The dudes in Dakota Darling seem to have the whole indie rock thing down pretty well. Menial jobs at local guitar stores? Check. PBR cans crowding their trash cans and packs of Camel Lights jutting out of the back pockets of their tight jeans? Check. Piercings and greasy hair? Check. But something that doesn’t fit in with the list is going to church on Sundays and declaring that faith in God plays a big part in all their lives.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we are a Christian band because I hate the pigeonholing that goes on when you say you are, but faith in God is definitely a big part of our band,” Ben Davis, lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist, said.
It is with this usually unfamiliar attitude among young rock bands and their experience in previous musical endeavors that Dakota Darling hopes to make it to the top. All grizzled veterans of the Raleigh rock scene, the three members — they are looking for a replacement for their fourth — of Dakota Darling have been around the proverbial block.
Davis played guitars in the syrupy sweet February’s Leaving, while drummer Zach Van Hoy pounded the skins in the local hardcore outfit Called to Arms, and bassist Larry Dempsey filled in the bass spot for Brad Benson for a brief stint after leaving the floundering Evenfall.
Dakota Darling band members know they come from varied backgrounds, but they are quick to point out that they see this as a good thing.
“The first bands that we all used to play in, we played that style of music out of convenience more than anything else because we didn’t know any better,” Larry said. “We all feel that this is the first band that we all get to play what we want. Even though our backgrounds vary music-wise, we all click and have similar ideas.”
Davis and Dempsey are both originally from Long Island, N.Y., while Van Hoy has lived in Raleigh his entire life. They met working at local guitar stores, Dempsey and Van Hoy at Sam Ash and Davis at Guitar Center. Although they have only been a band for about a year, they contest that it feels much longer.
“Looking back on this past year, we have come a long way as a band, and we all feel like old friends, even though I only met the other two guys about a year ago,” Davis said. “In fact only 11 days after we all got together and practiced for the first time we had our first show at the Brewery.”
A year of hard work for the band culminated a couple weeks ago with the release of its debut album, Minutes ’til the World. Describing the CD as just plain old “rock,” the boys in Dakota Darling could easily be described as a slightly more acoustic-sounding Classic Case, another Triangle band that has recently garnered some attention.
When Davis is asked about where he gets ideas and his writing process, he laughs a little before revealing his secrets.
“If by any reason she sees this, I want to give a shout out to Ms. Betty at the Waffle House for serving me cup after cup of coffee when I would go there to write when we had studio time scheduled and I would be crunched for time,” he said.
The amount of hope this young band’s members have for themselves but also for the reemerging Raleigh rock scene is perhaps one of the most refreshing things about them.
“When we had our CD release show, so many people came out and supported us, and it really felt that any friend that we had ever known came out to see us that night,” Van Hoy said. “Also, so many other Raleigh bands have been supportive of us, bands like The Motion, Yearling and Big City Reverie have all been great.”
With a few shows coming up in the near future, including the West Campus Jam at Harris Field on April 14, Dakota Darling is poised to take the Raleigh rock scene by storm.
