Marin singer/songwriter Darren Nelson is a striking presence. He is plastered with tattoos, has a long and wild mane of hair, sports a scruffy, mountain man-style beard, and a heart-melting grin. In any given song, his expressive face may go from a wide-mouthed scream to a peaceful Buddha. His songs are lyrical stories telling of runaway convicts, drinking, love & heartbreak, and how a hard life can turn out to be a fun adventure. His onstage presence is both dynamic and genuine as he sets his focus on making epically awesome rock and roll with any one of his numerous bands that include Honeydust, San Geronimo, and now, the 421’s.
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The musicians in the 421’s are massively talented and seasoned players, and all of them have gigged around with Nelson for ages. Along for the musical ride is the epic guitarist Danny Uzilevsky (Honeydust, Koolerator), bassist Mike Anderson (San Geronimo, Maurice Tani), guitarist Tom Finch (Big Brother, Tom Finch Trio), and the smiley-est drummer of all, Rob Hooper (Koolerator/Carolyn Wonderland). It’s been about 5 months since Nelson got together with his mates in the 421’s due to Covid distancing. It was a joy for everyone to be together for the first time again during a live stream performance for The Backyard Sessions. “I missed them all so much, but when we finally got to The Backyard, it was such a reunion!” states Nelson. “We had to resist our hugs, but the smiles were uncontainable!”
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The Backyard Sessions is a new backyard live stream venue in Marin County that aims to host many local bands while providing high-quality video, sound, and production elements for live stream shows. In these strange times we live in, it’s the next best thing for musicians and bands to try to squeeze out a living on music-making, but it’s not the same as a live performance. “The live stream leaves a lot to be desired in terms of audience participation,” states Nelson. “I very rarely
write a setlist for a show because the songs I play depends on the interaction of show-goers. Now, I can’t see the reaction of those watching, so I make my setlists entirely by the way I feel. The closest thing I get to audience participation is a scrolling line of comments. While I’m playing, I can’t really look at them because I’m focused on the songs, but in between tunes, I can get a quick sense of who’s there who might want what song.”
write a setlist for a show because the songs I play depends on the interaction of show-goers. Now, I can’t see the reaction of those watching, so I make my setlists entirely by the way I feel. The closest thing I get to audience participation is a scrolling line of comments. While I’m playing, I can’t really look at them because I’m focused on the songs, but in between tunes, I can get a quick sense of who’s there who might want what song.”
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“The larger live audiences are what I miss most! I miss ROCKING OUT, interacting with my bandmates and audience with spontaneity. Letting the songs live their own lives in the moment we are performing them. Mostly, the heartbeat of a song is dictated by the audience and the band. Without either, they are just songs & words that I like. I sometimes feel lonely in front of an iPad.“
Regardless of the technological veil put between band and listener, the 421’s gave it their all for their recent live stream show. It was apparent by the energetic interactions that playing together live again was a pure joy to the band. The 421’s showcased some covers (John Lennon’s “Strange Days” and Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had Boat”) as well as songs from Nelson’s upcoming album, which is being recorded by the band via music files shared over the Internet. Most of the new songs have never been played with the whole band in one place before, so the Livestream was an excellent way for them to come together and breathe life into the songs. “Cornbread” is a twangy, tongue in cheek ditty, “Back In My Day” speaks of an easier time of childhood with a country-groove behind it, while “Truck Stop Drugs” rocks hard. “Chasing The Sun”, with the lyrics “living like a bullet from a loaded gun,” was dedicated to local guitarist Rahman D’Amato, who passed away a few months ago. The show was sprinkled with anthemic tunes from Nelson’s Honeydust-era, like “Life Of The Party” and “2 Steps”, both rollicking piles of dirty, rock and roll fun.
Regardless of the technological veil put between band and listener, the 421’s gave it their all for their recent live stream show. It was apparent by the energetic interactions that playing together live again was a pure joy to the band. The 421’s showcased some covers (John Lennon’s “Strange Days” and Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had Boat”) as well as songs from Nelson’s upcoming album, which is being recorded by the band via music files shared over the Internet. Most of the new songs have never been played with the whole band in one place before, so the Livestream was an excellent way for them to come together and breathe life into the songs. “Cornbread” is a twangy, tongue in cheek ditty, “Back In My Day” speaks of an easier time of childhood with a country-groove behind it, while “Truck Stop Drugs” rocks hard. “Chasing The Sun”, with the lyrics “living like a bullet from a loaded gun,” was dedicated to local guitarist Rahman D’Amato, who passed away a few months ago. The show was sprinkled with anthemic tunes from Nelson’s Honeydust-era, like “Life Of The Party” and “2 Steps”, both rollicking piles of dirty, rock and roll fun.
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“We played a lot of songs the other night that we’d never played together live before. It was very exciting! A little sloppy but definitely rewarding!” states Nelson. “These are crazy times, and honestly, I don’t see it getting better for us musicians for a while. Gotta figure some things out. Gotta figure out how to safely play music with friends & for music lovers. We ALL need something to fill that void. I’m blessed to have music in me. It was always my favorite thing, now it’s my savior.”
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