The Darcys recently released an interpretation of Steely Dan's 1977 classic album AJA, which as of now you can download for free on their website. Recently I caught up with them to talk about their tour and life on the road. Wes Marskell of the band took some time out to talk about inspiring other young bands and the avoiding the danger involved in traveling from city to city.
The Darcys' massive tour with the Arkells and Bombay Bicycle Club begins on January 27th. Check the dates below.
Best thing about touring?
From tour to tour we have watched our shows grow and I am starting to get the feeling that people care about what we are doing. Maybe not 3000 people in every city, but every now and again we will get an email from a kid in Denver or Vancouver who says, “I started a band to sound just like yours.”
Some crappy or creepy thing that has happened to you on the road?
We were held up with a hunting knife in Guelph. The guy had this look of fear in his eyes and no one was really sure how the whole thing was going to play out. It was very scary at the time. Looking back, I feel bad for him because he clearly was just a kid in way over his head. He was trapped in our van and knew that he wasn’t going to get away from us so he started to panic. There was a struggle and in the end, he spent the night in jail. No one was cut and to this day, we tour with the knife hanging around our rear-view mirror.
What awesome place should we know about?
Depanneur le Pick Up in Montreal. They have the best vegetarian pulled pork sandwich on the planet. Murray Lightburn first took us there when we were recording our self-titled album with him.
Who band(s) are you into right now? Anyone you’ve seen lately who’s rocked your world?
Before we started this tour with Arkells they were kind enough to invite us to their show at Sound Academy in Toronto. Not only is Max a very strong frontman, the band is a force. They are going to kill us every night. We have been practicing four times a week so we can try to keep pace with them on this tour.
Most interesting person you have met on the road?
Rob Pattinson showed up at one of our shows in Vancouver. Essentially, he started a riot of 16-year-old girls and we had to create an elaborate diversion to help him leave after the show. He wasn’t the most interesting person, but the ensuing insanity of the night will stay with me forever.
We love stories – embarrassing, scary or happy, tell us your best.
We tour with hockey sticks and play road hockey for an hour before every show. The games are less about scoring goals and more about knocking each other down. The last game we played Jason accidentally slashed me in the face with this stick and I had to play the whole show with a welt the size of a grapefruit on my face.
Anything else?
Buy winter tires.
The Darcys endless tour schedule after the jump
01/27 Kingston, ON // Ale House *
01/28 Montreal, QC // Petit Campus *
01/31 Moncton, NB // Manhattan *
02/01 Fredericton, NB // The Ballroom *
02/02 Halifax, NS // Grawood *
02/03 Charlottetown, PEI // The Wave *
02/04 Antigonish, NS // The McKay Room *
02/09 Kitchener, ON // Elements *
02/10 London, ON // London Music Hall *
02/14 San Diego, CA // The Casbah ^
02/15 Los Angeles, CA // El Rey Theatre ^
02/16 San Francisco, CA // Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop ^
02/17 Portland, OR // Doug Fir ^
02/18 Seattle, WA // Crocodile ^
02/20 Vancouver, BC // Commodore ^
02/21 Kamloops, BC // Blue Grotto ^
02/22 Calgary, AB // Republik ^
02/23 Edmonton, AB // Starlite ^
02/25 Winnipeg, MB // West End Cultural Centre ^
02/26 Minneapolis, MN // 7th Street Entry ^
02/27 Chicago, IL // Subterranean ^
02/29 Columbus, OH // The Basement ^
03/01 Toronto, ON // The Mod Club ^
03/03 Brooklyn, NY // Music Hall Of Williamsburg ^
03/05 New York, NY // Bowery Ballroom ^
03/07 Washington, DC // 930 Club ^
03/08 Hoboken, NJ // Maxwell's ^
03/09 Boston, MA // Middle East ^
03/10 Philadelphia, PA // Union Transfer ^
07/14 Toronto, ON // Downsview Park (Edgefest)
* Arkells
^ Bombay Bicycle Club