Bio 
Born: August 30thBirthplace: Corner Brook, NewfoundlandInfluences: Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Merle Haggard, Darren Hancock is originally from Corner Brook Newfoundland, and moved from Eastern Canada to Ontario in 1994 with dreams of playing music professionally. In 1995 he joined his first band "High Noon" and the group played the Southwestern Ontario circuit heavily for 4 and a half years, receiving two Ontario Country Music Association (OCMA) nominations for "Bar Band of the Year". Darren left the band in early 2000, played with a few groups on the side before being recruited in August of 2000 by a group called "Moonshine". Darren was the lead singer/lead guitarist for five years. Moonshine won first place in the "2004 Rising Country Superstar" contest, opened for Doc Walker and Julian Austin, and in November 2004 won an Ontario Country Music Award for "Club Artist of the Year".Starting a solo project in 2005, Darren has continued to raise the bar, appearing throughout the honky tonks of Soutwestern Ontario, as well as opening for acts like The Road Hammers and CCMA award winner Dean Brody.Why this name?After playing with two successful bands, the next natural step for me seemed to be to break into the business as a solo artist, simply called "Darren Hancock".Do you play live?I have been extremely fortunate to have been playing live "professionally" since 1995 (with High Noon), and have remained very active with performing ever since. I have shared the stage with excellent musicians, and that helps to keep you busy and booked in the business. I absolutely LOVE playing live... there is NO feeling like it. I savour every moment on stage. I know there are countless musicians that would give just about anything to have the opportunity, so I feel really blessed that I am one of the fortunate ones that actually gets to play to large crowds of people. There may come a day when no one will be willing to come see my show, so as long as there are people in the audience, I'm gonna do what it takes to entertain them. Life is short, and life in the music biz is much shorter. Your influences?My greatest influence will always be New Country's "Great One": Garth Brooks. He pulled me into the country music world, and his energy and excitment when performing, combined with his sincerety and ability to "connect" with every member of his audience, inspires me. I had the priveledge of seeing his show live when he passed through Ontario years before he retired, and I left the concert a different person... certainly a different performer. No artists likes to be like anyone else (we are all striving to find our own unique style), but whenever a fan in the crowd has compared me to Garth, it is ALWAYS taken as a great compliment!Favorite spot?No favorite cities exactly... they each have their merits but when you're on the road you seldom really have time to truly experience them. It's more about the people than the places, and I have been blessed to meet some fabulous people on my journey thusfar. Some venues that stand out are The Stampede Ranch (Guelph, Ontario), The Stampede Corral (kitchener, Ontario), Good Time Charlie's (Woodstock, Ontario), and The Corral (Oshawa, Ontario). These rooms and many more are helping to keep live music going, and it's always a joy to return.Equipment used:OK, here's where you all find out how little I really know about equipment (especially all you lead guitarists out there). I use a Telecaster guitar, with a Line 6 amplifier. I have a volume pedal, and a few Daneletro mini-pedal effects (I mostly use my compression pedal, always maxed out). I use a Shure Beta 87A microphone for my vocals. That's about it... not very technical, but that's my "gear".Anything else...?I want to thank my friends and family for all their unrelenting support. Particularly my wonderful wife Vicki and our three beautiful children Chloe, Brody, and Tianna for all the sacrifices they have made to be periodically without a husband and father while I chase down a dream. At the end of the day I will always return to where I belong; home.I have great hopes for the potential of this band, and anticipate taking this thing as far as life will allow me to..! I'm writing some new songs, making some cool friends, and still enjoying this ride... Come grab the bull by the horns with me! Yee haw!
Biography
