The Dark Romantics

By JULIE GARISTO, Local music critic
Published August 24, 2007

Homebase: Lakeland

Some background: In 2005, singer-guitarist Eric Collins of Denison Marrs and guitarist Dean Paul of the John Ralston Band got together to write and compose songs. They mailed the tunes to Huntington Beach, Calif., to Jason Martin of Starflyer 59, whom Collins met and befriended during a show in Orlando. Martin invited Collins and Paul to his home studio to record a few demos, free of charge, in exchange for being able to produce and record the band's full-length debut. Erik Aucoin and Jocelyn Toews of Lujo Records liked what they heard and signed the guys. They asked Amanda Jones (Paul's wife) to play keyboards, Carla Jones (Collins' wife) to play bass and friend Stephanie Salomon to play drums. The full-length CD, Some Midnight Kissin', was released in October 2006.

On their married way: What's it like to be in a band with wives who happen to be sisters? "A band usually becomes a family of sorts after a while anyways," Collins said via e-mail. "We just have the real thing. The really cool thing about it is we can all be very honest and fight stuff out, and we're still family after it all. ... We can't really just walk away. We support each other 110 percent in the band and in everything else pretty much."

Does it get too close for comfort? "We were married to the girls long before the band," Collins said. "It's different from the other bands and projects we've done, but we actually like it the best. We knew that we'd be touring a lot, so this way we don't really get too homesick and we don't end up missing each other. Plus, it's nice to experience things together instead of trying to explain things over the phone, and knowing that the other person is kind of bummed because they're not there too."

So what do they sound like? Some of the band's songs call to mind '80s British new wave bands like Duran Duran and Ultravox but with a grittier twist. "Most of us we're just becoming teenagers at the end of the '80s, but that decade of music has a huge influence on us," Collins said. "From pop and hip hop all the way to the great alternative music -- especially the British alternative bands." Still, critics have a hard time pinning them down. "Some of our reviews talked about how we were post new wave/dance blah blah, but that was because they were being lazy reviewers," Collins said. "There was a poster for a show on tour once that was totally Goth/metal - black with skulls and vampires and stuff - because that's what our name brought to their minds (we kinda liked it though)."

What's in a name? Collins found the name by Googling descriptive words of what he thought the band sounded like. "I came across the literary genre Dark Romantics and liked the sound and meaning, as in we're also Southern 'writers,' making darker stories (or songs) about love and other situations below or off the norm, if you will."

Dream headliner and venue: "Speaking for all of us, it would have to be Radiohead," Collins said. "They are our favorite band, and play in the coolest venues ... plus we'd get to hear them every night for free. As far as where, we'd love the chance to go overseas, anywhere really, just for the experience and fun."

Check 'em out: Saturday (8/19) with Unwed Sailor, Auto!Automatic!! and History. New World Brewery. 10 p.m. 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $8. (813) 248-4969. www.thedarkromantics.com

[Last modified August 22, 2007, 13:44:50]