Covering All Bases: A Deep Dive Into The Journey Of Darryl Kirch
Meet the man behind Basesmusic, Tezos Hip-Hop, TezTones, and more!
Recently, I sat down with Darryl Kirch, known as Bases in the artistic world, to discover his passion for art which led him to pursue music and later earn a B.A. in Film and Video Production from the Brooks Institute of Photography.
Today, we will be diving deep into who he is and what motivates him as an artist in Web3!
Who Is Darryl Kirch?
Darryl (Bases) Kirch has proven to be one of the most positive personalities in the Tezos ecosystem and remains consistent in his love for digital art. However, rarely do we get the chance to ask him more personal questions, and today, I was able to do just that.
Where are you from Bases?
“I’m from the Bay Area, North Bay specifically. I lived throughout California most of my life, and yeah, I studied music really early on.”
How old were you when you realized your passion for music and visual art?
“In high school, I really started to understand my love and dedication to music. I had studied Trumpet previously, but in high school and towards the end of high school, moving into college is when I really started to understand music on a different level and understand its ability to express and communicate. In high school, we also had a digital video class, and some of my close friends were fellow photographers and filmakers, and we began to express ourselves through art. So that’s really when I started to express myself visually. I went to college and studied film and video production. It’s where I’ve built a lot of my career, and it is something that’s always been a part of me, really since that time.”
You said that you studied film in college, is that what you studied the whole way through?
“Yes, I studied film in college. I got my bachelor’s degree in film and yeah, started working sort of during college and also out of college. Went all the way through and got my degree.”
Did growing up in the Bay Area of San Francisco influence your art?
“The Bay Area is definitely a melting pot of culture. Even just where you go within the Bay Area, it’s so diverse and contains many different micro communities. So yes, it’s had a major impact on myself. A lot of it is the friends and musicians that are here, some of which are my close friends and others that I’ve learned from or experienced seeing their shows. I would say the Bay Area in general has, I guess, a mindset. Maybe that’s the way I would simplify it. It’s a lot of love and dopeness. I would say those two things have influenced me quite a bit.”
How did you find Tezos?
“I got into Tezos in 2019, somewhere around there is when I really started to understand what Tezos was about and some of it’s unique qualities. In 2021, I began to understand, and I guess, experiment with NFTs. I originally started on Ethereum in 2021, in March of 2021 specifically. Through social media, I discovered the art community within Tezos and was very much drawn to that. Not soon after, in November of 2022, is when I first met fellow artists on Tezos, and it’s the community really that I’ve appreciated so much and am super dedicated to.”
Credit and Accomplishments
So tell us, why did you choose to create your art on Tezos and what has the journey been like so far?
“Yeah, it’s a great question. Originally, the immutability and the accessibility of Tezos - being able to mint at a very low cost and also be able to collect work from others. It was such a new time, at least for me, and I’m sure most NFT artists and artists in general are beginning to understand what the technology is capable of. The journey early on was following folks on Twitter and Instagram and other places and seeing really cool work and being a part of the conversation really, and that was before [X]Spaces. So once [X]Spaces started, that kind of opened up the communication channels for a lot of us and allowed us to connect and share our passion for art. So we started becoming closer friends. I released my first NFT album in 2022, which I’m really stoked on. We also had Tezos Hip-Hop, which is awesome and is part of my journey leading up to TezTones. But I would say mostly it’s about being here for the art, to express myself as an artist and also to be inspired by the artists around me and the builders and projects in Tezos, Ethereum and other blockchains. It’s where I feel most comfortable. So yeah, that’s mostly my journey leading up till now.”
Was ‘Anton’ your first Tezos Album?
“My first album was a Web2 release, and I eventually minted the songs on Tezos. Anton was my second album, and I inverted the release schedule and put the focus on Tezos and NFTs. It was minted and released in June of 2022. I did release it on digital streaming platforms later on in October of that same year. You can listen to the album in its entirety, in some other platforms beyond just objkt.com. You will also be able to stream it on DNS, which is in my linktr.ee. There’s also a secondary market on objkt, and there have been a good amount of secondary sales. Admittedly, a lot of my focus has been in TezTones recently, which I’m super stoked on and really happy for. I’ll be minting more personal music very soon. I definitely have that in progress. So there’s a secondary market for Anton, and you can also stream it on other platforms, too.”
So let’s back up a little bit. I heard that you have some of your previous work on streaming platforms. How do we find all that?
“They’re available on pretty much all the standard streaming platforms, a lot of work is also on YouTube. I do have a linktr.ee in my X profile. I’m on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, all of those places. You can also check out basesmusic.com and darrylkirchner.com to see a lot of my film and photography work, in addition to the music.”
What about live music Bases? Are you performing live shows or anything like that?
“I do. I’m in a band, and we play locally here in the Bay Area a good amount, and we’ve been playing for a little over a year now. We’re not on an official tour where we’re traveling and playing every night quite yet, but we’re playing consistently, typically once or twice a month and then doing a lot of Metaverse shows, too. So shout out to Dope Stilo and others. You’ll see personal Bases Music performances there and then also as a live band in IRL and Metaverse.”
I’d love to go see Bases live, at least in the metaverse, how do we find that?
“Yeah, for sure. So typically, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Pacific time, there’s a tour that I’ve been a part of with Dope Stilo. We’ve been playing together for quite some time now, about a year and a half. And so there’s an amazing community there in Spatial.io. There’s a lot of other specific artists to discover as well. Definitely give Dope Stilo a follow and follow along with myself. We also have a band account specifically, which is linked in my profile, so you can check us out there. But yeah, it’s a pretty consistent schedule. And then there’s other opportunities that will come up, and I try to share those on the X app and Instagram”
Lastly, how do you stay so positive all the time?
“I care really deeply about the work. I’m definitely not perfect by any means, you know? I still have challenges as a human and as an artist, but I think also it’s the environment and being inspired by so many other artists. So I try to treat others as I like to be treated, I guess. That’s that’s what I focus on.”
Conclusion
Darryl is one of the most positive personalities here in the Tezos ecosystem while creating some awesome music. The energy, positivity, and effort he brings into his music can be seen in every project he has been a part of under the performing name ‘Bases’. I can’t wait to see what he produces next!
Follow Tezos Commons for Part II of this article where we take a deep dive into TezTones, how it works, and how you can join the fun as well! If you want to find out more about Darryl, please see the links below.
Darryl’s Project Links:
Bases Music
Tezos Hiphop
TezTone
TezosOutpost
Anton
Live Performance
Other Links
