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12-year-old Sensation Darrein Safron – A Rockin’ Soul and R&B Vocalist
by Dave Beardsley
Music normally captures the feelings and essence of a life full of experiences, both happy and sad. It’s hard to imagine all that feeling can come from a 12-year-old boy, but as you know, once in a great while along comes a talent that defies the need of longevity. That’s the case with 12-year-old Darrein Safron and his powerful band, The Soul Sensations. Darrein, who has been performing since the age of four, started out singing ’50s rock & roll tunes by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and the Comets among others.
Now, at the age of 12, he has moved beyond his “roots” to become a true soul singer, covering songs by Aretha Franklin to Sam Cooke and many more. At the age of five, he landed an acting role in a movie called, The Painting, with Charles Shaughnessy, Clifton Davis, Ben Vereen and Fame's Debbie Allen. Growing up the son of Mike Safron, founding member of the famed St. Louis rock band Pavlov's Dog, just may have played a major role in that. His vocal talent belies his age, and his stage presence grabs you from the moment this young man steps onstage.
Darrein, from St. Louis, Missouri, was lucky enough to be able to try out for Showtime At The Apollo! He passed his audition, singing the soul classic, Chain of Fools. It was off to New York City, where emcee Whoopi Goldberg introduced Darrein, who soon had audience members dancing in the aisles. (You can see his performance for yourself at DarrienSafron.com, or just visit YouTube.com.)
Talent, as any musician knows, is not enough. It takes hard work, plus talent, good karma and the “right person, right place, right time” moment — all coming together. Fate, way of Bob Kuban and STLBlues.net, came Darrein’s way — or maybe Darrein came their way. If you're from St. Louis, you probably already know of Bob Kuban and his 1966 hit, The Cheater, that placed him in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
You may not know that Kuban hadn't considered re-releasing The Cheater since — until now. When he heard Darrein perform, he knew it was time. “I was one of the executive producers of Darrein’s debut CD, Rock and Roll Explosion. When I first saw Darrein in the summer of 2006, I was totally taken by his stage presence and was blown away by his musical inflections on The Cheater. I thought this might be a good opportunity to re-release an updated version of this hit.
“Darrein has a tremendous future,” Kuban continued. “He has a natural ability to perform — and that is something that can’t be taught. It’s just there. Several groups have recorded The Cheater, including the late Del Shannon. I feel that Darrein’s rendition of this song lends itself to the great quality of the original.”
STLBlues.net became involved with Darrein’s career quite by accident, at a Blues jam session down at Hammerstones, in Soulard. I was there to catch the Voodoo Blues band at their Sunday jam, when this young man took the stage. Now keep in mind, there’s commonly a houseful of great musicians waiting to play at this jam — it’s a loaded one. I immediately began wondering whose son he must be, when suddenly he led his band into a cover of I’ve Got My Mojo Workin’ that had everyone really into the performance. I mean he absolutely tore the house down!
I met Mike Safron, Darrein’s father, at that show. Mike gave me a DVD of Darrein, filmed at his performance on Showtime at the Apollo in New York City. I showed the DVD to some trusted musicians and promoters, both here and in Memphis, with a common response — record that kid! When I returned to St. Louis, I contacted Bob Kuban…we met with Mike and Darrein — and the rest, as they say, is history.
Doug Rayburn of Benton Park Studios was our engineering choice, coupling Doug’s talent with Mike Safron’s incredible skill as a producer – the result was excellent! After a trip to Nashville for some mastering, the CD Rock and Roll Explosion was a reality. There’s so much magic on this CD – from Bob Kuban playing drums behind Darrein on The Cheater, to the great vocal harmonies of Irene Allen, Royal Robbins and Kari Liston behind Darrein, to the power band backing this young man. It’s a mix of great Blues, R&B, Soul and Rock. And we’re sure we have a hit single on this CD!
During this recording session, we took time out to enter Darrein and the band in a Blues Challenge, where they competed against nine other bands for the chance to advance to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. They won, and competed in February in Memphis at the IBC, the largest gathering of blues bands in the world. This year, 11 countries were represented — more than 100 bands — and Darrein was up against all of them. The band didn’t win, but just the opportunity to compete in a world-class event on Beale St. was a great experience.
Grab any opportunity to see this band, featuring Mike Safron on drums; Harry Simon, sax; Royal Robins on keyboards; Cornell Richardson, bass; Ray Schulte on guitar…Darrein Safron is a star in the making!
You can hear the band and order the CD at www.DarreinSafron.com.
Pavlov’s Dog is a 1970s progressive rock/AOR band formed in St. Louis in 1972. Pavlov's Dog originally included David Surkamp (vocals and guitar), Steve Scorfina (lead guitar), Mike Safron (drums), Rick Stockton (bass guitar), David Hamilton (keyboard), Doug Rayburn (mellotron and flute), and Siegfried Carver (born Richard Nadler) (various stringed instruments including the rare vitar, a cross between a guitar and a violin). David Surkamp's distinctive voice has been compared to that of Geddy Lee of Rush. When the band split up in the late 1970s, Surkamp was rumored to be dead, although he in fact was working with former Fairport Convention member Ian Matthews in a band named Hi-Fi.
Dave Beardsley, STLBlues.net, a music promotion company, home of the Interactive Gig Calendar 2008. “Keeping The Blues Alive” award recipient. www.STLBlues.net. publisher@stlblues.net, (314) 378-0659.
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