Life & Work with Darnell Cole

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darnell Cole.

Hi Darnell, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello all! Haha Oh man where do I begin? Well, I guess the best place to start is back in 2013. I started a rock band called Porcelain Hill, think Jimi Hendrix meets Black Sabbath. We did as most bands do, started gigging small shows, a few backyards, etc. In 2016, we started doing things full-time, Touring the US opening up for the likes of Dru Hill, Missing persons, and Iron Butterfly to name drop a few. No major label, no booking agent, just me a laptop, and a LOT of determination haha. 2018 comes around, I get us over to the UK and we tour over there annually, I’m talking Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Czech Republic, France and it all changes! The music is Very well received, I get to sit in with Walter Trout, and we begin to make a bit of a splash for sure! 2020 we have a HUGE Tour planned but of course the Pandemic derails the whole situation but again we survive and carry on and return to touring Summer/fall of 2021.

April 2022 we Tour overseas again, then The US in June and Canada (for the first time) in July. It’s an AMAZING experience, then the last gig it makes a hard left; My drummer, bassist and I start squabbling as bands do, then there’s a heated argument, and they quit… six days before we’re scheduled to tour The UK. I got to work. I made some calls, sent some emails and in those six days, I had a three song EP with all new music, a band, and fresh new merch. I Carried on the Tour with the new guys, AMAZING musicians who I picked up in England, and used it as a springboard to start my Solo career. I got back in October and hit the Studio, MIx LA studio D in Tarzana with the AMAZING Marc Desisto behind the board. In Nov. I released my first Solo single “On My Own”, and Just recently my second single “Gypsy Soul” both of which have been received well, and have me optimistic as I’ve got several more singles lined up! The full album JUST wrapped recording, and I also have a LIVE album, recorded in UK, that’s available now on my Patreon that I plan to drop later in the year. So here we are and that’s my story, haha I’m Just a guy who wants to bring the world together with my music, one note at a time.

Alright, 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?
FAR from but then friction is how we move forward isn’t it? I’d say there’s been a few struggles I’ve had to deal with on this path I’ve chosen, one has been finding my tribe, people who view music/ this journey in the same way that I do. Another is getting in my own way, today we often don’t look inward or claim accountability for where we are, but truth is, I get in my own way a LOT haha. I think the last struggle of mention is that with social media today it’s easy to get lost in the sauce, and lose focus on what matters; making great art, and ideally using that art to say something. There’s a time and place for each scenario and each scenario in life needs a specific approach.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I guess that for my work, that what I do, I do for all. I’m human, I feel emotion and try to wield it to bring people together one note at a time. Currently I’m working on releasing this album, booking a US and UK/EU tour, and keeping happy haha.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned is that we play an ACTIVE role in shaping the world around us. If things suck, we are just as responsible for making it less suck as anyone else. We can’t control the world or all the nonsense it sends us, but we can control how we react to that nonsense. We can control what and how we paint with the paint we’re given, Salvador Dali or Leonardo da Vinci? So choose love, kindness, and fly on!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/darnellcolemusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/darnell.cole
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/Darnellcolerox
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DarnellColeMusic
• Other: patreon.com/DarnellColeMusic

Image Credits
Rob Ln Eleven John Bull Stephen Wood Dani Ken Jackson Mal Whichelow Hayden Hart Phil Honely