Few Milwaukee percussionists have had as varied a career as Victor DeLorenzo, the founding drummer of the Violent Femmes and one half of the cello/drums outfit Nineteen Thirteen. Now DeLorenzo has another band to juggle: Night Crickets, a trio with bassist David J, of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners.
The project came together during the lockdown, when all three musicians were looking for a new creative outlet.
Today Omnivore Records revealed that it will release the trio's debut album "A Free Society" on Jan. 21, 2022. They also released a tantalizing teaser for the album. If it's an indication of how the rest of the album will sound, expect a wild ride.
In a press release, the band details the story behind their name.
"It came from one of many Zoom meetings among the three members," according to the press release. "After addressing various pressing musical issues, the conversation rambled somewhat and turned to the subject of David Lynch, with David J telling an anecdote which was told to him by Lynch’s sound designer, John Neff. Lynch had asked Neff to obtain a field recording of crickets chirping at night for inclusion in Mulholland Drive. When Neff played him the tape, the director immediately recognized the sound that the insects make when it is light which is apparently a little different to their nocturnal chirp. 'No! No! No! These are day crickets, John! I want my night crickets!' Victor, Darwin, and David then shared a look of mutual realization and instantly agreed that the project now had a name."