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Dark Romantics Love Their Focus

Fanatic Promotions

Alternative rock band The Dark Romantics take love, heartache and healing to new levels in their songs.

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By CURTIS ROSS The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2008

Updated:

When The Dark Romantics' Eric Collins sings the line, "Love and pain, they are one and the same," on the first track of new album "Heartbreaker," it seems as though the band couldn't have chosen a better moniker.

The catch is that the Lakeland quintet has to share its handle with a group of 19th century writers and poets such as Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson.

"I actually Googled the words 'dark' and 'romantic,' as well as a few others that I thought described what sound we were going for, and 'The Dark Romantics' came up," Collins writes in an e-mail.

"I had always loved those authors but had not known there was an actual sub-genre for them called 'Dark Romanticism,'" Collins continues. "I liked it, everybody else liked it, so there it was."

These Romantics' darkness is far less death-haunted than that of their literary forebears. No gloomy ravens or death kindly stopping for anyone here.

Instead, "Heartbreaker" deals with the power of love to hurt, heal and bring you to your knees.

"I was writing with a purpose about some things I was experiencing and other things I was observing," Collins writes. "A theme that always runs through my lyrics and music (I hope) is love itself. Not the cheesy love that is sung about in meaningless pop hits. I mean real love.

"There is the love that breaks your heart and then you move on, and then there is the love that breaks your heart because it is so pure and so true, and you've never known that kind of love before, and it's worth it and you cherish it no matter what," Collins explains.

(Listen to "Never Been Loved" from "Heartbreaker" to hear Collins' voice backed by soaring strings illustrating this point far better than the printed word can.)

Love runs deep with The Dark Romantics, so much so that Collins and band co-founder Dean Paul persuaded their wives, sisters Carla and Amanda Jones, to join the band so that they wouldn't have to be apart during tours.

The decision was based on Collins and Paul's experiences on the road with their former band, Denison Marrs. (Drummer Stephanie Salomon rounds out the group.)

"We were always finding ourselves calling home and trying to convey what we had experienced that day or whatever. That gets old and sad really quick," Collins writes.

"We knew that we were going to be taking The Dark Romantics very seriously, which meant a lot more touring, so we had to be together," Collins writes.

"It should be noted that the girls had never been in bands before, never even played instruments before, really," Collins writes. "They picked them up so that we could all be together."

"If that isn't love and support, then I don't know what is," Collins writes. "They still curse us before every show due to their nerves!"

CD RELEASE PARTY

The Dark Romantics

WITH: Zillionaire and Dignan

WHEN: 10 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: New World Brewery, 1313 E. Eighth Ave. N., Tampa

COST: $6; (813) 248-4969

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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