Darren Rahn Interview Page 4

Jazz Monthly:  Right.

DR:  And then my twin brother Jason is doing the horn section stuff with me. He’s on three of those top tens right now.  So this group of people that I have around me, I can’t say enough good things about them.  They are certainly a big reason for the success of those tunes.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah, absolutely.

DR:  And then there’s the artists:  Dave Koz, Wayman Tisdale, Eric Darius, Tim Bowman.  They all have incredible star power.  You hear each of those guys and within two notes you know who they are.

Jazz Monthly:  Absolutely.  And I wanna go back to something you said.  I think you’re spot on with what you just said, but I’m thinking back to something you said a few minutes ago.  You said that you weren’t quite happy with the way you were able to express yourself with your own music and so that desire was there because you went out and bought a cheapie little mixing board.

DR:  Mm-hmm.

Jazz Monthly:  And you honed your skills and you continued to evolve, as you mentioned, to where you are now.  So there was a seed planted back there a long time ago and it was the desire that you had to really professionalize the sound and to really express yourself from your heart, and I think when musicians look to their heart, the race is over.

DR:  Absolutely.

Jazz Monthly:  The hard part’s over, it really is.

DR:  When you combine passion and heart and soul with hard work, the cream is gonna rise to the top.  I had a lot of tough years.  I went for 10 or 12 years with no notable success, just pounding the pavement, playing clubs every night, playing any gig I could do, and there, of course, were moments of frustration, but I was relentless about wanting to do this because I loved it so much. I wanted to let that love and passion that God gave me for music come through in the music, and I think anyone that can combine passion with hard work and be relentless about your passion, I think it’s gonna happen. I thank God that it did happen for me and I hope I can continue every time I do a record to bring that same kind of love and passion into the music.

Jazz Monthly:  Somehow I think you will, my friend, and there’s one other thing that really made all of this possible, is way back then you listened to your mom.

DR:  Good old mom. Yup…. She’s the best. Thanks for making me take those piano lessons mom!

Jazz Monthly: When she said she thought you guys ought to pursue music, you did.

DR:  Yeah.  Well, she was adamant about us kids learning piano and she even told us.  She said “You know what?  Just take piano for two years and if you don’t wanna do it anymore, you don’t have to.”  And so we did.  I took it for two years and at the end I stopped taking piano lessons, but then I never knew that I was gonna start again, and when I started again it really took off, and I can’t thank her enough for that.  And then the other component is outside of music. I have so many amazing people in my life.  My wife, my son, my parents, my brother and sister, my mother- and father-in-law—the support that I’ve gotten from all of them has been key.  It’s been instrumental.  Without the support of my wife, there’s no way I’d be doing this right now.  In the early years, she sacrificed a lot for me to do music full-time and thankfully now that has paid off, so I can’t even say enough how appreciative I am about that.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah.  So now how can people get this great record?

DR:  Well, Once In A Lifetime is available in most stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, Borders—or you can also go online and visit iTunes and Amazon.com. There’s also previews you can check out on my website at www.darrenrahn.com and also the record label I’m signed to, www.thenugroove.com.  I’m really excited about this new relationship with NuGroove and David Chackler.

Jazz Monthly: The Chackster?

DR:  The Chackster, yup.  He brings such a wealth of experience and he’s such a good guy.  It’s been a very, very positive experience.  They’ve done a great job with this record and we’re really very close to releasing the new one, which is gonna be at a whole different level from my last record, so I’m just super excited about it, and there’s been a couple cool and interesting NuGroove situations going on lately.  I just did some work for a new group on the label called Dénaté,  a singer named Deborah Connors and keyboardist/producer Nate Harasim – both very talented.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah.

DR:  Within the last couple weeks, actually, I’ve been invited to be the third member of the group.

Jazz Monthly:  Nice.

DR:  Yeah, I’m really excited about that. I produced and mixed their new radio single.  It’s a cover of the old Eurythmics tune “Sweet Dreams.”  My collaboration with them on that single led to me joining the group.

Jazz Monthly: Very nice, man.

DR:  Yeah, that’s going to radio I think next week already, so tons of things going on and I feel just fortunate to be a part of all of them and just grateful that I get to do what I love, my passion.

Jazz Monthly:  Very cool.  Well, Darren, I gotta tell you, man, I’m totally diggin’ the vibe and I’m really loving the record and can’t wait to hear the new one.  Just promise me you’ll come back and we’ll talk about the new one when you release that one.

DR:  Absolutely.  I’m gonna hold you to that, Smitty.

Jazz Monthly:  Hey man, I’m there.

DR:  Okay, cool.

Jazz Monthly:  Very cool.  Well, I want to congratulate you, man, on so many levels for so many things that you’re doing in the industry, because you are definitely making an impact.  I want you to know that because you are not only making records for yourself, but you’re also producing so many great musicians out there right now and you’re making them better than what they were before.  I mean, and that’s not taking anything away from who they are now, but you have added a very cool mix to what they’re doing and that’s a priceless thing, and that’s not an easy thing to do.

DR:  Well, thank you so much, Smitty.  I have to say I’m totally and completely humbled by that.  That’s my desire whenever I work with someone, whether it’s on my record or for someone else’s record.  My desire is just to let the natural kind of interaction and collaboration flourish and hopefully it’ll come out the other side being even more than it was to start with, so that’s a huge compliment and I really appreciate that.

Jazz Monthly:  Hey, it’s my pleasure, man, and I just want to say keep doing what you’re doing, keep your flava strong, and keep making great music, my friend.

DR:  I will and you too, Smitty.  Keep up the great job doing what you’re doing over on your side of things.

Jazz Monthly: All right, man, I will and it’s always a pleasure to talk with you and it’s an honor to be a part of what you’re doing and I just look forward to more great things from you in the future. 

DR:  Thanks Smitty, the pleasure is all mine and the feeling’s totally mutual, my friend.

Jazz Monthly:  All right, we’ve been talking with NuGroove recording artist Mr. Darren Rahn.  His latest record is called Once In A Lifetime.  It is just saturated with the groove that we all love and appreciate.  Darren, thanks so much, man, and all the best to you with the new record coming out and everything else you’re doing in 2008 as we roll into 2009, my friend.

DR:  Great.  Thank you so much, Smitty.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.darrenrahn.com and www.thenugroove.com