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Each week ZIO asks a different musician the same 11 questions via email. Visit Zoom In Music every Wednesday for a new installment or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Darlings, who boast their New Yorker description of "Local Garage Rockers" with pride, are a Brooklyn-based band comprised of members Maura Lynch, Peter Rynsky, Joe Tirabassi, and Matt Solomon. Both "Local" and "Garage Rockers" seem fitting, with concerts all over the New York City area this summer and tracks featuring a DIY sound--with a side of badass. Additionally, Darlings have been recognized by L Magazine as one of the 8 NYC bands You Need to Hear 2009. Formed in Summer of 2007, their first album Yeah I Know is now available on iTunes. 

This week, bassist and guitarist Joe Tirabassi tackles the eleven.

 1.  What music was played in your home while you were growing up?

My dad listened to this CD called “Mob Hits” which you can order from a TV commercial.  It has singers like Dean Martin and Julius LaRosa doing old Italian songs.  He’s not a big fan of rock music – his friends told me they took him to a Led Zeppelin concert during college and he sat down the entire time.  My mom was into the Who, the Beatles, and Cat Stevens.  My uncle also lived with us, and he came of age in the ‘80s, so a lot of Rush and Guns N’ Roses were mixed in too.  He had a pretty boss Rush mirror in his bedroom.  A kid I carpooled with gave me Nirvana and Green Day on cassettes, and the first CD I got was the Doors greatest hits.

 2.Who is the best artist we have probably never heard of?

Adel Bengo, a girl from Jacksonville, Florida who reminds me of Pavement or Rifle Recoil, a genius from Arlington, Virginia.  Peter likes Tyvek a lot.


3.  What is your favorite song lyric? 


“Only love can break your heart.”


4.  What song do you want played at your funeral?


Hopefully the entire congregation breaks into “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and carries me to a barge that is pushed out to sea and shot with a flaming arrow. 


5.  What is your favorite b-side?

“Rain” by the Beatles.



6.  Which medium do you prefer: vinyl, cd, or download?

I think the generally accepted answer here is vinyl.  It makes you feel like there’s someone in the room with you.


7.  Which artist would your fans be surprised to find out you like?


Nas.  Illmatic is amazing. 


8.  What musician would you choose to cover one of your songs?


Nas or Adel Bengo.   


9.  Who is the most overrated artist?


There are too many people I want to start beef with.  To pick just one would be impossible.


10. What musician or band do you wish you’d seen play live in their prime?

Nirvana.


11. What non-musical influences do you have?

Shitty jobs, boredom, burritos, beer, handstands, television. 

To find out more about Darlings, visit their myspace.

Read their interview with L Magazine here. 

Purchase their album Yeah I Know on itunes

Look at pictures of Darlings on tour

Discover Adel Bengo

Check out more installments of THESE QUESTIONS GO TO ELEVEN

Adam Green
Art Brut
Camera Obscura
Chin Chin
The Cribs
Dead River Company
Fujiya & Miyagi
Golem
Talib Kweli
Ben Kweller
Jeffrey Lewis
The Low Miffs
Lights
M83
Man Like Me
Marina & The Diamonds
Meg & Dia
A.C. Newman
Cale Parks
Silvery
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tiny Animals
The Von Bondies
White Rabbits
Wild Light
Yo Majesty!

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