Blending the best of indie sensibilities from both sides of the Atlantic LA based Darlings of the Day deliver a perfect mix of crunchy guitar sounds and vocals dripping with attitude. We grabbed a few words with their British guitarist James Goddard during a recent visit back to the UK.

How did you get started in music?

James:  I was so lucky – my Dad was a well known session muso in the ‘60s – played with people like The Who, Dusty Springfield, Adam Faith – and my Mum is an artist, so they were both really supportive.  I skipped out of school early and went to an art college to train I writing music for film, which was fun for a while, but I couldn’t stand being stuck in the studio all the time.  Luckily I had some success with a couple of bands in London so that gave me a head start at a pretty young age.

How did you meet and go on to form the band?

James:  Let’s just say that what happens in the desert stays in the desert… 

What’s been the Darlings of the Day highlight so far?

James:  For me, some of the recent shows have been real highlights, it’s just been great to get such a positive reaction from a load of new songs.  Oh, and playing to 8000 people in Austria last summer was pretty special…

What’s been going on for Darlings of the Day in 2009?

James:  I don’t want to tempt fate here, but it looks like 2009’s going to be a breakthrough year for us.  We’ve been hiding out for a couple of years writing and demoing new songs, playing a few acoustic shows, so it’s always a huge relief to finally get out there and play the new stuff to audiences and see what they think of it.  We have just played a load of local gigs recently, places like the Viper Room and the House Of Blues with almost entirely new material.  The reaction to the new songs has been incredible so we can’t wait to play more shows in the US, and we’re excited to be coming to Europe in the autumn.  We’re going to be in the UK in October so we’re really looking forward to that.  We have also been in the studio which has been going great so we should be releasing new songs very soon.  It seems like there is a buzz building around DOTD and people are really sitting up and taking notice – exciting times!!!

You’re based in Los Angeles. Is it an easy place to get noticed?

James:  Well, it’s pretty much where the music industry lives, so in theory yes, but there are so many bands fighting for attention that it can be an uphill battle if you’re not ready.  It can be a tough place to be sometimes because they’ve seen it all before and you really have to blow people away to get a reaction.  The flip side is that when people do notice you in LA it’s a sign that you’re on the right track.

James:  Is it an easy place to play?

It’s a great place to play because there are so many venues, all shapes and sizes, and they are pretty well organized on the

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