A covert nickelodeon
with COA President Darron Collins ’92
The form of this piece is inspired by a long-running feature in the The Wire magazine called “Invisible Jukebox.” For this feature, an interviewer plays the interviewee a series of records they are asked to comment on—with no prior knowledge of what they are about to hear.
Tested by: Dan Mahoney / Images supplied by: Darron Collins '92
The Dream Team: Darron Collins, Will Thorndike, Nancy Andrews, Hanif Abdurraqib.
Ohio Players: "Fire" from Fire (Mercury, 1974)
Dan Mahoney: Ok, here we go.
Darron Collins '92: Ok. [immediately] "Brick House?"
No, wait... "Fire." Ohio Players. And now I can see it on your screen.
DM: That is not supposed to happen. [laughter] Ok. You are a firefighter in Bar Harbor. How did that happen?
DC: I think I was a kid that always wanted to be a firefighter. Then I was doing my graduate degree at Tulane in anthropology and was having an existential crisis writing my dissertation. I remember this time where I turned to my then girlfriend, Karen Grabow, and said, "You know what, I'm done with this graduate stuff. I'm going to be a firefighter."
DM: The existential crisis of dissertation writing... As in: Why did I do this to myself?
DC: Right. And then we have a long relationship between COA and the Bar Harbor Fire Department. Roc Caivano, who was an early faculty member, served as a volunteer for 25 years. Dan Daigle (director of building and grounds at COA) is the captain of the volunteer call-in force. And of course, Zach Soares '00 has also been a big and important part of that team. And at some point about two and a half, three years ago, in the middle of COVID I decided that I needed to show up to that… and we have this really, obviously, important relationship with fire, generally on Mount Desert Island. And, in many ways, COA was created as a response to the 1947 fire that devastated a lot of the island community.
DM: How so?
DC: Well, COA was a response to the fire that destroyed a third of the island in 1947, as in, What can COA do to help revitalize Mount Desert Island after that horrible fire? But then we also had our own fire in 1983, where the center of campus was burned to the ground. I just finished writing an article for Chebacco magazine about this event (page 48), which was one of the most difficult in the college's history.
DM: Has being the president of COA helped or hindered in your firefighting career?
DC: The amazing thing about COA is having the ability and flexibility to freelance a little bit… to make things up as you go along, and to bob and weave and pivot and be creative with how you approach problems. But that is exactly the opposite of the way a fire station works. When a building is burning down, the last thing you want is someone making it up as they go along. People get hurt that way. I remember being at the fire up across the street (the Bluenose Inn) and saying, Hey, I'm going to go help this guy out with whatever. And being effectively grabbed by the collar and having someone say, No, no you're not going to do that. You stay here, and when I tell you to do something, you do it. Which is great. Having that balance is necessary. I also love working with the men and women at the fire station. It is, well, it keeps it real. It keeps me grounded
Darron hanging out with REM bassist Mike Mills.
Bruce Springsteen: "The River" from The River (Columbia, 1980)
DC: I'm going to start to weep here. It's Springsteen from Nebraska... No, no it's The River.
DM: Funny, I was trying to decide what Springsteen to play a song from. I was thinking Nebraska or The River.
DC: Both great albums.
DM: Right. Springsteen. New Jersey. Where you're from.
DC: Parsippany, New Jersey, which is north central New Jersey. Not Springsteen country but close enough. Parsippany at one point was mentioned in a Seinfeld episode, and that was about the extent of how we entered popular culture. But the funny thing is I never liked Bruce Springsteen growing up until I came to COA. COA is when I really started listening to Springsteen a lot with Genevieve Hatcher '94 and Eric Hitzel '92, who were some of my classmates here. And so, yeah, it took some time with me to really understand and see the connection there.
DM: I think it takes leaving the place that you're from until you can see it a little bit better or even listen to it a little bit clearer.
DC: 100%. There's something about being Generation X and growing up in New Jersey that was fun. I loved it. I've often thought that if I had the chance to roll it back again and create a College of the Atlantic satellite campus, I would put it in Newark, New Jersey.
