Interview With Vocalist Drew Duddy Of Thowing Color
February 19th, 2009 by Stephanie Stevens
It’s all beginning for THROWING COLOR the new band coming out of Northern New Jersey. The band creates music with poppy charismatic anthem like appeal. The band formed only in 2008 and is already taking a big chunk of presence in the rock world. The bands debut EP, THE STATIC SEAS is getting released on April 14th and the guys are hoping to bring their music to a live setting in your hometown very soon. Don’t be surprised if this band is linked with warped tour this year or next because the talent and courage is packed into their youthful feel good music.
I had a chance to speak with Drew Duddy the bands lead vocalist and he let me into influence of his song lyrics, his band members and what the band name means.
HOW THE NAME THROWING COLOR CAME ABOUT?
The name ‘Throwing Color’ came about at a time when I was trying to deal with some obstacles in my life. I was reading a book that was facing these specific issues and this quote stuck out. It was by some Egyptian prophet and it read, “Throwing color into the shadows…” This line means that one should take everything that is dark in life and make it brighter.
WHAT DOES MUSIC MEAN TO YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL MUSICIAN?
-Music has always been an extreme passion of mine. I remember watching my older brother’s first band when I was very young and I knew that singing in a band was something that I really wanted to do. I love how music is just as worthwhile for the creator as it is for the listener.
IF YOU HAD TO PICK ONE INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN THE INDUSTRY YOU WOULD WANT TO BE GUIDED BY WHOM WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
-If I could pick one person in the industry to be guided by it would definitely be Dave Grohl. In my opinion he exemplifies the modern rock star and the fact that he was in a band with Kurt Cobain is pretty unreal.
I LOVE THE FACT YOUR EP WAS PRODUCED BY ROB FREEMAN BECAUSE I LOVE THE ARMOR FOR SLEEP SOUND. WHAT MADE YOU WORK WITH HIM?
-Well Rob is an amazing producer. We all are fans of his past bands (Hidden in Plainview and The Pilot), and we really love all of the work that he has done. Dave actually met Rob while filling in for one of his friend’s bands. Rob was actually filling in on drums at the time so they ended up meeting. As soon as we had enough material ready for The Static Seas we knew that Rob would be the best fit for us.
THE BAND JUST STARTED UP IN 2008 SO YOU’RE JUST IN THE STARTING STAGES OF YOUR CAREER. SEEMS LIKE A LOT IS GOING ON WITH YOU GUYS, DO YOU HAVE LABEL INTEREST AND IF SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE REST OF 2009?
-We are all really happy with the positive reaction that we have been getting from fans and industry professionals. We really had no idea that things would pick up so fast and we thank everyone who’s supported us through all of our past musical endeavors. We have a lot planned for the next few months, including The Break Contest for Bamboozle and South-by-Southwest in Austin, Texas.
THE STATIC SEAS IS A COLLECTION OF SONGS AS YOU DESCRIBE AS GETTING OVER OBSTACLES IN YOUR LIFE. WHEN WRITING SONGS IN THIS DAY AND AGE DO YOU THINK IT’S GOOD TO FOCUS A STORYLINE BASED ON THAT?
-The Static Seas does deal with a lot of issues that I was facing at the time of our writing process. I feel that it is really important to openly speak about these types of obstacles. One thing that we tried to accomplish with these songs is to look at these issues in a positive light and let others know that they can break free from any negative life-style, no matter how difficult it may be.
WHAT SONG ON THE EP WOULD YOU SAY YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF AND WHY ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IT?
-I would have to say that I am most proud of the song “Let it Out”. I came up with a bulk of the lyrics before the song was even written and it is directly based around the feelings of anxiety that I was having at the time. This song is so close to my heart because it is a quick reminder of how much better my life has become since sobriety.
YOU ALREADY DID A VIDEO. HOW WAS SHOOTING IT AND HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE AND HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU FIND THAT AVENUE OF MARKETING IN THIS DAY AND AGE FOR A BAND?
-The making of the How To Feed A Skeleton music video was an awesome experience for us. It was great to have our drummer, Tim, create the video because we were able to make something that was from all of our own perspectives. I feel that it is extremely important to try and touch all types of media nowadays since the music industry is in such a transition period.
WHERE DO YOU FIND THAT YOUR BAND LEARNS MORE FROM WORKING IN THE STUDIO AND FINE TUNING YOUR SOUND OR OUT ON STAGE PERFORMING AND HEARING WHAT FANS THINK OF YOUR MUSIC? AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WAY STRENGTHENS YOUR BAND THE MOST?
-I feel that both of these are equally as important for us. For our debut EP, The Static Seas, we felt it would be best for us to record with Rob Freeman before even playing any shows because we felt that Rob could really help fine tune our sound. Now that we are done recording and out playing shows, we feel that the reactions from our fans can really help us move even further with building on our sound for future records.
TELL ME ONE THING ABOUT EACH OF YOUR BAND MEMBERS PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY ABOUT THEM THAT WOULD DRAW US CLOSER TO GETTING TO KNOW YOUR BAND BETTER!
-Dave Ryan is the guitarist/backup vocalist of the band. He is the musical brain behind Throwing Color. He is the one in the band that is writing day after day, working endlessly to perfect our sound. Dave is also the comic relief in the band because he has the ability to make any person laugh at will. Tim Morgan is the drummer of the band and he is the multi-media man. He is the one who creates any of the music videos and studio journals that we have. I would have to say that Tim is definitely the most laidback guy in the band. Chris Colon plays guitar and he is the classic “rock” guy of Throwing Color. I think he has been touring with bands since he was out of the womb and he never misses an opportunity to get out on the road. Matt Kulper is our bass player and he has the most marketing/promotion knowledge in the band. Matt has a larger than life personality and never misses a moment to show his devotion towards professional wrestling. I’m Drew and I am the vocalist of Throwing Color. I am the lyricist of the band and much of the storylines off of our EP are based around my life.
IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH ONE ARTIST, FOR A SONG WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY??
-I think we all would say that our dream would be to collaborate with Blink-182 someday. I just feel that Blink-182 is a step above any of the other pop rock bands right now and I admire their ability to write hit song after hit song.
A BAND YOU WOULD LOVE TO TOUR WITH AND WHY?
-We would love to tour with Foo Fighters someday because they are one of the great live rock bands of my time.
SPEAKING OF TOURING DO YOU THINK YOU WILL GET OUT THERE THIS YEAR AND IF SO, CAN YOU UNLEASH SOME OF THE PLANS?
-As stated earlier in the interview, we will be out playing some festivals and showcases in February through April. As of right now we are in the process of solidifying tour dates for May through the rest of the summer and we will have updates on our myspace and other websites very soon!
ANY LAST COMMENTS?
-We are all really excited about releasing our debut EP, The Static Seas, which will be out April 14th and will be available through Itunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and Napster. You can check out three songs off our upcoming release, as well as a music video for How To Feed A Skeleton on our myspace page! Thanks to all our fans!!! -D
