When Darin Schaffer first takes the stage, audiences
may be puzzled by what they see: a solo musician
clutching an unusual fretted instrument; next to him
on the floor, a chaotic assortment of electronica. But
when Darin starts to play, the world never quite looks
_ or sounds _ the same again.
Darin Schaffer is a
virtuoso on a vision quest, a composer/musician with
a style unlike any before him. For proof, look no
further than his new self-titled Clickpop Records cd.
Playing his prized four-string piccolo bass while
weaving in electronic loops and other sonic effects,
Darin elevates the art of the instrumental to a new level.
His hands puck, strum, bow and bang the bass.
His feet press the pedals of the gear below. Bearing
traces of jazz, classical East Indian, folk and ambient pop,
the result leaves audiences in awe, clamoring for more.
How does he do it? It's all about having a close personal
relationship withhis equipment. Thus, tapping the bass becomes the drum part.
Darin stacks multiple sounds.
Over the course of his set, it becomes
increasingly hard to believe just one player can make this
much music.
"People respond to the work I'm doing," he says. "I can play
a teen center filled with angst-ridden punk rockers, and they
totally dig it. Then I canplay a jazz club with 50-60 year olds
and they dig it."
Born and raised in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, Darin didn't discover
music until his teens, when he got his first guitar. Initially, he
leaned towards hard rock, and by the time he graduated
high school, he was a veteran of several metal bands.
"Basically," he recalls, "we were doing Stravinsky with distortion."
He veered off into a radically different direction when he
discovered the music of artists like Ravi Shankar and the late
guitarist Michael Hedges. From there, he sharpened his skills.
Under the tutelage of acoustic bass great Tom Rutley (Ray Charles
and Santana), Darin studied music theory, composition, and jazz.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Darin still considers
himself a student, even if his peers see him as a master.
To deepen his understanding of other musical traditions,
he is currently studying sitar at the Ali Akbar Khan College
of Music in Marin County. "I'm the worst player there," he says
with a laugh. "Some students have been there 25 years,
so when I play Indian music, it still sounds like a white kid
from Idaho. Still, being there is like going to church."
Not unlike the experience of seeing Darin Schaffer in concert.
While he hopes to broaden his reach and play for a national,
even international, audiences in the months ahead, for now
he's content to dazzle fans one audience at a time. Says Darin,
"If music comes from the heart, it transcends genre."
No one can doubt that the music of Darin Schaffer comes
from the heart.
Some of the fine bands and musicians Darin has played shows with - Moments of Clarity, Flowmotion, Sidhe, Abyssinians, Banyan, Kannal, LunarFire, Wisdom, Tina Malia, Loopstation, Narada Michael Walden, Austin Delone, Black Hole Mystery School, Kite, Jake Wolf, Rena Jones, Eric McFadden Trio, Celtic Knots, MC Yogi, Kieth Martini, Peter Rand.
check out www.darinschaffer.com
How to buy the music if you want:
1. CD's available at the Clickpop Webstore
2. digital download Darin Schaffer - "Darin Schaffer" s/t from iTunes.
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