Darren Smith titled his new album Last Drive, and the inner sleeve depicts him torching a pickup truck. But evidence to the contrary, in real life Smith—who plays Friday, November 3, at Conor Byrne—respects his ride, a 1997 Subaru Outback ("I know, it's not really rock 'n' roll"), and wisely so. "Just over the last two weeks, I toured through Idaho and Eastern Oregon, and put about 2,200 miles on it," he admits. "It handled like a champ."
Many of the songs on the rustic Last Drive deal with characters in the process of coming or going, or wrestling with sentiments between stations. The truck driver of the titular song yearns to see his departing sweetheart one last time. "Someday" recounts the brief family reunion incurred by a funeral, while the romantic "Goodnight Stars" finds a wanderer putting on the brakes long enough to fall in love.
Then there's the lead cut, "Dogtown Mines." Accompanied by subtle accordion and mandolin, a dusty epic—inspired by the story-songs of Gillian Welch, the Louvin Brothers, and Steve Earle—unfolds via Smith's casual vocal delivery. "That one was one of the most fun to write because I had a specific story in mind. I wanted to create an old-time-sounding song with a story that might be old, or might be contemporary. It built on the idea of the main character going off in search of wealth, with the plan of returning home a 'rich' man, but life sort of got in the way. The story builds on that, and how priorities change."
Just as Smith, who formerly played in Seattle ensemble Straw Dogs, takes his time to sing his originals—even the shortest cut on Last Drive clocks in at over four minutes—he is equally devoted to refining them in excruciating detail. "I spent a long time sitting with most of the songs on the record. I like to have them around awhile before I record them. I'll make demos and listen, revise, re-record, until I have something that I can stand to listen to more than once. It's a painful process, because I really hesitate to finish songs. But recently I've gotten better at letting go."
Smith has also gotten better about jumping in his Subaru and driving to wherever the bookings take him. His emerging fan base in Idaho, where he recently played with Josh Ritter, seems to be particularly strong. But he has no intention of leaving Seattle; he loves the music community here too much. "You really can't go it alone in this business.
"Part of it is that I love to see live music and am curious to see what local bands are up to," he adds. "I always learn something from seeing a performance," citing Damien Jurado, Rocky Votolato, and Conrad Ford among current faves.
"Speaking of which, any Seattle bands that are looking for a touring support act, don't hesitate to call," he concludes. "No, seriously! I travel light." And he has his own wheels.
