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Most people know Darren Rappa either from his job as a clerk at Wild and Woolly Video or as the lead singer of the defunct punk rock group, Verktum. But lately Rappa has been wearing a different hat – a cowboy hat. He is the guitarist and vocalist for DR Country, a country barroom outfit that performs tonight (11/13) at The Lounge, 947 E. Madison St. The DR in the name does not stand for doctor, but Darren Rappa. The band is Rappa's own twisted take on country and it's not something you're likely to hear coming out of Nashville.
“I really didn't set out to play country songs,” Rappa said. “I just got these choruses in my head and I figured out how to write songs around them. For the first 20 years of my life I really hated country music. But in my early 20s I started to listen to like Hank Williams and Gram Parson. I've been a big fan ever since, but I never thought I'd be in a country band.”
Rappa started playing shows as DR Country last year. Originally, he was accompanied just by his own guitar and his girlfriend Caitlin Kannapell on banjo and co-vocals. They recently added drummer Jeremy Vessels and bassist Chris Matthews to the band. Rappa said the new members have given his songs a harder edge.
“It's starting to rock out a little since I got a band together,” he said. “At first it was just me and Caitlin playing acoustically. But now that it's electric, it's morphing into something else.”
Rappa is one of a long line of former punk rockers who have shifted to roots music. They include: former Rising Shotgun vocalist Brett Ralph, Dave Pajo from Slint, and Sean Garrison and Mike Bucayu, both former members of Kinghorse. “I use to make fun of my friends of my friends who were trying to rewrite the Hank Williams Sr. catalog,” Rappa, 42, admitted. “I guess we've all done it in our own way. For me, I thinks its kind of an alternative to being another aging white guy playing in a blues band. No one wants to be like Blues Hammer, that band in 'Ghost World.' ”
At least, Rappa can say country music is in his blood. His family hails from Muhlenburg County, Kentucky. His grandmother was a cousin of Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Travis, the man who gave us “Sixteen Tons” and “Dark as a Dungeon.” Country music was all around Rappa when he was growing up, but he drifted towards harder sounds. Bucayu first taught him to play guitar while they were both attending St. Xavier High School. Rappa's first band was called the Punk Skulls. Then he met former Slint bassist Ethan Butler through mutual friends and ended up joining Buckler's new band King Kong for about two years.
There was nearly a decade hiatus between Rappa's stint in King Kong and the founding of Verktum. He spent some time recharging his creative battery.
“I didn't play music for a long time, I was mostly just working in restaurants cooking,” Rappa explained. “I bought a drum kit and played around with it. I actually started writing some songs, but mostly I was just jerking around.”
In 2000, Rappa became the lead vocalist of the punk mayhem known as Verktum. That group lasted until 2007. Rappa went dormant again until the country songs started coming to him. “I had fun playing in all of my bands, but I enjoy having my own band more,” he said. “You get to write the songs and sort of set your own direction. I think I can do this for a while.”
DR Country is playing with special guests Jonathan Glen Wood and The Cutthroat Honky. The show starts at 10pm and the cover is $3. For more information call 502-889-5889 or visit, http://www.louisvillemojo.com/thelounge.
Other shows happening this week:
Company of Thieves, Harper Simons & Wussy, Nov. 14
Headliners Music Hall, 1386 Lexington Rd., $10.
This is a Dare to Care fundraiser, so help the people out.
Juggernaut Jug Band, Nov. 14
Clifton's Pizza, 2230 Frankfort Ave., free.
Brother Ali, Evidence, Toki Wright, and others, Nov. 14
Uncle Pleasants, 2126 Preston St., $10-$12.
If you like hip hop fan Brother Ali is a must see. A true underground emcee.
Heavy Trash (featuring Jon Spencer) with the Ladybirds, Nov. 17
The Vernon Club, 1575 Story Ave., $10.
Meat Puppets and Lucky Pineapple, Nov. 17
Headliners Music Hall, 1386 Lexington Rd., $12. |
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Michael L. Jones