Darwin Keys

Drummer for Pushmonkey

Biography

Darwin began playing the drums when he was five years old. His curiosity would be peaked while his dad was storing a drum set in the closet for a friend. Darwin would sneak into the closet and lift up the blanket that was covering the drums and stare at their blue sparkle beauty for hours. After months of begging, his dad finally relented and set them up for the ambitious five year old. With the help of the K-Tel release "Disco Inferno", Darwin taught himself how to throw down on the skins. He would sit for hours analyzing the grove to "The Hustle" or "Night Fever", then work on applying his guesswork to the drum kit. His feet would barely touch the pedals. After a few days of frustration and a non-adjustable drum seat, Darwin said, "screw this shit. I can't touch the pedals. I'm going to rock Disco Inferno while I stand up on this bitch. But first I have to take off these pajamas with the feet connected. Them fuckers are slippery". And then the world could behold the first five-year-old pajama-less, standing drummer.

At eight, Darwin began playing with his dad and some of his dad's old band mates. Old James Brown tunes would dominate the play list. After many years of practicing on his own, Darwin was ready to form a band. At sixteen, Darwin put together a band with his high school friends called Feedback. It was at a Jersey Village High School band chili supper where Tony and Howie would see Darwin perform with his band for the first time. Little did they all know that their paths would cross again in the future. At Seventeen, Darwin had gained a name for himself locally and joined a regionally famous Punk/New Wave band called The Judy's. It was this band that gave Darwin a real taste of what it would be like to travel the world and play music for a living. Three years with The Judy's gave Darwin enough confidence to go out and audition for an up and coming band that was playing a style of music more in line with his own personal taste. Darwin joined Toy Subs in 1990. Three months after joining, Darwin would find himself in Los Angeles taping six episodes of Star Search with Ed McMahon. One of those episodes featured a very young LeAnn Rimes. Losing in the Semi Finals, Toy Subs went back to Houston to develop a decent fan base and would go on to play 200 plus shows a year. Feeling that Toy Subs would not be the vehicle that would allow him to be able to buy a big house in the hills, Darwin sought out to find a group of guys that shared his own drive and determination to become one of the best bands in rock. When Bono would not return his calls, he settled with Pushmonkey. Darwin will be building that dream house in late 2002. El Bitche' just has to go platinum first.

External Links

http://www.pushmonkey.com;

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