11th: How did you get the job playing on Buffy?
Jymm: It's one of those happy accidents. Joss Whedon was at a club to see another band and happened to stay through our set. Not too long afterward, a friend of ours got a tape to John King, the music supervisor, and when he brought it in to Joss for possible use on the show, Joss remembered us and had us appear in The Bronze.
11th: Do you think playing on Buffy has really helped the band's popularity and public awareness of who you are?
Jymm: It has helped quite a bit, I've met a lot of people because of our association, in fact, we now get e-mail from fans around the world.
11th: I just picked up the new Buffy soundtrack, and much to my disappointment... no "Cure"! Were you guys approached at all about the soundtrack?
Jymm: Much to our disappointment, too! TVT, the record label who put the soundtrack together, never approached us about inclusion. I think we have a pretty good shot at the Angel soundtrack, though!
11th: The possibilities are giving me the shivers. In a good way. Have you heard of any plans for an Angel soundtrack, or are you just betting on the show's success for a natural progression to merchandising?
Jymm: We're just hoping that the show will continue to be popular and that the powers that be will take a lesson from the Buffy soundtrack's success. Nothing's been mentioned to us about an Angel soundtrack, but we're hopeful. Maybe Buffy Volume 2!
11th: Are there any plans for the band to play (okay, air-play) on-screen on Angel like you did with Buffy?
Cami: We haven't been approached yet.
Jymm: No plans but we're always game!
Steve: Time will tell.
11th: How did you end up doing the Angel theme?
Cami: We got a call from John King asking us to submit some ideas for a theme. We recorded a few with Holly Knight, our producer, at her house and they picked one of those. After a few changes they decided to use us.
Jymm: The theme you hear on the show is actually pretty close to the original idea.
11th: Do you know whether other bands were approached at all to submit ideas for the theme? Or was Darling Violetta the producers' first choice?
Jymm: We were just one of quite a few submissions. I don't really know who else was considered but there were others.
11th: What's the creative process like, as far as coming up with new music like the Angel theme? Were you able to see any parts of the show or the opening sequence before you started composing? And what part does each person in the band have in that initial process?
Jymm: The theme was the first time we ever wrote something for a specific use. Usually, there's an idea and we sort of let it take us where it will. But this was "made to order". Everyone usually contributes in different ways on each different composition. We don't have any set way of working, really.
Cami: The first time we saw the opening sequence was in the recording studio after the theme was finished. It gave me goosebumps.
11th: Were you given any input from the producers as far as how they wanted the Angel theme to sound?
Jymm: We were told to "think Dark Super-Hero" and "Cello-Rock". I'm a big fan of Buffy so I kinda knew the character already.
Cami: We were given notes after each revision of the theme. We were actually making changes up until the time we recorded it.
11th: Were any of those notes really trying to take it in a different direction altogether? Or was it just minor tweaking?
Jymm: It was mostly minor things regarding the dynamics of the theme. The very first draft had a big "Buffy-ish" ending that was changed but the musical structure of it stayed largely the same.
Some of Darling Violetta's music is available for listening at MP3.com, and you can find the band's website at DarlingVioletta.com, where the THE KILL YOU EP is now available for pre-order.
The 11th Hour would like to thank Jymm Thomas for giving us the hook-up and the members of Darling Violetta for taking the time for an interview.
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