Darby Gould

Darby Gould
Darby Gould performing with Jefferson Starship in Sebastopol, California on April 11, 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Darby Marie Gould
Genres	Rock, alternative, folk, soul, blues
Occupation(s)	Vocalist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, ukulele
Years active	1977–present
Labels	MCA, CMC International, The Lab
Associated acts	Jefferson Starship, World Entertainment War, Big Brother And The Holding Company, The Coverlettes, Blind Tom

Darby Marie Gould (aka Darby Venegas) is an American vocalist best known for her work with Jefferson Starship and World Entertainment War. Over the years she has developed a loyal following based on her passionate, soulful vocals and intense stage presence.

The daughter of a minister father and a pianist mother, Darby Gould’s first experiences of singing in front of an audience occurred in church. At age 12 she joined her first band, Eclipse, in Tustin, California. In high school she also performed at weddings, musicals and sang the National Anthem at various events. Darby attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, receiving a BA in Music. She received the Chancellor’s Award for the performance of her Senior Recital. Throughout her college years, she was a member of various bands, including The Same, Rickardo’s Bandoleros and Barbie Berkeley & the Redirects.

After college, Darby continued to sing with several bands. In Spring 1987 she joined the newly formed Santa Cruz group, World Entertainment War (WEW), fronted by astrologer Rob Brezsny. WEW built up an enthusiastic following in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area, releasing an independent album, “Televisionary” in 1989 and a self-titled album in 1991 on Popular Metaphysics (formerly 415 Records), distributed by MCA Records. The band was managed by Bill Graham, with Graham developing plans to have WEW tour as an opening act for R.E.M. Graham’s untimely death in October 1991 prevented these plans from being realized. Darby began an association with Paul Kantner, appearing first as a guest singer on several dates with Paul Kantner’s Wooden Ships and also contributing lead vocals to one track of Kantner’s still unfinished album with women vocalists.

In late 1991 Kantner began plans to convert his Wooden Ships project into a reconstituted version of Jefferson Starship, initially adding on the “Next Generation” moniker (JS-TNG) to differentiate it from the commercialized and controversial version of the band from the 1980s. From Wooden Ships, Kantner brought in lead guitarist Mark “Slick” Aguilar and keyboard player Tim Gorman. Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna members Jack Casady on bass and Papa John Creach on violin also signed up, along with Tubes drummer, Prairie Prince. With Grace Slick in retirement, the female vocalist position went to Darby Gould.