DM: What is it about Newark that you think would be a good fit?
DC: I mean, have you been through there? It has a really complex history from being an early economic powerhouse, to suburbanization, to the riots in 1967 over racial injustice… and it has the proximity to New York, which is interesting in its own right. But it's in an amazing industrial wetland. I could just envision COA outdoor programs director Nick Jenei '09 leading kayak trips through the swamplands of East Rutherford and Newark. It would give a very important and much-needed perspective on human ecology and the relationship between humans and their surroundings. It is this very interesting mashup between wetland ecology and urban ecology.
Jimmy Page being Jimmy Page.
The Meters: "Cissy Strut" from The Meters (Josie, 1969)
DC: [immediately] "Cissy Strut." The Meters. Yeah. One of the best grooves ever.
DM: It's insane, this groove.
DC: And it doesn't do much more and it never gets old… Just great.
DM: So this brings us to New Orleans and Tulane for grad school and this mysterious girlfriend you had there named Karen. Let's talk about that time in your life. You went from the Northeast to the Deep South. How did that happen?
DC: First there was the important and excellent diversion of a Watson Fellowship. I spent a year in South America mostly, and then the following year too. I fell in love with Latin America during that time. I was in Chile a lot. Chile is one of my most favorite countries for all sorts of reasons. It's just amazing.
DM: Chile is crazy beautiful and complex.
DC: Exactly. When I came back, I started looking at graduate programs in Latin American studies, like a regional program, interdisciplinary, and the University of Texas, University of New Mexico, and Tulane were three of the standout programs. I got a really good deal at Tulane and decided to go there. I did those two years then switched from Latin American studies to anthropology for my PhD because I was excited to work more and more with Indigenous peoples in Latin America. I also met my wife Karen at Tulane. And Karen...
DM: What's that… What's, sorry, what's that story? How'd you meet Karen?
DC: So that story [laughter]: One of my friends, who was also in the master's program that I was in, was dating this woman, Michelle, and we had a big party out on the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995. And my friend Matt, his girlfriend Michelle and Michelle's best friend, Karen Grabow, all came to this party on the beach. And that's where we met. I pursued her vigorously for a year and persistence finally paid off. And Maggie, my oldest daughter, was born in New Orleans. I also worked as a short order cook in New Orleans. I worked for the Bluebird, which was a great breakfast joint, slinging hash and flipping pancakes and learning to make biscuits… That was a pretty wonderful time.
Sara Curruchich: "La Siguanaba" from Mujer Indígena (Mamita Records, 2021)
DM: This one has a video you can watch.
DC: Oh, she's Guatemalteca. The huipil gives it away.
DM: This is Sara Curruchich. I found her when I was preparing for this Covert Nickelodeon.
DC: Great marimba on this song. That is very Guatemalan. It's a beautiful song.
DM: What brought you to Guatemala for graduate studies?
DC: My original trajectory was going to be working with a native population, the Zo'é was the name of the tribal group, in the Tumucumaque region of the Northern Amazon. I went to Brazil and I was working with FUNAI which is the Indian Protection Agency. They have had a checkered past but have also done some important work in Brazil. But anyway, long story short, I couldn't get the permits to work in Brazil. So, what now? I was interested in cultural evolution and decided I would center my work in this transition zone in Guatemala, in Alta Verapaz. Within 60 kilometers. you went from a temperate forest with oaks and Liquidambar and pine to lowland tropical rainforest in the Petén. The Q'eqchi' Maya were the language group and the ethnic group that have been colonizing and moving north into northern Guatemala for 50 years now. It was a really interesting place to look at the question of what you do if you've grown up your entire life dependent on a certain subset of plants, and all of a sudden you have to move into a totally new botanical environment. How do you make your way in the world?
DM: What years?
DC: I first went to Guatemala in 1998. We were there the entire year of 1999 and then I went back solo for the first half of 2000. And that's when I went into the lowland community called Sa Moxl, which was a lot harder, and life was a lot more difficult living with this migrant community in a place where they were still coming to grips with the place. It's just really hard living without running water in the lowland tropics. Really difficult.
