Rock band Love Darling broke onto the national music scene with their song “Hazy” when it appeared as the theme song to reality show, The Real L Word. Compared to its predecessor’s, The L Word choppy, cheesy theme song, it was sexy and upbeat in a casual way, just like the band that sings it.
Vocalist and guitarist, Shay Magro, was kind enough to take some time out of her day and speak about Love Darling’s latest album, Sunshine Dust. She opened up about her band mates, Mike Wolpe and Christian Jovanny Trujillo; about living with Whitney Mixter, one of The Real L Word’s heartbreaking protagonists; and being engaged to Whitney’s best friend, Alyssa Morgan.
Extended Online Interview!
LGBT Weekly: Love Darling sang the theme song for The Real L word! Did you write the song, “Hazy” for the show? How did they find you?
Magro: Actually it was a situation where we had the song already written and recorded. But while we were filming, obviously my roommate Whitney was on the show. Whitney came to a couple of Love Darling shows and they [the producers] heard it and they really liked it. So they approached me and said, ‘Hey would you write something for the theme song?’ So they initially approached me and then we played them “Hazy” and it just worked out that they liked that and that kind of vibe. So yeah, it was just kind of one of those things.
You live with Whitney and are engaged to Alyssa, so you were on the show for about two seconds!
I know! It was really weird because there was a whirlwind of things happening. It was definitely this very new format, for everyone. Whitney had never been on anything like that. It wasn’t like the real world where they are in your face 24/7, but they were there a lot. Whitney knew to expect that. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I kind of laid low. I was recording at the time so I was out of the house a lot. It was kind of one of those things. I didn’t have a make-up crew so I just rolled out of bed and was like hi!
I noticed that Sarah was putting on makeup before she even got out of bed, so that’s not something that you are into?
Well no, I mean. The thing is if I was more aware of it, if I was officially cast I would be more into it. But I was just living my life. You know, you wake up to get some orange juice and there’s a camera in your face and you’re like “Oh hello.” But no, they were kind of following a storyline for Whitney and all the other girls in the cast and edited it to follow the storyline. But they got a lot of footage. I was surprised by how much they cut.
Yeah, when I was watching it, I was like there is no way Whitney just goes around talking about her romantic triangle … square 24/7?
Yeah exactly, I think they had to paint a picture of each cast member. I know Whit she’s definitely more multifaceted than what they showed.
They portrayed Alyssa really well. They portrayed her as the “Voice of Reason” do you think that’s true to her personality?
Actually, honestly the dynamic between Alyssa and Whit is the same on camera and off. Alyssa’s not hardcore harsh and judging but she will kind of say what she’s feeling and the truth in terms of things that are questionable, when you are messing with people. She’s not judging though. It’s a good dynamic for them. Whit is worried about sharing with people who give her a hard time, but she can share with Alyssa. I’m her good friend and I love her to death. It seems unusual but it works really well.
Whitney Mixter, of The Real L Word produced a line of clothing, with a “Power of the Clam” theme. She also includes a t-shirt with your latest album on it, “Sunshine dust.” How did that come to be?
She just recently launched it, but she’s going to revamp it. I’m a web designer as well, so I did the website for her. So she was like, maybe we could cross promote the band. So we came up with that merch proposal.
How did you meet Alyssa? How long have you guys been together? Who proposed to whom?
We’ve been together for about six years; she will tell me if I got that wrong. We met in New York and I was actually the one who proposed a couple years back. It’s been a long time! A couple of setbacks. It doesn’t feel like six years – time really just flies. We just jumped into the car last minute and decided to move to the West Coast. New York is awesome but it wasn’t where I wanted to plant my roots and Alyssa had a lot of work in NYC but she can be really creative with the movie makeup and stuff. Alyssa comes from a fine arts background, so she can express herself more.
Tell me more about Love Darling, how did you meet your band mates?
Well actually it’s an interesting story. Mike, the bass player, and I were in a band together, Moodroom, back in D.C. and we had a pretty good run on an indie label. But the band broke up and I moved to NYC and we kind of lost touch. But when I moved out to California, I found out he was only living two blocks away from me, and we reconnected. We decided to start another band, and at that time we were playing with his former drummer Shane. Then Christian came into the picture early January of this year, and made it the trio that makes up Love Darling now.
What’s your craziest, “behind the scenes” concert story?
Oh … that. Um … I don’t remember all the details of things, which is terrible. [Ed. Note: I will draw my own conclusions as to why Shay doesn’t remember details] There have been some fan situations, just like things being left in dressing rooms and that kind of stuff. But the best experience for me; was in Paris at Chesterfield Café. We were headlining there for two weeks. They just treated us really nicely, like superstars. Really different from in the States. Every night it was packed. It was a really cool scene; it was my favorite experience in terms of a show or a gig. It wasn’t crazy, but was a beautiful city and we got to play for an international crowd. Playing the states you play once a month, if that, to keep the fans interested. But in Paris, there was a lot of foot traffic, so there would be new people in the club every night really into the music. It was just a really great experience; I’d love to go back.
What does Love Darling mean?
Well, we started with the name HotLites, when we were playing with Shane, the other drummer. It was fine in the beginning when we were still trying to find our sound, but it wasn’t necessarily a name that I personally connected with. So, then when Christian came into the mix, we decided to also give the band a new name. We were throwing around a few ideas but nothing was really thrilling us. So then I was having a conversation with Alyssa in the car about I don’t know what, how people talk to each other and the phrase “Love darling Sugarpuss” came out and I just loved it for some reason … it also seemed to make sense because all three of us resonated with the notion of being darlings of love. So, I took off the Sugarpuss and sold the guys on the name “Love Darling”. For me, personally I connect with it. We were also trying to find something that was more indicative of what we sound like. We felt the name Love Darling represented our sound and artistic style better.
