Interview with Singer-Songwriter Deidre Muro (Of Deidre & The Dark)

         Deidre & the Dark is the brainchild of Deidre Muro, whose unique form of nostalgic laden pop songs are a vibrant mix of catchy, smart & indelibly memorable musical nods to the sounds and cultural iconography of our not so distant past. Deidre will be playing a show at the Mercury Lounge in NYC this Wed night as part of Girls First: A Night of Female Fronted Pop Music. Here she talks about her creative inspirations and offers some valuable words of advice to fellow songwriters and creators of all stripes.


AHC: What has this journey, this life in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way?

Deidre: I feel like everything I've learned in life has been related to music and my experience with it, in some way. The highs have been very high and the lows have been very low - but here are some of the most meaningful lessons I've learned:

• Love yourself for real. Forgive yourself for real. Know that you are enough, exactly as you are in this moment. Be patient - it takes daily maintenance to honestly know these things.
• Decisions made based in love always turns out better than decisions made based in fear.
• True creativity shows in how you are able to deal with challenges, obstacles and problems, and how you are able to turn them into opportunities or things to learn from. This is real alchemy, and everyone has that magical power. Open your mind, change your perspective, ask better questions.
• When you feel like quitting, just make the decision to persist and get on with it. Patience is really powerful.
• Any changes you want to make, all the things you want to do.... it all starts in your own backyard with the smallest of steps.

AHC: When did you first pick up your nostalgic flare for the music & culture of the past? What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Deidre: I've always loved music from the 40s-70s - I think a big part was because of what I was exposed to while I was growing up. There was weekly church choir with my mom (an organist & choir director) and then there was my dad's record (or tape) collection that would be in rotation at home or in the car, plus big band and jazz records when we visited my grandparents' house. I think I developed a strong affinity for nostalgia when I was little, before I really understood what that meant. It was a total glamorized, romanticized idea of the past.

When I first started writing music, it was very confessional and emotional, and served a cathartic purpose on many levels. But after a number of years, I was reminded of that old feeling, the fantasy I had had about the midcentury era when I was little. Something inspired my to start injecting influences from that period more literally into my songwriting, arrangements and stories. And suddenly I found imaginative storytelling set in corners of a fantasy world to be an unending source of inspiration. It was a similar approach I was experimenting with in early Savoir Adore records around the same time. And it was huge shift in the function of songwriting and making music for me personally.

As far as pivotal songs and recordings for me, there have been so many. One was when I heard the recording of "Strange Fruit" performed by Jeff Buckley around the time I was 18 - that was one of the biggest jaw-droppers for me. It was like hearing something I never realized I had always been looking for. His raw, minimal, live performance mixed with some of the most potent lyrics I have ever heard, it painted a vivid picture I will never forget.


AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Are there certain albums or songs you couldn't live without?

Deidre: My husband David Perlick-Molinari, my brother Derek Muro & our entire crew at our studio YouTooCanWoo in Brooklyn - I am learning constantly from all the brilliant folks I get to create with every single day. Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra taught me how to sing, Jeff Buckley taught me how to feel, Jack White taught me how to let go, Beck taught me how to collage, Louis Armstrong to me how to smile-sing - I've had so many teachers, too many to name.

Man, songs or albums I couldn't live without... this is a really tough question, but I'll give you a few songs off the top of my head right now: "Scene d'amour" from the Vertigo film score, "Portrait of a Man" Screamin Jay Hawkins, "This Whole World" Beach Boys, "Hallelujah" Jeff Buckley, "Other People" Beach House, "Nature Boy" Nat King Cole, Satie's "Gymnopédie No. 1", "A Peak in Time" Cut Chemist.


AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road?

Deidre: Getting to create & perform music with my family in so many different formations has always been a really special experience for me. Mom, dad, brother, uncle, husband, brother-in-law... 

But I think my fondest musical memory is a feeling - the feeling you get when you are inspired by a certain element or idea and you are in that moment of injecting into what you're working on, especially when collaborating. It is the purest form of delight and joy for me - it can be hysterical or ecstatic, it can happen any time of day, and you can choose to channel it whenever you want to. That feeling when you can truly act as a conduit and allow your mind to be still or quiet (even if your environment is incredibly loud or hectic). Musical combinations, ideas, even fully formed songs - they're already formed up there in the universe somewhere, you just have to be open-minded and patient enough to listen for them.


AHC: What would be your dream gig, if you were asked to go on tour and open up for one of your musical heroes or heroines? 

Deidre: My dream gig would actualy be to pack up our Brooklyn studio in a huge tour bus and take all of my crew on the road together - French Horn Rebellion, Violet Sands, and Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue, to name a few!


AHC: Do you have any words of advice for other musicians and singer-songwriters or anyone who is struggling to create something of value out there, who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process?

Deidre: First and foremost, I would point to all the lessons you asked me about earlier. Then, find your bliss - the work that makes you lose track of time, the parts that make you laugh out loud with happiness - and keep those specific elements sacred. Beyond that, don't hold fixed expectations about how a goal should be reached - if you can be openminded and flexible in your approach, you'll be able to take advantage of this next frontier we're entering, the wild west of being a creative professional. Finally, get excited about all aspects of the work - including taking responsibility for roles that may have been historically handled by someone else (like a manager or producer). You can never understand too much, or get too much experience.


AHC: What's next for you? Could you talk about your new singles and your upcoming show this December here in New York?

Deidre: We just released "Dreaming of You," which we created as part of the score for a short film called "The Best and Worst Days of George Morales' Unnaturally Long Life" - which is playing at film festivals now. And our latest single "Chains" was an older song I had sitting around in the archives for a while - we recently brought it back to life and it was featured in the season finale for Fox's "Rosewood." I'm really looking forward to playing these new songs live with the band at our Mercury Lounge show. We also are planning some releases for next year, so I'm glad to be in a rhythm of sharing new music!



As mentioned Deidre & The Dark will be playing this Wed night at Mercury Lounge, tickets can be bought here www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1372205?utm_source=fbTfly&utm_medium=ampOfficialEvent


And visit Deidre's website where you can find the bands latest singles, music videos and more  www.deidremusic.com/


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