DM: I remember there being all sorts of political violence in the '80s and '90s in Guatemala. How was it when you were there?
DC: I was there at probably the safest time. We should ask (COA history professor) Todd Little-Siebold, but it was one of the more secure times. I never felt any kind of concern. Two things played a role making it safer. One was that they signed peace accords in 1996 that started a restorative justice program. 1998 was pretty tranquil compared to the years of Ríos Montt in the early 1980s where it was very dangerous. The most violent political uprisings and turmoil happened in the Western Highlands and I was away from all that. I was in a very remote part of the country where people weren't as involved in the political uprisings of the early '80s. There's definitely danger there now. There is a lot of movement of illicit substance through the area that I was living in. And it's a shame because Guatemala is a beautiful place with this really difficult history.
DM: I think that is what Sara Curruchich is singing about, that history and that struggle.
DC: Right.
A man called Trane.
Nirvana: "Come As You Are" from Nevermind (DGC, 1991)
DC: [Immediately] Nirvana. "Come As You Are." This came out in 1991. I know that.
DM: Exactly. You graduated in 1992, so I'm thinking about your time at COA. The picture I have seen many times is of a long-haired Darron Collins with a guitar.
DC: I started playing guitar when I was five. It was an important part of my development… especially in high school. You're trying to figure yourself out through drama or sports or academics. I was figuring myself out through guitar. And that continued at COA. We had some amazing, amazing, experienced musicians here. Millard Dority (former director of building and grounds) was a big influence on me. So was (former professor of music) John Cooper. I spent a lot of time working with Cooper when I was here. And Sean Murphy '14 was here. Sean and I were in a bunch of bands together.
DM: All these familiar names.
DC: Yes. Music was a big part of my life here… I was into being outside and doing science and that stuff was really important to me, but music was right up there. And I wrote a recurring column for Off the Wall (COA student newspaper). I called it the "Monster Metal Review" and I reviewed metal songs and albums.
DM: You were a metal head at COA?
DC: I liked metal, but I was really into Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin. That was my band. I was that kid in high school that would draw the different symbols on their arms and stuff.
DM: Oh my. I know that kid.
DC: Right? But at COA is when I started really listening to jazz too, because of Millard and Cooper. I have this tendency to become laser focused on things I really like, and John Coltrane was who I focused on. I could never play jazz, guitar wise. I didn't have the chops. I was much more comfortable playing over a simple blues progression. I could improvise all day over that. But listening wise, I really went deep on John Coltrane. While I was here, I spent a lot of time listening to his stuff.
DM: Led Zeppelin and John Coltrane, that's not bad company to keep.
DC: No, it's not bad company at all. Although I did see The Firm because of my infatuation with Jimmy Page. Page played with Paul Rogers as The Firm. Terrible band, although at the time I thought it was the best thing because anything that Page did was going to be good… But it wasn't. It was not very good at all.
DM: I've heard that Millard was a great guitar player.
DC: Millard is an amazing, amazing guitar player… absolutely incredible. He had a big Gibson hollow body and he would play a bass line with his thumb. He would walk a bass on the E string, on the low E, and then he would play chords on top of it. And that guy, man, you put any standard down in front of Millard and he'd run through it like lightning. And John Cooper. He was great. I played with Cooper in a band my summer between my junior and senior year here in Bar Harbor. It was a wedding band. We rented tuxes… the whole thing.
DM: Are there any photos of this wedding band of misfits? I would pay money.
DC: Yeah. The long, nasty, stringy, greasy hair, and the tux. It was not a good look.
Darron with his axe, in Ryles, fall 1988.
Bad Brains: "Sailin On" from Bad Brains (ROIR, 1982)
DC: Is this Iggy Pop?
DM: No, a little later.
DC: [listens] Give me a hint.
DM: Think DC punk.
DC: [listens] Oh… Bad Brains
DM: Yes, yes. So, this brings up the DC connection with you. You lived in DC for a number of years. And there is this strong bond between DC and MDI. How has that relationship evolved?
