Brother in Arms
By Christopher Gray, Fri., Jan. 30, 2004

As one of Austin's most talented popsmiths and drummers, whether behind the kit or at center stage, Darin Murphy usually finds himself wanting to be in the other spot.
"It's weird, because when I'm back behind the drums, a lot of times I want to be up front," he says. "Sometimes when I'm out front, I wish I was back behind the drums."
Murphy admits his first love is and always will be the drums, one of his core "spiritual requirements." He traces his love of the drums to Ringo Starr and tracks his affection for the Beatles which he's now passing on to his 2-year-old son, Dexter even further.
"I was conceived right around the time 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' was number one in the U.S.," he says. "Babies are shaped by what's going on around them while they're still in the womb. It was just Beatles all the time, so by the time I was born it was already there."
Murphy moved to Austin when his then girlfriend, now wife, Sasha, got a job here. Since relocating, Murphy has released 1998's Solitarium and 2001's Haunted Gardenias, and found steady drum work with Shane Bartell, Kevin McKinney, and Patricia Vonne (his current main gig).
Less frequently, he plays in Tallulah with Fastball's Tony Scalzo and Seventies AM-radio tribute band K-Tel Hit Machine with old Houston friend Johnny Goudie, Mike Bileal, and the Real Heroes' Paul English, Kyle Crusham, and Ben McDonald.
"Any time we come together we have a blast," says Murphy of the Machine. "We probably have more fun in rehearsals than any other time. Rehearsals are just a three-to-five-hour gigglefest."