There are three of you in the band, what is your writing process like and how do you ensure that everyone gets their voices heard?
It’s actually been amazing. It’s totally like a relationship, collaborating with other people. Mike and I already had chemistry from working together before and we are usually on the same page with ideas. I usually write all the lyrics and melodies and I’ll bring the actual music too. But Mike has a lot of ideas and Christian has a lot of ideas that come out during practice. Usually Mike and I put it together and polish it up and when we are recording, that’s usually when things change. We work really well together and all of us are all easy going. I’m totally fine with it when someone wants to change something, I’m not like “Oooh no you can’t do that” the three of us are really in tune with each other. It works, it flows. It’s really nice. Lately we have had a ton of song ideas. The moment you stop writing that’s the moment you are like, ‘Ugh.’ But it’s just so easy and comfortable, music is my heart, so it’s great to work and collaborate with other people who inspire you and push you to another level.
What are some of the themes that fans will experience in “Sunshine Dust?”
Themes in terms of the music or the lyrics? Honestly, none of it was conscious or planned in terms of ‘does it flow with a story.’ But we took songs that we all liked and felt belonged in the same universe and came up with the Sunshine Dust lineup, some of which we recorded with well-known producer, Gordon Raphael. They all just seemed to work together and told an interesting story. A lot of the songs I wrote had something to do with relationship stuff, I guess. Sometimes I write about what I’m feeling at that point in my life but sometimes I wrote as an onlooker. There are also some themes on making choices, stepping up, turning over a new leaf, or just being comfortable with whom you are …
The story behind the name, Sunshine Dust; the design for the album cover has a blueprint theme. The diagram on the front, drawn by our friend Jef, was inspired by a recent oceanic discovery. They believe it is an ancient astronomer’s calculator. We loved the idea of this mystical yet scientific finding and how people really couldn’t figure out what it was or meant for, and the schematic of it just seemed magical. And that just happened to tie into our theme we already had going on with organic technology and design. We liked the idea of walking the line of what’s considered “real” or “alive” and the kind of things that make things “alive”. Sunshine Dust is the ingredient that seems to make things happen. It’s kind of like the magic that makes things be.
I love that! That makes me want to buy the T-shirt.
It’s your own personal blueprint!
‘Your own personal blueprint’ is that what you want listeners to take away from “Sunshine Dust”?
Yeah absolutely. I love when people come up to me about the song and they say this meant this to me and this is how it touched me and when I was writing that, I didn’t even think about that. I love that they can take what they want from it and that’s what I love about music. We are basically having a conversation through the music and the connection we make with people through the song is so cool. I hope that people can say this is how the music makes sense in my life, this is how I am in this world and this is how the song works for my soundtrack. We hope that by being as true as possible to what we are feeling, we will connect to people.
Is there any one song on “Sunshine Dust” that has particular meaning for you?
It’s tough it’s like talking about your children and trying to pick a favorite. It’s more like picking songs that we felt represented the whole spectrum of what we are trying to do. There are some that are a little closer to my heart. Like “On the Line”, which I wrote after an argument with Alyssa. Or “Dust in my Pocket” which is really about dealing with inevitable confrontations and standing strong against the current. Sometimes I’m into some songs more depending on my mood and how I know the song makes me feel. So, back to your original question, they all have special meaning to me.
If you could feature any other musician on a Love Darling album, who would it be?
Oh my God! Let me think, I would love to collaborate with a bunch of people. For sure, just because back in the day I was obsessed, I would love to work with Prince! I love Jack White, Pharrell, there’s just a bunch of people. Thom Yorke.
Those are really different people!
I know! I’m trying to think like collaboration, but then there are so many people I am in awe of!
Has being featured on The Real L Word given Love Darling a popularity boost?
Oh yeah definitely, it’s been amazing. There is a lot of talent and vision out there and how do you rise above the rest and get people to talk about you and hear you. So it gave us more visibility and we are doing the rest. It gave us a nice little boost and we are hopefully continuing to ride the wave as long as we can. We have really intense but really cool fans.
When did you know you wanted to make music your career?
Honestly, I was in second grade. I wanted to be either a musician or a soccer player. I played soccer in college, but I didn’t go pro, so music it had to be. My parents got me a guitar when I was seven and I couldn’t put it down. They got me classical guitar lessons also, so I had a really good foundation. But I really wanted to learn rock chords … so once I got a taste of that, I was writing songs, got a band together, and performed in front of classmates in elementary school. I was hooked.
Pick one: Jackie Warner or Jillian Michaels.
Oh gosh … umm … Jackie Warner.
If you were a drink, what kind of drink would you be?
Something chocolate! A chocolate milkshake…is that boring? Maybe a mocha.
What book is a “must read” for any Love Darling fan?
The Alchemist.
Where and when are you touring next?
Right now, we are really just promoting the album and gearing up for regional shows. We are doing a lot of local, west coast stuff. We will know more by the end of the month. But there are a ton of fans in D.C. and New York, so we need to head to the East Coast at some point.
- Stay on top of everything Love Darling at LoveDarlingmusic.com
Natasia Langfelder is the Entertainment Features Editor at LezGetReal.com. Stay on top of the latest LBQ news by friending her on Facebook at facebook.com/natasiarose.
