Darrel Sanders
Modern Hippie Musician
"He's a high-flying hippy rock n roller with Eclectic Musical Tastes. He tends to wear his heart on his sleeve and can see no wrong in peace, love, and understanding."
Some Details
Nicknames: Shiner, Sandy, Axeman
Heritage: Danish-American
Relationship Status: Unsure ...
Passions: Music, playing various musical instruments with other musicians, writing songs, drawing artwork, listening to others play their music.
Personality: Quiet and somewhat shy unless he's playing music.
Mannerisms: His hand pushing his hair out of his face
Dislikes: Being in crowds. Being before crowds he manages.
How He Looks
Faceclaim: Emil Anderson
Physique: Fit but somewhat lanky
Height: 5' 8"
Complexion: Fair
Hair: Dirty Blonde
Eyes: Blue-Green
Darrell had long blonde locks that are usually unkempt, and his blue-green eyes were rather expressive.
He usually wears band or tye dye shirts and hip-hugger jeans, which gave him a sort of late sixties hippy look.
His walk was a bit relaxed even with his long stride, and his posture was not the best.
Biography
Darrell lived with his mom in the same house for all his life. His dad was in the army and was killed in Afghanistan when he was three. He had an older sister of five years who encouraged him to learn how to play guitar so she could sing. She left home at 16 to join a band, and he hears from her on occasion now.
Darrell did learn the guitar, and the bass guitar, and hurdy gurdy, and harmonica. He had a passion for writing songs and had a whole notebook full of songs. When he was 17 he got a couple guys at school together and they formed a band, and only recently they started playing at local coffeeshops and street fairs. Sometimes he plays solo some folk songs.
His Bands
The Infidels - 1st Band
This was Darrell's high school band consisting of Alex Best on drums and Jeff Weld on bass (Jeff later quit requiring an audience member to come up and play bass with them)
The Astral Plane - Ongoing
A side-project band of like-minded musicians Darrell got together after he recorded his solo album 'The Scarlett Sessions'. It was a bit of a progressive rock/ avant-garde band. Sort of like Pink Floyd meets Yes meets Emerson Lake and Palmer meets King Crimson meets The Moody Blues. It was mostly experimental jams with few lyrics.
Darrell Sanders - Guitars
Erica Norvik - Bass and Guitar
Lexi Downs - Keyboardist
Jade Smith drummer/percussionist
The Crown of Baxter
This band was a 1960's garage band that played live at street fairs and local festivals and such. Darrell's bandmates were Erica on Bass and Keith on Drums. Sometimes Thomas would play with them to fill out the rhythm guitar. Keith left the band after a short time and his old friend Alex stepped in as drummer, and he brought guitarist Lenny Knowles with him to help fill out the psychedelic sounds.
The guys were happy when he got Erica to break out of her side-stage shell and try singing... She had a very Grace Slick sort of voice which helped them do the Jefferson Airplane covers of which the band name came from. The band lasted a couple years before Darrell split with Erica and Alex and returned to doing solo music. Erica and Alex went on to to start their own band.
Darrell Sanders - Lead and Rhythm Guitars and Vocals
Lenny Knowles - Lead and Rhythm Guitars and backing vocals
Erica Norvik - Bass and Vocals
Alex Best - Drums
Valkrye - Ongoing
This was Darrel's medieval band side project. He always had a fascination with the exotic music his mother liked, and Darrell learned to play a lot of ancient instruments and tended to play Scandinavian and Eastern European folk music. They would play the Medieval Faires and in parks on occasion. It was mostly just Darrell and impromptu collaborations with other like-minded musicians mat the faires.
The New Band of Gypsys
This is a project that Darrel and
Thomas Shaw thought up one night while sharing some smoke. Along with Tom and Darrell, the Band of Gypsys consists of Rebecca Savage, Erica Norvik, Peter Green, and Dave Grohl. It's a live-only band and they are touring the USA and Canada playing a mix of their originals and covers and whatever they feel like. They book with local bands as openers and usually invite them on stage for a closing encore set.
Outskirts
After the Band of Gypsy's tour, Darrell had returned to L.A. where he closed on an old house. There he set to work to fixing it up and building a recording studio in the basement. His girlfriend Jocelyn moved in and helped him on the place before she moved to Miami Florida.
With the studio done, Darrell remained pretty much a hermit as he wrote songs and played them and perfected them. When Erica, the bass player in his old band Crown of Baxter called when she was in town, Darrell invited her over. They jammed together for a week before Darrell called a drummer he knew,
Derek Ward, and they all started working on Darrell's songs. With some songs written by Erica and a couple by Derek added to the mix, the three decided to record an album under the band name of 'Outskirts'.
They cut a 7" demo with side A being a song Darrell co-wrote with an old high-school friend when they caught up for beers when he was on leave from the Army. They were reminiscing and Darrell started writing on a napkin a song called
Rocks In Your Head. They also recorded in one take a cover of Led Zeppelin's version of Blind Willie Johnson's
Nobody's Fault But Mine on side B.
(More to Come)