The artist get candid on his rapid rise to fame, navigating TikTok and how he’s ready to unveil the next chapter of his sound.
With the way the world is currently set up, we’re in need of some good vibes to get us through these dreary times, and Jeff Draco is providing with his latest single “Fall For Another Day.” Coming at us full force with thrashing retro-tinged guitar melodies and a thumping bass line, the artist rides the euphoric production, lacing each riff with soulful vocals.
“To put it simply, the song is inspired by love,” the artist revealed. “It’s super personal to me, and walks through the emotions and experiences of a long-distance relationship. It’s somewhat of a “letter” to a partner, giving the reassurances of commitment despite being separated by thousands of miles. I feel this song somewhat embodies a lot of the music and style of the rest of the tracks I have upcoming.”
Spending the past year finishing up school alongside writing new music, the artist has been teasing that a new chapter of music is on the way soon now his full focus is on music. Getting candid with us virtually, the artist talks his growth over the years, staying motivated and how TikTok hasn’t led to more pressures.
Check out the interview below now…
Hey Jeff! How are you? How has this past year been?
Hey! I’m doing well! This past year has been nothing short of weird and crazy, but it’s honestly been extremely exciting. I’ve been working super hard to finish up my last year of school while also wrapping up recording and production of a bunch of new songs. It’s been really motivating.
With everything that happened during the pandemic a lot of artist creativity was affected was yours?
Definitely. For the first time in my life, there were periods of time where I didn’t even want to open up demo project files, or try to sit down and write something. I think I was so drained from spending most of the day on the computer, with classes and working from home, I found myself devoting more time to doing things outside like hiking and spending time on the water, specifically the Chesapeake Bay. The live aspect of my music also plays a major part in how I interact with others musically so that definitely took a toll on how to get more creativity flowing. When I would sit down to work on music, a lot of the tracks I would end up making were more experimental or not really in line with the music I usually write. It was freeing to blend different styles and sounds, and I think it helped me grow as a songwriter and maybe push myself out of my comfort zone. I don’t know if any of these demos will ever make it into a release – maybe as part of a different project, but probably not anytime soon.
How did you first get into music, what sparked the interest?
My family played a huge role in my introduction to music. I was born into an extremely musical family, so music has been a part of my life for really as long as I can remember. When I was super young and my siblings had to babysit me, my oldest brother would put me on his lap while they had band practice (haha). I first learned how to play drums around 3 or 4, then guitar and piano around 6 years old. Growing up, I was never interested in sports or essentially anything else – if it was anything remotely related to music, I was interested. I think my early introduction to the “classics” followed by an obsession with The Beatles at a young age. It also inspired a lot of my musical direction.
You’re from Maryland, do you think you area impacted your sound at any point?
Oh yeah, most definitely. There used to be this DIY backyard music festival called CHASEFEST that introduced me to so many musicians and groups in the area. This group of artists, including acts like Modern Nomad and Blake Ruby, inspired so much growth in terms of my sound, writing, and recording. My sound has changed a bit since I first started this project due to new influences, and through incorporating more synths and pop-centered elements, but a lot of the roots in my sound stem from the influence of the scene I came up in.
You exploded onto the scene and have already racking millions of streams and TikToks, have you felt a pressure in anyway?
I used to treat TikTok kind of as a joke, usually just shit-posting with my friends, but after these past few videos have blown up, it’s for sure put more pressure on deciding what I post next. I’ve seen so many artists reach new heights of exposure and success with TikTok so there’s some added stress to consistently get content out and try to really build more of a following through TikTok. It’s super important to me to keep a balance in what I post; between posting about my music and also posting other random, personal, or general “life” content. I try to avoid oversaturating people’s feeds with the same posts over and over, and I want to build a community socially, not just be another band page.
And now you’ve just dropped your new single “Fall For Another Day” talk us through your mindset approaching the single!
I wrote a ton of new music throughout the past year and this song always stood out among the rest of the demos I had. To put it simply, the song is inspired by love. It’s super personal to me, and walks through the emotions and experiences of a long-distance relationship. It’s somewhat of a “letter” to a partner, giving the reassurances of commitment despite being separated by thousands of miles. I feel this song somewhat embodies a lot of the music and style of the rest of the tracks I have upcoming. I usually mix and master all my tracks myself, but with Fall For Another Day, I worked with Jason and Kelly at Infinite Audio LA for mixing and mastering. I wanted to take this song’s production to another level – to really elevate my sound – and somewhat establish a production standard for all my releases going forward. The song and lyric video are out now, but an actual music video will be released soon.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
I want people to make my music their own, make their own memories with it. I feel like the most special songs to me are the ones that take you to a certain moment or place when you hear it, and I hope my music can be that for someone else. Also, I think my music is listened to best while driving on a sunny day with the window down.
Who would you say inspires you and why?
Dayglow and Turnstile have both been super inspirational over the past few years. I’ve been following both acts pretty much since they started out so it’s been really cool to see the success they’re having currently. Dayglow’s music definitely has been of some influence in my more recent work, and Turnstile has built a huge community, and has such a live energy that I would love to incorporate into my shows somehow.
If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?
Gus Dapperton is definitely at the top of my list. I just saw him live a few nights ago at 9:30 Club in DC and the show was one of the best I’ve seen in awhile. I’ve always loved his music and have a lot of respect for his writing and presentation as an artist. Also, I think there’s a good crossover in our sounds, so it would be such an influential experience and an honor to work with him.
What is next for you? What are you most excited for?
“Fall For Another Day” is the first part of a lot of new music I have coming. I have a project coming in 2022 that I’m extremely excited to finally share. I also can’t wait to play more shows here in DC and into new cities in the new year and connect with more people that enjoy my music.