I had the pleasure of speaking with a music icon. A member of rap royalty. He was a part of bringing hip-hop and rock and roll together. His game changing group, Run-DMC, along with the legendary Aerosmith, changed the musical landscape. Forever.
Of course, I’m talking about the one and only, Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels. Darryl is probably one of the busiest artists I’ve ever interviewed. He his constantly working on musical projects with an array of musicians, DJ’s and producers. His Darryl Makes Comics brand of comic books has made him a must see at comic-cons across the U.S. Oh and he gives many hours of his life to helping others. His work with foster children and organizations like Children’s Rights, he has made many dreams come true and brings positivity to sometimes unfortunate situations.
Currently Darryl is working on a couple of music ventures. He is in the middle of putting together a few documentaries. One film will include a Dynamic Musical Collaboration (DMC), which includes his work with artists such as Sebastian Bach, Mick Mars, Travis Barker, Billy Morrison, Chris Chaney, Myles Kennedy, and Tom Hamilton, among others.
Darryl tells me, “We did Ram Jam, Black Betty. We actually did a remake of that with me, Travis, Mick Mars and Sebastian. Everything is live at this point because originally, I sampled it. Everything is live, except the bass. The delay has been getting a bass player but finally we have Tom Hamilton from Aerosmith on board to come play the bass. So all this started eleven years ago with that song (Back From The Dead). And as I ran into my artist friends like Joan Jett, Tim Armstrong from Rancid, Chuck D from Public Enemy, and Sammy Hagar, they were all like, Yo! That’s really cool, I wanna do something with you. So it kind of evolved into this project of me collaborating with some of the greatest punk, alternative and classic rock artists on the face of the Earth of the last sixty years. We’re finally almost at completion.”
I honestly don’t know how a fan of music could not be fired up to hear what kind of album comes out from these sessions. It doesn’t stop there with Darryl. He has also put together a band to launch what will be the announcement to world, in the song, Monster. Playing with musicians, Rich on guitar, Dave on bass, DJ Charlie Chan and Veronica Bellino on drums and vocals. This band may turn out to be called DMC and the Hellraisers. But Darryl has his own take on it. He says, “They want to put me prominently out front, it’s all respectful, but for me, I just want to be called Hell-raiser! :laughs: I come from that comic book, superhero, heroes and villains. I come from a place of creative, artistic, pretend-imagination. They want to be DMC and the Hellraisers and that’s honorable because of Raising Hell and the bands called The Hellraisers. It’s a different interpretation of what I did with Run and Jay and even a different interpretation of what I do and what I did with hip hop shows with my DJ. The best thing about this record I made with the band is.. I’m in a band!” All I can say is, wait until you hear Monster. It crushes.
We talked talked at length about the first Run-DMC record and a couple songs from it like, It’s Like That and Rock Box. It’s been thirty-five years since that eponymous album dropped and its significance is enormous. When we talked about the production, Darryl had some very heartfelt things to say about its producer, the late Larry Smith. He called Larry the greatest producer in hip-hop that nobody knows about. He talked to Larry’s son and told him that making a film about his father, Larry, is one of the most important things he will ever do.
That led us to a question that many, may people have been asking. Will the Run-DMC biopic ever get made? Darryl says, “They’re gonna do it.” To hear more about movie plans and some super cool stories of the recording of that first album and the atmosphere around New York City during that time, make sure to head on over to the podcast. Our interview ran about 40 minutes and Darryl’s passion for all things music, really shines through. It was an honor and a pleasure speaking with this talented and gifted human being.
-Tommy Marz
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To hear our full conversation, click on one of the links to the podcast. You’ll be glad you did.
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