“There is this weird exchange of energy from the band to the crowd, like playing ping-pong with souls. And if you were able to deliver a great show, you feel connected with those people.” — Slipping Into Darkness
interview Jorge perezchica
Slipping into Darkness is an alternative rock band from Desert Hot Springs, CA that was formed in 2011. The members include Michael Durazo (vocals/guitar), Nigel Dettelbach (bass), Adrian Carreno (lead guitar), emAnuel (guitar), Damian Garcia (drums). Collectively, they share a passion for 60s and 70s rock ‘n’ roll music. After building a following in the local desert scene, the group were invited to perform at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Desert Daze. In the summer of 2020, the band released their much anticipated album “Second Wind for Our Love.”
The band has been playing together for a decade now. How’d you first meet and what keeps you guys together?
What keeps us together has to be that, we have an adoration for music. We are truly passionate about it. Life seems boring without it and honestly we couldn’t see ourselves not playing music. Also, we enjoy spending time together. We are bandmates, but we are also really good friends. Kind of like brothers. We know bands that don’t get along at all and we are lucky to enjoy the good times in and out of the band.
Now that “Second Wind for Our Love” is out, what was the biggest challenge releasing an album in a pandemic?
The album was 90% finished by late 2019, we were just putting finishing touches on it. Then when we had it ready, the pandemic came and we were in limbo with the whole world for a bit. After time though, we decided that even if we couldn’t release it with the original plans the best thing to do was to finally have people listen to this thing we had been brewing for a while. It felt great and I think it motivated us even more to keep making music.
The hardest thing about releasing the album during the pandemic was how to properly promote it when you can’t even play a damn show, lol. We still had social media and digital platforms to move around in, but we are old school. Nothing like a good live show to get your music out there. The best we could do was release it on vinyl and upload it to all digital platforms. We still have big plans for 2021 if the world doesn’t end.
I hear influences from the 60’s and 70’s, but with a refreshingly contemporary twist. What direction was the band going for with this album thematically?
We really didn’t plan a direction or a game plan for the album, but we did feel the shift in sound. The only thing we consciously decided on was to record out of our comfort zone and go for a more polished sound. That’s why we decided to record with Eduardo Arenas and Pete Dee. We were in really good hands and they helped us really sharpen our sound.
“Second Wind for Our Love” was produced by Eduardo Arenas of Chicano Batman and Pete Dee of The Adicts. How did you guys first meet? And what was it like working with them?
We had met Eduardo back in 2013 when we opened up for Chicano Batman in L.A. at Harvard and Stone. Those guys have always been like older brothers to us and even from that first show before they got big, we always maintained a good relationship with them because we always admired them as musicians and as people. Absolute professionals and great spirits. When we were looking for someone to record the album, we mentioned it to Eduardo and he jumped right on it, which for us was a huge honor. We had heard his debut album “Nariz” and we loved the sound quality just as much as the songs, so we knew we were in good hands. He has an amazing ear, he really knows how to put life in a song. When we were recording, he really helped us out in trimming the fat on the songs and give it a pulse, which is really tricky to do when you are recording. He really understood us and highlighted our attributes instead of changing our sound.
Pete Dee we met at The Hood when our friends from Facelift opened up for the Adicts and we asked to play a quick song in between their set. After the show, he complimented our sounds and we exchanged contacts. From there, it just kind of kicked off into a great relationship and we eventually went on tour with them. We asked Pete if he would like to co-produce the album. He agreed and took us under his wing. Recording with Pete was a great experience as well. He has great instincts on what is going to work and what isn’t, so he doesn’t really waste time. He is also a lot more experimental than we thought he was going to be and it really helped us think outside the box a lot more. He also has a much more hands on approach to recording. He’s always near you and likes to guide your sound which was a lot different than we are used to, but in good way. Also, he has amazing stories from all his years playing music and that always kept the atmosphere alive.
Slipping Into Darkness appears in the Paydirt soundtrack from local filmmaker Christian Sesma. What can you tell us about that project?
For Paydirt, it really kind of happened out of the blue. We got into contact with Christian through a relative who knows him and he really enjoyed the songs on the album. He asked us if he could use them for the soundtrack and we have always enjoyed collaborating with other art forms, so it was a no-brainer for us. Also knowing Val Kilmer was going to be in it was huge.
With the pandemic shutting down venues and events, what do you miss most about playing live shows?
Yeah we miss playing festivals, Coachella and Desert Daze were amazing experiences and it was an honor to play those. What we miss is probably being on stage playing these songs your band has crafted little by a little and having people enjoy the full sound of something you put your heart into. It’s hard to describe, it’s one of those things you have to live through to really understand it. There is this weird exchange of energy from the band to the crowd, like playing ping-pong with souls. And if you were able to deliver a great show, you feel connected with those people. It’s sounds cheesy but that’s what it is. That’s probably what we miss the most.
What can fans expect next in 2021?
If this damn vaccine works or we get herd immunity or something, we hope life returns to normal just like everyone else hopes. After that, we hope to play as much as we can to truly give our album the attention it deserves. We have everything set now as a band, a great album to promote, and we are truly passionate about music. We hope to keep busy this year and many years to come.
