Meet Darrin Kobetich

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darrin Kobetich.

Fort Worth, Texas-based solo acoustic guitar master, Darrin Kobetich classifies his sound as “ambient delta raga thrash grass,” but that’s just scratching the surface.

He was an illustrator/graphic designer at a Fort Worth newspaper (remember those?) for 24 years until 2010. Since then, he has been… “Free” of working for The Man. Currently, he is doing more traveling outside of Texas, playing solo mostly through the southwest, some southeast and ever increasing the distance in all directions. When at home base in Ft. Worth, he stays busy with bluegrass bands Blackland River Devils and Boxcar Bandits (in addition to guitar, playing dobro and mandolin), and during trips to the Austin area, with brother Adam as half of the Kobros duo (injecting some Balkan sound in there, too) as well as surf rock band Chrome Mags, improv/jazz/world/funk band Rage Out Arkestra and most recently rock band, Groom Lake Racers. He also teaches a few lessons when and where he can.

Born 1965, Long Island, New York, of Croation/Sicilian descent, Darrin grew up listening to a lot of music from his Dad’s record collection (Chuck Berry to Bluegrass to Ventures to Zorba The Greek and everything in between). His musical journey started out with four chords he learned from his father at age 12…. Soon he was hooked on The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rush, etc.

Moving to Weatherford, Texas, in 1980 Darrin formed his first real band, an instrumental power trio, a year later. Inspired by German guitar phenomena Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker, he honed his chops playing covers and experimenting with improvisation. Spent a few years in various metal bands before joining the New Orleans-born thrash metal outfit. Hammer Witch in 1989. They released a cassette (1991) before disbanding in 1994.

Darrin then formed an experimental metal band, Amillion Pounds, which was fronted by his brother Adam. It was during Amillion Pounds’ run that Darrin composed his first acoustic songs, influenced by Jimmy Page and Leo Kottke. By 2002, he was completely immersed in the acoustic guitar, inspired by the likes of Michael Hedges and John Fahey, as well as Middle Eastern and other world music.

Amillion Pounds disbanded in 2004 and the following year, Darrin and Adam founded the Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang to play bluegrass and mountain music. The Gang eventually evolved into the Blackland River Devils. Darrin has provided music for theatrical presentations at Hip Pocket Theater, and performs with various artists. He’s self-released several CDs: Off the Beaten Path, the epic hour-long 12-string exploration The End of One Enchanted Evening, Songs For A Muse Meant The Longest Winter, Sidetracked, An Exercise In Revelry and his latest, Free.
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Other accomplishments:

Won best acoustic act in 2006 FW Weekly Awards, as a member of The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang.
Won best acoustic act in 2010 FW Weekly Awards, as a member of old time/bluegrass band, Blackland River Devils.
Nominee for best guitarist in FW Weekly Awards 2012 (as well as best album and best folk act), 2011 and 2005.

Created as well as participated in music for productions at Fort Worth’s Hip Pocket Theatre – 2010 to the present:

Wild And Iron Sky (director John Moore)
The Origin Of Species (director John Moore, music director Joe Rogers)
The Butterfly’s Evil Spell (director Johnny Simons with fellow musician Clint Niosi)
The Hawkline Monster (director Johnny Simons)
The Enchanted Lake (director Johnny Simons)
The Lake Worth Monster (director Johnny Simons, music director Joe Rogers)

Opened shows for (solo or with band):

Sam Bush, Monte Montgomery, Brave Combo, Omar and the Howlers, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Two High String Band, South Austin Jug Band, Michael Fracasso, Flametrick Subs, Josh Alan, Ralph White (of the Bad Livers), Rocky Athas and Guitar Army (featuring Robben Ford).

Has it been a smooth road?
I’ve never known life to be a smooth road. It’s a scary, yet exhilarating feeling to break out on your own, doing what you love for a living. Being laid off from the newspaper was the kick in the ass I needed. It’s still a struggle, with a different set of stresses, but I’ll take this, over having to be in an office every day.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I play guitar for a living for several bands as well as for a solo career. I also make multi-instrumental recordings and compose music for productions at Hip Pocket Theatre, occasionally. I feel lucky to pick and choose the projects I get involved in, as I can’t stand most forms of commercial music. There’s not a huge market for fingerstyle guitar, especially in DFW, so I feel appreciated when someone wants to hire me as background music, playing my own compositions.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I like that it’s somewhat centrally located in reference to traveling for shows, whether I head east or west. There are quite a few venues to play. At the same time, there aren’t enough venues devoted to eclectic music, at least that I know of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.darrinkobetich.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dkobetich/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrin.kobetich/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrinkobetich
• Other: https://darrinkobetich.bandcamp.com/

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.