Meet Dartagnon Woodruff | Musician and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dartagnon Woodruff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dartagnon, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I really think it came from existential dread. I know, it’s not the most inspired answer, but when I think about starting to make connections with venues and other artists in the earlier days, I really only remember being scared. I think everyone thinks about being a Rockstar, and so did I when I was like fourteen. But after picking up guitar and writing songs, I realized that one day, What I made while I was alive would be all people would remember me by.

I mean, this really knocked me out for a while. So It was just an immediate full sprint towards my goal after that. Starting Dead Dudes, mapping an aesthetic for our visual side, writing the songs, picking up studio time, everything. There’s almost no other choice for me now. I’m GOING to get our music out there, and I’m going to succeed. There hasn’t been an obstacle yet that has taken my train off the rails, so I’m confident that we’re going to get somewhere with our art. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d be anywhere if my Fiancé, Christyana Razo, weren’t so patient with me. I do focus on the band a lot, between work and personal life, I’m always busy.

That’s not to say that I’m all business.

Writing music is one of the few things I get genuine enjoyment out of. Dean Robertson (Lead singer and Bass) is one of my best friends and my total musical partner. He’s an oddball and some kind of evil musical genius. I write something, and he gives the go ahead on whether or not it’s good. It’s steered us this far, and it’ll take us further. Lon Porter Mason and Daniel Langdorf (Rhythm guitar and Drums, respectively) are the best musicians I’ve ever met. Daniel is the best drummer in Flagstaff, and Lon does some sort of magic on that guitar, making Dead-Dudes the best band we’ve been for a long time.

It really is weird how far that fear of legacy shoved me in this direction. We have to adapt to every aspect of this kind of business, which is more than you’d think. Networking is a big part of this game, making friends and getting gigs. If you get gigs, then you make more friends. If you make more friends, more people listen to your art. It’s shoved us this far, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll go even farther.

Our music is good, and people seem to really dig what we’re doing. We just put out a single, “Switchblade-babe” and we have another one called “Grinners” that’s coming out on the 21st. We have the help of David James from Mudshark studios, he looks out for us and tries to give us the best advice he can. We have all of this because I want to leave behind something really special and cool. I’ve made wonderful friends and my life is better for it. I guess it just goes to show that when you want to really leave a legacy, there’s not a lot that can stop you.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We just finished recording an entire record this year! That’s the culmination of a year and a half of hard work. These songs ment a lot to us and we spent so much time developing them to sound perfect. We became really great friends playing these songs, and this record means so much to us. Especially being our first.

We struggled to make the money to get in the studio, and working overnights to grab that extra dough is no small feat. But there’s a lot to sacrifice when you want something as bad as we do, and that’s that’s play music for a living. To make a stellar band with nut cracking tunes. We’re all working class guys, Lon has a family, I have Christyana and a full time job. We don’t have any cheat sheets toward success, no silver spoons to wave around. We’re homegrown and making our way to the end is the hardest thing we have ahead of us. I was born poor, but I do not intend to die poor. No matter how many times we fall short of someone with a leg up, we’ll write better songs, and become better musicians.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In Flagstaff, there’s lots and lots of places to hike and camp. A lot of people are big on that here. For shows, I’d normally day Firecreek but they haven’t had a cool one for a while. I hope they do more soon. Good coffee and great for going to see other bands. Other venues now are leaning towards not doing shows with smaller bands anymore, I guess they’re too good for that. Of the bars, I guess I’d have to go with the Museum club or the Yucca tap room.

As far as restaurants go, Karma is actually fantastic. You wouldn’t think so, but they totally have the best burger I’ve eaten in flag. And I get burgers all the time, theirs is top tier.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without my Fiancé, I’d be absolutely nowhere. There’s no depth that she doesn’t go for me, and I owe her the rest of my life to repay her for her dedication. Shes a wonderful photographer, and you can see her work on her Instagram (@christyana.fletcher) My grandmother is the whole reason I found music to be an avenue where I could really make an impact, and she deserves more than she knows. Dean Robertson has stuck with me through thick and thin and puts his all into our work together. There’s no artist I believe in more than him. Ryan Binkley is the man with a plan, and I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity without him and his band, Heliosheath. Tight tunes for just the right mood.

Website: https://www.deaddudesgetwild.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaddudesband/?hl=en

Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCPCu5p4NubnW92YV49drWNw

Image Credits
Photos taken by Jackie Wolf