Band Q&A: Darling one of the best at singin' the blues

Ryan Darling is never quite what you expect.

By day, he’s the soft-spoken, unassuming online banking officer with Florida Community Bank.

By night, he’s one of the hottest blues musicians around.

The former front man for the popular local blues band called Total Groove, Darling now fronts the Ryan Darling Band and also plays a solo act made up of just his acoustic guitar and his unique, powerful vocals.

In any of these incarnations, he’s played everywhere from Goodland’s Little Bar to the Beached Whale on Fort Myers Beach.

Darling’s meandering musical path has included a few false starts — from ill-fated piano lessons as a child, to his current expertise on acoustic and electric guitar. He shifted from country music to his much-beloved blues and into a singing sideline that began simply from expediency.

Now, after a stint of performing full time, Darling has decided to shift focus yet again, concentrating on his banking career, easing back on his performance schedule and planning his upcoming wedding.

Q: Can we talk a little about your evolution as a musician, from country-loving keyboard player to blues-soaked guitarist?

A: I started on keyboard because my parents bought one for me when I was a small child. In my pre-teens, I began taking piano lessons that were, frankly, very boring. Who really cares to learn a song about saints marching in? So I began to take those boring songs and put my own twist on them. The teacher said the songs sounded great, but that wasn’t what was written on the sheet music. As a result, I lost interest in keyboard.

Then I picked up a guitar that my brother had and just fell in love with it. I couldn’t put it down, no matter how much my fingers hurt. At the time, I started listening to country music, mainly because I liked the melody of the tunes. The first song I learned to play from was The River, by Garth Brooks. I still play it today in my solo act. I went on to play a lot of country tunes until I started to get bored with the typical three-chord songs. Then a classmate introduced me to Stevie Ray Vaughan, and I was mesmerized by the guitar leads and tones coming out of his instrument.

Needless to say that’s why I switched from country to blues. It was something fresh that I’d never heard up until that point, and I quickly realized how naturally it came to me. After studying the blues for quite some time, I began to play out in other bands and eventually formed my own band. It brought a lot of enjoyment to me, and I’ve gathered a large number of fans who come to listen to my guitar.

But I soon realized that there’s not a very big market for just a blues act. If I wanted to play more, I’d need to learn more pop tunes. As a result, I started learning more of those-style tunes and realized how much fun it was to make an entire room dance. As a result, I’m now at the point of learning to read a crowd and play the songs at precisely the right time to make everyone want to have a great time.

Q: You play both solo and in a band. What are the differences between them, and do you have a preference?

A: Each configuration has its pros and cons. With my solo act, I find I can interact with the crowd much better. In the middle of a song I can hold one chord for as long as I want, or make jokes or pick on an audience member.

My favorite part of the solo act is when the entire crowd sings along with me on almost every song for the entire show. That tells me I’ve captured my audience and I’ve picked the right song to play at the right time.

With the full five-piece band, it’s more dramatic and the audience has something to watch and listen to other than me. I can play more dance tunes and really get the crowd dancing. I can also play a broader range of tunes because there are other vocalists in the band.

For example, the bass player (Sean Morrison) is great at singing any Rolling Stones song because he captures the essence of how the original artist sings the song. I can’t sing like the Stones, so without Sean, we wouldn’t be able to play those types of songs.

Q: What are your long-range plans for your music? Any interest in pursuing the big-time?

A: I have given much thought to music as a profession. What I’ve come to realize is that I’d need to leave Naples, travel, and probably have to give up the ones I love. It’s a hard road that only a few have been successful with. If I’m going to set out to do something I’m going to be successful, not take a chance that I might be successful.

There are plenty of other ways to achieve financial wealth without losing so much. Bottom line (that’s the banker in me): music will always be a hobby.

Q: Where do you stand on music machines?

A: I have never used a music machine. There are not too many artists that don’t use a music machine anymore. I’m a firm believer that true musicians make the music themselves.

Q: You have a terrific singing voice. Is that something you’ve studied?

A: No, I have never taken any voice lessons. Instead I recorded my performances live and listened to them at a later time. This helped me to determine what I thought sounded good and what didn’t. It also helped me to determine the areas in songs where I was out of tune and didn’t hear it live.

When I come to a high note in a song, I can usually determine just a few seconds before I’m supposed to hit that note if I’ll hit right or not. Singing is something I had to learn because no one else wanted to do it.

Q: Who are some of your favorite local acts, and what is it you like about each, particularly?

A: I have two favorite local artists. C.W. Colt is a local artist who plays all over Florida, including the keys, and also Panama. He writes all original music that has very catchy melodies. You can catch his weekly performances at the Old Marco Lodge in Goodland every Sunday. He has helped me along with my solo act, as I studied his techniques for quite some time before starting my own. Most important, he doesn’t use backing tracks!

(And) J. Roberts — what an amazing musician. If you ever get a chance to see him play the steel drums, it’s just an awesome thing to see. He’s also a great fiddle player. About two or three years ago I was playing the Little Bar in Goodland with the Blues trio act and Jay sat in with his violin. I have to admit I was very skeptical at first, but he sounded great.