Being in a rock band from Miami isn’t always easy. In a city known for its beautiful beaches, club music, and fashion-driven culture, MCA act Darwin’s Waiting Room struggled to find venues to play and an audience for its brand of rap-inflected rock.
“Saying it took a lot of work doesn’t even scratch the surface,” says Jabe, one of the quintet’s two vocalists. “We built everything from scratch. For me, it was going into a dance club and saying, ‘Look, open up your doors three hours early and give us an opportunity to play from 6 to 9, and you will make an extra $500.'”
With significant grassroots organizing and help from local Miami radio stations, the band was finally able to break through. After building an impressive street following and going on a short tour of the Southeastern U.S. with Papa Roach, the group put the wheels of support behind its MCA debut, “Orphan” (which was released on July 24), in motion.
Recorded in Boca Raton, Fla., with engineer Keith Rose and famed Nonpoint producer Jason Beiler, the set focuses on the loneliness that Jabe and MC Grimm have experienced throughout their lives. Songs like “All I Have Is Me” and “Sometimes It Happens Like This” explore themes of rocky relationships and solitude. Jabe says, “‘Orphan’ mainly deals with every aspect of being completely alone, whether it be in love or in your family.”
It’s the bond between Jabe and Grimm that sets the band apart from the rest of the pack of rap/rock bands, according to MCA marketing director Tim Reid. “The strength of the band’s musicianship will neutralize the initial comments that they are part of that [rap/rock] genre,” Reid says, adding that MCA is pursuing play for the Jeff Renfroe-directed video of the single “Feel So Stupid (Table-9)” on MTV2.
