by Lola Rossi-Meza
Vocalist, actress and composer Darci Daniels, performs with pianist Dave Ring, saxophonist Reggie Vision Alexander and drummer Jay Lewis every Saturday from 7:30 until 11:30 p.m. in the Lounge at Three Sixty North Lounge and Restaurant, 360 North Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. (760) 327-1773.
Daniels along with Jerome Elliott, Francesca Amari, Charles Herrera, Jeff Stewart, Vicki Knight, Pat McCann, Ryan Dominguez, Ben Reece and Keisha D are part of a series of free holiday concerts, “PS It’s Christmas” being held at the Forever Marilyn sculpture at the corner of Tahquitz and Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs on Saturday, December 15 and December 22, from 6 until 7 p.m. Accompanied by pianist and Music Director Steven Smith and drummer Jay Lewis, the performance will feature both contemporary and traditional holiday favorites and debut several new Christmas Songs that are featured on the the Carol Channing – Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts’ new holiday CD “A Very Broadway Christmas” followed by 30 minutes of “snowfall” over the Forever Marilyn Park.
Born in San Bernardino, California, Darci Daniels, was raised with four brothers and one sister. Her Father was in the Air Force so they moved several times. “My Maternal Grandparents lived in Palm Springs and we would visit them for periods of time during the summer when I was ten,” said Daniels. “I have always loved it here in the Desert.” She remembers the family always had a piano in the home, and started “playing around” on the piano when she was five years old. “I can still remember performing in my very first show as a Bumble Bee. I sang ‘The Busy Bee‘ and I still sing that song to my grand children.”
As a child, “My Mother had a beautiful voice and would wake up the family with a song she would ‘make up’ every morning.” Her mother never sang professionally, however her Aunt Marge Seghieri was a singer and had her own radio show in San Francisco, broadcasting live from a studio, when radio was the entertainment in the home, not the TV. Her Uncle, Buddy Seghieri was a Big Band Conductor and played for Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few, and wrote some of their charts. “I have been blessed with some of the charts he wrote for the orchestra.”
Growing up, her brothers always had a band and her Mother would allow them to rehearse in the living room. “Here I was at a young age singing songs like ‘Run Away’, ‘Gloria’ and ‘Louie, Louie‘ it was fun listening to all that music. My Mother was the one who introduced me to singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. My Mother would put James Brown on and dance around the house. She loved Elvis and The Beatles, my Mother was a very musical person, but again, never sang professionally.”
Daniels started learning to play the guitar when she was twelve and acted in various theatre groups wherever she lived at the time. The entire family moved to Palm Springs when she was sixteen and she graduated from Palm Springs High School. “My Father had already retired from the Military when we moved here. He was the Postmaster for Palm Desert, Indio and Coachella.” She attended COD – College of the Desert and later she attended classes at UCR – University of California Riverside.
She started working in her first band when she was nineteen called “The Generation Gap” and then joined a touring band called “The Capital Dinner Players” where they performed “Dinner Theatre” in various venues along the West Coast. Acting has always been part of her life ever since she was a child. “My Father would bring home a play book and I would choose my character and read the part and he would read all the other parts. I am very close to my Dad.”
Daniels married when she was twenty-five and lived in San Diego where she raised her two daughters. She now has four grand-daughters. Her parents eventually purchased her grand-parents home in Palm Springs. After losing her mother and best friend over seven years ago and then losing her home in the wild fires in San Diego over four years ago, she decided to move back to Palm Springs to care for her Father. “I feel like my life has come full circle. I find myself thinking of my Mother when I walk around the neighborhood.”
Over the years Daniels has garnered many awards and accolades; most recently a Desert Theatre League Award for Best Actress in a Staged Reading for her portrayal as aviator Jacqueline Cochran, who the airport in Thermal was named after; Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport. She just finished filming a movie “If-Then Scenario” for Script To Stage To Screen Productions. She had the lead female role in this movie currently in the post-production process and set for release next year.
“Music gives children a creative outlet and this is one of the reasons why I am happy to perform for the Carol Channing – Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts. We must keep the music playing or the entire world will miss out on a lot.”
Comments are closed.