Meet Rachel James and Dave Preston of Dearling in South of Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel James and Dave Preston.

Rachel and Dave, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Dave and I had just gotten married and decided to dissolve our current project together, Rachel and the Kings. It was such a tough thing to do. In the midst of it, I had been writing country songs, which was really how I started in music. We both thought it could be fun to start something new that was a little folk, country, rock and very western since we are from Colorado. The guys from Rachel and the Kings had a ton of country experience, so the project made sense. We’ve been having a blast ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As Hunter S. Thompson says, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

In all honesty, we’ve had run-ins with the thieves and pimps and warped, fragments of people who’ve ridden the music biz roller coaster. But we’ve also made great and beautiful friendships. This band is full of good hearted, down to earth people. We have families and kids who we want to see grow up right. While we’ve had scammers take our money, people drop the ball, venues not pay us and artists steal our songs, we’ve also had incredible joys and amazing moments with fans. It’s a rough road, but we are trying to use it to become better as artists and people. The day we can’t is the day we quit.

Please tell us about Dearling – what should we know?
We are a folk, rock, country band that does both original shows and corporate events. We also have a killer Fleetwood Mac cover show that we adore putting on.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
From Dave: “I’ve had a lot of fellow musicians help hire me for things, teach me their philosophies about music, and put my name forward for opportunities. People like Brad Corrigan and Jake Shimabukuro have helped me flourish in the last few years. My parents were both musicians and brought me up to love music. My dad, a guitarist himself, gave me my first guitar. That changed everything.”

From Rachel: “My parents had no musical skills but put me in piano lessons at a young age. I fell in love with. I’d say, since then there have been so many people who have encouraged me and helped me continue. In recent years about 90% of that credit goes to Dave.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dearlingband.com
• Email: dearlingband@gmail.com
• Instagram: @dearling_music

Image Credit:
Tage Plantell and Kit Chalberg

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