The work ethic
150 gigs a year. And a day job.
By night Darren is a professional musician. By day he is a high school music teacher. The two halves of his life feed each other — the discipline of teaching, the energy of the stage.
If you book Darren, he turns up. On time. Set up. Ready. That isn't a marketing line — it's the thing he prides himself on most.
Off the bike, on the bike
Gym, road, and trail.
Personal fitness keeps the engine running through 150-show years. Time at the gym, time on the bike — road riding, mountain biking, finding empty trails on a free afternoon.
You don't play this much without taking care of the instrument that has to show up for every gig — yourself.
When the gig diary clears
Europe, mostly.
Between Sydney summers, Darren chases the rest of the world — particularly Europe. Paris in winter. Rome at twilight. Cities where the music spills out of every doorway.
It's research, in a way. Every trip comes back as a new song in the set, a new feel for the room.
