  So it’s onward – we’ll keep you posted !!

Robert Falzarano in his soundproof cocoon during our first recording session

Becca Darling, Danny Silber, and Matt Cring during a relaxed moment in the studio

Becca Darling and Matt Cring during our first recording session

Photo taken at Cinco de Mayo Event

The band played for a wedding last night, and they’re always a bit strange for us – we’re not really a “wedding band”, but we did it  – and made the “big bucks” ! It’s back to Latitude tonight for our every other Saturday gig, -  we know – it’s confusing for us as well !!

We go into the studio on Thursday to begin work on our upcoming recording project – we’ll keep you posted on how that goes. In the meantime, we’ll keep adding tunes to our repertoire and hunting down gigs – got one for us ?

Yesterday was an exciting step forward for the band. We are beginning work  on our first studio recording ! We decided that it will be all original songs, and that Morgan Rael will act as the producer. He will work, with Zan llaneza, who will be the engineer, and of course will be coordinating with the band members and most importantly with Becca !

Our first session was less than thrilling ! We just went over 6 songs that we’ll be recording – there was some mix-up so the recording engineer was not there. At least we got the feel of playing in a small room with limited air ?? – not that we’re whining – it was still worthwhile.

Next we have to find the time to rehearse, and add some new cover tunes, so our fans don’t get tired of our repertoire – after all, it’s a small island.  We had a full house at Latitude 18 last Monday – and the band always gets hyped up from the energy flowing back and forth !

The Becca Darling Band Live at Latitude 18

The band played before a small, but supportive crowd last Saturday night. It rained heavy for a solid 2 hours just before we were to begin, and that practically insured a small turnout. Nonetheless, the band had one of it’s better nights musically !!

Becca’s dear friend, Grace Notary was there on a visit to St Thomas, and both of them were beaming – one could see the genuine affection there. Becca sang the great Latin love song “Besame Mucho”, for the first time (in public), and did a superb job of  “delivering” the passion of this song.

Becca gave a playful rendition of the dance tune “Fergalicious”, and the band had fun, plus played well for pretty much the whole night !

This coming week  the band added a Friday night at latitude 18 as a fill in for the regular act – who is off-island. We will have guest artist Paul Dirks on bass! It’s always a pleasure to work with him !!

The Becca Darling Band has begun rehearsing one of the most well known Latin love songs, Besame Mucho. This song is literally dripping with passion !  One of the lines goes “love me forever and make all my dreams come true” -now that’s passion !!

We’ve also begun rehearsal of the song (made famous by Billie Holliday) titled “When Your Lover Has Gone”. Becca’s going to try her hand at scat singing, and the first recorded instance of this was by the great Louis Armstrong !  This is also a love song but would fall under unrequited love !

Last night was a wonderful night of music and love at the gala celebration/fundraiser for Nicky Russell, which was held at  Hull Bay Hideaway. It was a heartwarming show of affection for one of the most beloved entertainers and humanitarians on the island !