Saturday, November 03, 2012

ROUTES & BRANCHES
DEPARTURES
*
SOMEBODY'S DARLING
Jank City Shakedown

For this Episode of our Routes & Branches Departures, we visit with Amber Farris and David Ponder from Somebody's Darling.  Like anyone else, when the band's Jank City Shakedown landed on my desk, my first reaction was to do a bit of research.  To what, exactly, was "Jank City" referring?  Is it an insider's nickname for the band's Dallas hometown?    Perhaps, I wondered, "Jank City" is an existential state - I could tell it wasn't necessarily a positive thing.  Fortunately, I was soon distracted by the album's fantastic bluesy roots-rock and singer Amber Farris' force-of-nature vocals.  

Per the band's website:  Jank City is "sort of a broke down artist community that's colorful but stressful, rewarding yet maddening, and most of all hilarious. Whenever a tire pops on the way to a gig, or a rent checks bounces or something, it's just a Jank City Shakedown." 

The connection became all the more secure when I was interviewing Ronnie Fauss, who mentioned Somebody's Darling as one of his favorite Dallas area acts.  Matter of fact, Amber Farris and Ronnie Fauss have apparently shared the occasional stage.  In a time when too many female vocalists are praised for their twang or their sweet drawl, Amber opts for a bluesy bravado that commands more attention.  The music of Somebody's Darling sounds like it might've emerged from a place a state or two to the east.  

To our delight, both Amber Farris and guitarist David Ponder answered my call for a quick glimpse into their respective musical inspiration.
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Amber:

Hometown:  Dallax, TX

Favorite Music As a Youngster:  Pop and country

Your 5 Favorite Albums:  They change daily and this is tough to narrow down but here goes:  
Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker
Dawes, Nothing Is Wrong
Blind Melon, Soup & Nico
David Byrne & Saint Vincent, Love This Giant
Shovels & Rope, O' Be Joyful

Lyric You Wish You'd Written:  I'm excited for the ones I haven't written yet!  Just wrote "I bet when I leave my body for the sky the wait ... the wait will be worth it.  I love it all."  Also, all the lyrics to "Dear Chicago" by Ryan Adams.  

Best Concert You've Seen:  Rod Stewart

What's In Your CD Player These Days:  I don't have a CD player at the moment, but my record player is spinning David Byrne & Saint Vincent, Justin Townes Earle, and Thao & the Get  Down Stay Down.

David: 

Hometown:  Dallax, TX

Favorite Music As a Youngster:  Rock & Roll 

Your 5 Favorite Albums:  
Paul Simon, Graceland
Leon Russell, self-titled
Spoon, Transference
J Roddy Walston, self-titled
Gary Stewart, Essentials

Lyric You Wish You'd Written "She says that losing love is like a window in your heart, everybody sees you're blown apart, everybody sees the wind blow"  ~  Paul  Simon, "Graceland"   

Best Concert You've Seen:  Wilco 

What's In Your CD Player These Days: CD player got stolen a few years back but: I've been listening to Spotify like crazy. Getting into old Ray Charles stuff and TONS of Randy Newman - I've been listening to "Good Old Boys" on repeat for a few days.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

"I bet when I leave my body for the sky the wait ... the wait will be worth it. I love it all." by Local Natives (not me) sorry for the miss print. Thanks, Amber