DC: I think if I look at it analytically, it's probably the large number of nonprofits that tend to be based there. Conservation, environmental, otherwise, social justice, etc. So that's a draw. People's interest in government and policy. Plus, it's a direct flight to National from Bangor. That's nice. I love Washington. I was there for six years.
DM: It's a really dynamic town.
DC: When I was living there, I had young kids. I was really focused on raising them. I didn't do the whole hanging out in Adams Morgan (neighborhood), that kind of thing. But I loved it. We could bring the kids to all these museums for free. And a five year old in a museum has a really short attention span, so we didn't need to worry about seeing everything because we paid $30 to get in and wouldn’t be back. We could take our time. And we had great friends in DC. I would kayak on the Potomac, which was right there. I'd do these crazy things where I'd wake up at 5 a.m., drive to the great falls of the Potomac and kayak for like an hour, get on my bike and commute into work, take a shower, do my work thing, and then head back home… DC was a great experience.
DM: This is cycling into work. That is a great way to commute in the DC metro area.
DC: Karen and I had a wonderful time living there. I remember Steve Katona when he was president of COA doing an alumnx gathering in Washington. We did an event with Sarah Baker, who was the dean of admission before Heather (Albert-Knopp '99), at the World Wildlife Fund office for prospective students. There are numerous trustees who have homes and spend most of the year in Washington, and many friends of the college who have deep roots in Washington. COA is plugged in there. I mean, we have a big alumnx group in Washington. It's huge. New York might be a close second in terms of sheer quantity of alums, but we have a lot of connections there.
DM: I remember when the Bateau literary magazine (page 16) crew of COA student editors went to the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in DC, you helped set us up with some trustees.
DC: That was Sharon and Bruce Bradley. Right.
DM: They were the nicest people I've ever met in my life. No joke.
Molly, Darron, and Maggie Collins.
Vangelis: "Tears in Rain" from Blade Runner Soundtrack (Atlantic, 1982)
DM: Ok. Last one.
DC: Can't tell. [listening] I need a hint.
DM: Film Soundtrack. Sci-fi movie from the '80s.
DC: [listening] Nope. Don't know it.
DM: It's Vangelis. His score to Blade Runner.
DC: Right. I have not seen Blade Runner in a long time.
DM: It's great. This is from the last scene which is the end but also a sort of beginning for Dekker (Harrison Ford), the main character. Which brings me to you. What is next for Darron Collins?
DC: I really don't know. These 13 years have been amazing. I've really loved this place with every bone in my body. One of the hardest decisions I've ever made was saying, No. I think it's time. And I made it with no new job lined up, which is anxiety provoking [chuckle] and exciting. But it gives me an opportunity to really sit back a little bit and say, What is the next chapter? What do I really want to do? What have I been doing here at COA that I would like to do more of in the future? I do spend about an hour a day either thinking about it or preferably talking to someone about it. One of the best parts of my job over the past 13 years is that it has put me in touch with some of the most amazing, smart, thoughtful, plugged-in, creative people out there. Those people are our own faculty, staff, and trustees, but also all the friends of the college I've engaged with. Now I'm working with them and they're helping me think through what's next. And it's funny because my daughter, Maggie, in a sense, is at the same stage. She's just graduated from college and is thinking about how she launches and where she goes next. And my youngest, Molly, has another year left in college, so she is right there too.
DM: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes for the whole Collins family.
DC: It's an exciting time. I like storytelling an awful lot, I really love it. And I like getting people excited about things like this college. I've often thought that if I could do work in documentary film, that could be really interesting. But I don't know. Suffice to say I'm taking my time, and I've got a lot of work going on through the end of the year. I'll be here through June 30. And whatever I do, COA will stay in the mix. That'll for sure happen.
DM: We will miss you, Darron.
DM: Likewise. I'm also really looking forward to the next person coming in. And like I said, the president of COA is part of a team, they need to be a team player. I'm eager to see how they build on all the things that this college has accomplished over the past 53 years. It is an exciting time for the college.
