Meet Darla Day

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darla Day.

Darla, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My mother was raped by a young hotheaded rock ‘n’ roller in 1983 and I do believe that he passed on his love of rock ‘n’ roll to me through his DNA because there’s no other way to explain the burning passion I’ve had naturally for rock ‘n’ roll classic rock doo-wop Motown since I was a small child. My mother was more of a classical music and jazz musician which taught me a lot about music in a different way. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with myself because I love rock ‘n’ roll but I hate that where it came from could do some things so hurtful and destructive to someone closest to me somebody I adore/ my mother.

Following my heart relentlessly despite being judged and tossed aside because of my vision for my art is how I have grown into an independent music artist. I first fell in love with music listening to oldies in the car while running errands. I had a single mom with manic depression and I began to use my above average ability to memorize lyrics and match the notes I heard with my voice to entertain my mom and cheer her up when she was depressed. I also enjoyed endless hours making mixed tapes from the radio alone in my room. Music was my wormhole to another reality.

I retreated to my imagination and spent many more hours writing stories and poems.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think I might’ve addressed some of this in the previous question. But I will say that having nobody to fall back on and fighting for what you believe in and facing the struggles head on gives birth to a part of yourself that you don’t know at the moment. And if you do this over and over and long enough on a long enough timeline, you finally give birth to your truth. I’ve been on my own for a long time emotionally be of my mom’s mental illnesses. When I was 21, I was diagnosed bipolar and after many trials with prescription drugs with only pain and suffering as a result I turned to homeopathic medicine. I hope to use any notoriety I receive from my music to spread awareness about the natural forms of lithium rotate and turmeric to heal my brain’s imbalance. It took three years of absolute sobriety and keeping a mood journal to figure out my doses and to see consistent improvement. I do believe bipolar is a gift if it’s managed properly. My journey has been very isolating and unique by of my vision and with persistence and a lot of courage, I believe you can live Your own unique type of truth.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I am the lead singer and songwriter of my music. A lot of my songs have been melodies in my head that I teach two musicians that I hire for performances and rehearsals. One particular other artists Ajax of the Napoleon Blownaparts has worked with me recently and helped me to develop my truth more and my singing style more also he has helped arrange one of my songs which is now my favorite called drunk and unarmed.

I’m working on my first demo titled 6 Sweet Dreams.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In my opinion, we are all the sum of the best parts of all the fucked up things we come from. There’s never been a monstrous situation I couldn’t find beauty in and learn from. I have dedicated my life to always searching for the light in everything and everyone. Yes, this has led me down some pretty scary roads and landed me in the laps of some pretty scary people but I’ve experienced such unique beauty and magic in the process. Also, I’ve always trusted the process of becoming who I’m really supposed to be. Relentlessly following my heart and never giving up on trying to help people through my compassion, strong empathic gifts and honing in on the big picture. Also, be very adaptable to change and this is the only way transformation takes place. Never settling, constantly pushing boundaries on my own personal evolution no matter how uncomfortable. Never giving up despite little to no resources. I’ll quote my favorite inspirational speaker, “do what you can with what you have right now.” – Les Brown

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_darladay

Image Credit:
Genevieve Marie Adams, Arsen Velasquez, Michael Mor

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