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Darby Mills-no false moves

Please help te
“Red Shield Appeal

by DON SCHAFFER

With only four years: of -
professional singing to’ fall
back on, one might expect
Darby Mills to make a false _
move onstage, or miss a

note, or slip up somehow,

It didn’t- happen Monday
night in Tamitik Arena, and
by ‘the looks of her per-
formance as lead singer of -
the Headpins, the .slipup
might not occur often at all.

_ Mills took control of the.
- concert fromthe minute she
stepped onstage, and .with.
an intense, dynamie style of .

- singing and a real flare for
showmanship, Mills led the
crowd through a fast-paced
hour of very hard rock: _

Her band, which is
definitely her band, was put \.
together two months before
the tour started when the
album she cut with mem-
bers of Chilliwack started to
take off, Scott Reid gets a

‘lot of the spotlight as lead
guitarist,: with © Jim
Buclishan and Bernie Aubin
on drums” and. bass
‘providing a solid bottom on

' which Reid's guitar” and .

Mills’ yoeals are’ based.

» “I've been’ “ai ging
professionally since, two
weeks after 1 graduated
from high: school,” ils
said. “I never sang:
professionally, ‘if ‘being. a a
promeans making money.”
_ Along career aa a figure
skater ended when she
- decided to be a singer, and
the experience that akating
brought in handling crowds
and putting on a show is —

evident when Milla ison -

stage. ‘She's a real
‘ showman, stalking from
side to side on the stage,
always'at the front, tossing

her mike around both on the -

stand and off, gesticulating

_ to the other band members /

-and the audience,--and

‘Jetting everyone know she's’ .

enjoying herself.
Her voice is unique to the
extent that she doesn’t have
. the pretention to opera of a,
~- ‘Pat Benatar or: an‘ Ellén
Foley, two of the top female’
rock shouters around now.

Mills is a straightforward.

.wailer who pushes her voice
hardall the way through the

show, whether in the songs: -

or just in raps with the
audience betweptt numbers.
., Despite being comnpared
with everyone from Robert .
Plant (ex of Led Zeppelin).

= tolan Gillan of Deep Purple |

~ and Janis Joplin, Mills said

she hasn’ tried to sound lke
anyone. tees

“My: favorite wed wo be.

tt abs: gy SF Scith ji) Br

Beet)
heli ois alowi wyptona it gil
awe -bauwe adyit

Heart,” she said. ‘'I got a
“big -boost from listening to
‘Ann Wilson of Heart.

Hearing her really gave me
an inspiration to get out and

“I just go up ‘there and .

belt. 1f I sound like someone
else, [ “sound Jike-someone
else, but it’s not meant that -
way.” It just happens.”

Is she worried about the
strain she puts her yoice
under during the-show? |
No, not really. It seems
that, when I’m screaming

‘the, “hardest there’s. less.

strain. on ‘my voice than
whenT m not trying 50 hard.
1 just push the air through
from my.lungs. It sounds
raspy (her speaking voice ia
as well) but. it's not really.
that hard on it.

“There's always a risk,

‘but I'm not going to worry:a

lot ‘about it right now.”

“While the band is a show

band, their record,’ Turn It -
Loud, is. doing very well”
both in sales figures and on

” airplay lists, both in Canada”

“The record's sold about °
42,000 copies in the first six
weeks it's been out,” Mills
sald, “‘and it's only 6000
from - going gold.”
(Canadien gold records sell
50,000; for a record to go

DARBY “MILLS

_Jeading Headpins on. stage.

Aside HT

dot dud.

sd eae ae
. hese esti bth wberuelnD -
wok ils 2'Jerlt

plantinum in Canada
requires sales af 100,000
units.)

“It’s been a ‘surprise,
sure. ‘It’s the second top-
selling record to Great
White North. It’s the
number one add-on on lists
‘down south, which is. the
pick ‘of ‘the records. that
haven't made the charts or
playlists, 1 just hope it Bet
some air time. MoS

” Life on’ the road, where”
Mills has ‘been a lot in-the

four years she’s been aut-of.-
schoo! (she’s 22), doesn’t |

‘seem to bother’ her much.

“I've lived the last two.

years in hotels, so I don’t
feel different at all. ;
matter where you ‘stop.
you’ "restill on the road going
somewhere.’

“When you’ve “worked
. that hard to get something,

it doesn’t bother you when .
you've got it. We signed-a

~ contract with Atco’ Records

in the States and with Solid-

Gold’ Records in. Canada,

“and we've signed for five

years of exclusive touring,
so that’s where we're going

to be. .
“when y you travel around
& lot, your friends become

‘initigs. wok
Peat v Ween ated,

ae Ia ry

No:

wp oaddog eter a sol beau

the people you work with so

you don’t get lonely too .
‘much,

- “I've worked pretty hard .
to be a singer and put out a

lot of effort for it; and it's

like figure skating in a way.
‘The more people criticize .
you.and say you're no good.
the more it makes you want
_to get out and do it more, to.
prove yourself, Every‘art —
~ hasits polities, and this is nO.
different. Criticism makes
you,stronger.””

: nm .

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