Idag är det fest i bloggen, för Damon Collum sångare i bandet The Don Darlings har börjat gästblogga hos oss.
Under några veckor (eller vem vet, kanske för alltid) kommer Damon dela med sig av sina och bandets upplevelser.
Damon är amerikan så inläggen är på utrikiska. Men jag tror ni förstår endå.
First stop texas.
 Photo by Sonny MikszathRecent gig in Skövde.
HOWDY! Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of The Don Darlings. I, The Reverend Collum, will be enlightening you about the band over the next few weeks. For those of you who know us, some of these stories may seem familiar. For those of you who do not know us, here is a little introduction to your soon to be favorite band. I love you already.
Many people have asked about the origin of the name: The Don Darlings. Some have assumed that we thought of ourselves as the darlings of some mythical Mob boss. However, the story behind the name is an altogether different tale.
The name of our band comes from a dusty, desolate dude deep in the heart of Texas.
Don Darling was an old man that lived on the side of the highway between Austin and Johnson City, Texas. He had a big shed on his property that had the words SNAKE PIT written on the side that could be easily read by passersby on the highway.
Meeting this old man was a bit of a strange occurence. I was curious as to what he had in that shed and he asked me if I liked wildlife. To which I suspiciously concurred. The whole situation started to feel a little like From Dusk To Dawn. Ya know that Tarrantino movie where all of a sudden you’re surrounded by zombie strippers. Anyway, I digress. As you walked into the shed, you could hear the first quiet then resounding rattles of tails from different rattlesnakes of all ages and sizes.
Mr. Darling walked into the pit, with his worn out cowboy hat and ancient walking cane, as if it were a stroll in the garden and began describing the different snakes: their names, ages and general temperaments. His voice was an old mix of gravel and laughter.
He began kicking one of the rattlers and saying: "Yeah this little one's got quite temper on him, hehehe." When I asked him why he had this shed he began retelling stories about his years at the Houston Zoo and showing examples of skulls of the first foxes and cyotes he hunted as a child. He said that he wanted to educate people about Texas wildlife and then warned of the dangers of eating too much meat and taking too many pills.
He was an odd and interesting old dude.
Next week: a short story about the Mexican border near El Paso, Texas.
Yours Truly,
The Reverend Collum
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