Today we’d like to introduce you to Darryl Robbins.
Hi Darryl, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Thank you, VoyageAustin! This will be fun!
I just want to begin by saying that being a small business owner was never in my plan – and then suddenly, I find myself running a rock ‘n roll band! I have learned so much about being an entrepreneur (even one that doesn’t feel like he is very good at it) that sometimes I get too caught up in the pressures and forget to have a little fun with it. The rest of the guys remind me of that. It has been – and continues to be – a crazy ride!
We are FIRECRACKER SMILE, a group of pro musicians with 40+ years of collective experience performing across the USA. Now based in Austin, Texas, we all have one thing in common – we love the music of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, one of the greatest bands in the history of modern rock – and have come together to form the biggest and best tribute to STP anyone has ever seen. We love STP’s catalog and want to remind people who come to see us just how great this music still is and always will be while we bring you the best live experience.
After a year of shows under our belts, we’ve been told that we deliver on the promise to bring the energy and excitement of STP’s catalog to venues and a venue’s customers everywhere we’ve played (and will play!). We care greatly about the music and lovingly recreate the sonic bombast and sublime beauty that has captivated audiences worldwide from one of the greatest rock and roll bands from the ’90s and ’00s.
A little history. FIRECRACKER SMILE was created in June 2021 after my bass guitarist (and twin brother) Dave answered an ad to audition for a singer forming a new Stone Temple Pilots tribute band in Austin, Texas. Much like when the original bassist, Robert DeLeo, recruited his brother Dean as the guitarist, Dave recruited me – a guitarist and longtime fan of Stone Temple Pilots – to come along, “It’ll be fun”, he said.
At the end we did agree that performing STP songs together felt amazing, so we built a band – which I had not been in since the early 90’s! Throughout 2021, other musicians came and went, but by the end of the year, a new singer and drummer were added to the line-up.
2022 was FIRECRACKER SMILE’s initiation into the live music scene of Austin, and the band spent much of its time learning what works (and what doesn’t!), building repertoire, networking, and creating a solid foundation for their endeavor to bring a memorable Stone Temple Pilots tribute experience to Austin’s growing tribute band scene. In 2023, I am happy to say that FIRECRACKER SMILE is poised to rock Texas! We have dates lined up across Austin and into San Antonio and surrounding areas!
FIRECRACKER SMILE is Dave Robbins on electric bass, Darryl Robbins on electric and acoustic guitars, Wade Greenwood on vocals, and Zack Hartman on drums.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It has been a challenging road! Haha! But the challenges have just made us tighter, built our camaraderie, and strengthened our belief that we have hit a nerve with both tribute band and live rock music audiences everywhere we have played. We were unknowns in 2022, and we swung for the fences right out of the gate! With a little splash of hope, a lot of tenacity, some pretty thick skin, and a heaping ton of sweat equity, we leaned into it and have now gotten to perform with some of the best local tribute bands around the Austin area. We want to hit the stage and play with everyone. Still, a few don’t feel that way, primarily because of our stumbles and ignoring any established hierarchies in the local band communities where – it can be a bit competitive, dramatic and fussy – and negotiating some of the politics can be annoying. We would love to change that – maybe in time that can happen, and until then, we will continue to play the best music and perform the best shows that we can.
One of the biggest hurdles has been – and definitely continues to be – is booking shows. As an unknown, building a following and mastering social media are hugely important to a band’s “brand” these days, as venues want to see photos of shows and hear what you sound like via social media before considering you – and none of us has a background in modern marketing and promotion practices – we still believe in good old posters, postcards, street-teaming, and personally inviting folks to see us – so hopefully the venues we do business with enjoy the extra efforts we go to, and as we become more known, other venues will give us a shot. Booking as a new band is very challenging and takes networking, mutual trust among bands on the same bill, and supporting the scene(s)!
One thing I would like to add about what we have discovered about working with other acts is, if you don’t support the bill and think you don’t need to do any promotions to put butts in the seats and provide an experience that fans will enjoy, please change that mindset! We don’t want to perform with bar stars.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Each of us has a unique and incredible story – incredible guys with amazing lives outside the band. They are truly cool dudes to work with. As for me, I can say I have had some “interesting” journeys that set me apart from a lot of what we think of as an artist. I left playing music in the 90’s to explore other adventures for 25+ years, landing into the very secretive world of international executive protection – living all over the country and taking care of a lot of famous and not-so-famous but powerful folks, and that was a great life that I couldn’t talk too much about. I saw incredible places, met amazing people worldwide, and worked in and around some not-so-fun people and places, too. It all sounds fascinating and sexy (haha, maybe?), but most days, it required a lot of time and energy, and protein bars and water instead of champagne and caviar – I was exhausted – a lot, haha!
I moved to Austin, Texas, from New York City in 2014, lived downtown, and began to soak up a lot of the live music by wandering the streets and stepping into venues to check things out – that itch started to come up, but I was still very far away from picking up a guitar again – that didn’t happen until around 2018 – but when I did, I got hooked bad and spent as much time as I could reconnecting with that part of myself. I had to relearn the instrument (still am!), and boy, oh boy, that required some mindset adjustments – I never had the conscience intention of performing in front of people after quitting the cover band scene of my youth. I’ve always been very introverted and even a little secretive, so I surprised myself greatly when I accepted the role of guitarist in a Stone Temple Pilots Tribute Band!
Another thing I am proud of is my natural tendency towards being able to make big decisions and be a leader. I have always gravitated toward those roles; others have seen that in me and pushed me toward them, too. I value that in myself now and feel confident in that role – whatever the context – and it’s probably why I run the business side of our band! I manage the booking, social media presence, money decisions, branding, and all the other day-to-day management decisions that must be made to run a small business.
There are so many other elements to me that I am proud of – and I can resist the temptation to describe more here. The path has been deep and wide, and my life is rich with adventures in love, laughter, action, sadness, and all those other things that make us who we are! Buy me a coffee for more!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Most of the time, I have believed that “Luck” is in the art of preparation. Still, I have also to say – the voice of some challenging experiences – there is a force out there that will propel you forward if you allow it to – by staying open to receiving the good and bad gifts. I have always dodged some significant bullets by holding myself accountable for that. And I believe you can create your luck by applying liberal amounts of elbow grease and continuing to move forward through the tough times. Fall seven, stand up eight!
Contact Info:
- Website: Firecrackersmile.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/firecracker_smile?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoneTemplePilotsTributeBand2021?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Firecracker+smile#searching
Image Credits
Music In Motion Photography, Aime Alise, Alexander Christopher De La Rosa, D Hamilton Photography, Stan Martin Photography
