Hey Darro! So excited to be talking with you!! How would you describe your musical style as an artist?
Paramore meets Foo Fighters with a hint of Steve Vai
What artists do you look up to right now?
Sooooo many, Frank Ocean, Paramore, John Mayer, Chon, Steve Vai, Bruno Mars, Lianne La Havas, the list goes on.
Any fun things in the works for your music career?
Working hard on my EP to be released early next year, hopefully in time for a summer tour 🙂
You just released your new single “You’re Not Insane”!! How excited are you that this song is finally out into the world?
The level of excitement matches the level of anxiety honestly. I’m thrilled to have gotten so much buzz around the release. The crazy part is that I wrote this song almost a year ago, so it’s anything but “new” to me, but to everyone else it’s pretty fresh, and to hear so many people excited about it is really invigorating.
What does this song mean to you?
It means “don’t assume anyone is okay because they appear okay.” The song was born out of frustration from dealing with invisible yet chronic illnesses due to my brain tumor, and while its flattering to be praised for looking healthy, it doesn’t mean that I am.
What was an average day like for you?
That’s a tough question because no day is ever the same. It’s both a great and terrible thing. Great because my life is always interesting, but terrible because of the lack of predictability gives me serious anxiety. I wake up, take Mocha out, go to work, come home, take Mocha out, work on music, go to the gym, go to bed thinking about music.
Are there any other projects in the works you can tell us about?
I’m releasing a new single on 10/4!! It’s kind of different from “You’re Not Insane” but I think in a good way. They’re both going to be on my EP next year but I think they represent the opposite ends of the spectrum for that EP. The rest of the songs will fall in between them in terms of similarity.
What are your friends and parents thoughts on your career in singing?
I think most of them are surprised to hear me singing at all. I’ve always been known as the “guitar” musician, not necessarily a singer. I don’t blame them either, it was hard to convince myself to sing, but I needed to express myself lyrically as well as musically.
Overall, how has this whole music career experience been for you?
Music has been the only thing I could ever see myself doing, so I’d love to say it’s all been sunshine and rainbows but it doesn’t work that way. There are as many ups as there are downs, lots of anxiety and sadness, self-esteem issues and competition, but there are also lots of ups. It’s exciting, thrilling, rewarding, and addicting.
Do you have any advice for anyone trying to make it as a singer?
Get lessons! And take care of your voice. Singing is incredibly hard for me because it’s a completely internal instrument. Unlike with guitar, you can’t see what’s happening with your vocal chords, you can only try to feel them and make sure you’re singing properly.
What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
Obsessed, Present, Relentless, Calculating, Obnoxious
Do you have any last things you want to tell your fans?
If there are any fans out there, thank you. We’re working on some cool and unique merch items that should be available at my next gig on 10/11 at The Delancey in NYC (this might be the last show of the year!!)
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview!
