Some artists may be using quarantine as an opportunity for introspection and to hone in on making music that fits that environment. For New York rocker Des Rocs, it’s an opportunity to visualize himself at a packed concert and create music for that setting.
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His new EP This Is Our Life is out today and is filled with songs he created with the live setting in mind. “The live process and the writing process are so intertwined with me,” he tells RADIO.COM in an interview.
He describes his songwriting process as a “weird daydream” where he can visualize himself playing the song live. “As I’m writing it, I’m thinking about what would happen next in the show,” he says. “I’m kind of like this third-person observer of what I think would happen in the song live and what I want to see happen.”
“It’s a weird process, but when I get that moment of clarity where everything’s zen and I’m in that world, it’s the most beautiful and satisfying thing there is,” he added.
Normally, he’d have the opportunity to test new material in the live setting and get tangible feedback from the crowd. Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible. “Usually in a 30-show tour [in] show 17 or 18 you just pop in a new song and see how it feels,” he says.
“That’s missing, but I feel like I have a really good idea of how things will feel live. I’ve been playing shows since I was 13 or 14 years old and could stand on a stage so I’m always thinking about how this will hit live.”
While the live setting holds influence over his songwriting process, Des Rocs aims to have current events play a role in his musical output as well. “I’m kind of obsessed with this Nina Simone quote which says “an artist’s job is to reflect the times,’” he says.
“I’m always keenly aware of that and I feel that’s been lost in rock music where artists just kind of like go away in a studio, make something cool, and that’s it. I’m constantly thinking about how I as a rock artist can reflect the times and think about how I can say something bigger with every song.”
Part of that desire to say something bigger with every song is his desire to ensure his music follows a certain chronology. Although he started working on the EP about a year ago, he’s not going to be writing new material for future releases. In fact, quite the opposite.
Some of the tracks that will appear on his debut album next year are ones that he wrote several years ago. “I wanted to arrange them in a very specific order of how the whole story of my music is told,” he said.
Before we wrapped up our conversation, there was just a tiny matter we had to attend to. His show at Lincoln Financial Field in July, 2019 where he opened for The Rolling Stones.
“I went from making records on the laptop in my bedroom in 2018 to opening for The Stones in 2019,” he said with a smile.
“To me it was this massive stamp of validation on everything I wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to make the biggest, baddest music ever so when I got the chance to play it to 80,000 people with the Stones it was such a stamp of approval on everything I wanted to do. I don’t have any shame saying I want to make big music for a lot of people, that’s what makes rock music to me so special, it can unite 80,000 people in an arena, that’s what I live for.”
While the opportunity to play in front of 80,000 people is something he’ll cherish forever, it was his experience meeting the band that he’ll relish. “After I got off stage, it was a crazy set. I slipped on the ground because it was pouring rain and I totally screwed up my hip, there was a big bruise,” he said.
“I was covered in water and sweat, adrenaline was pumping. I then went backstage and met all the guys and they were the most chill, down to earth, incredibly kind dudes ever. They said ‘thanks for doing this’ and I said ‘any time!’”
Des Rocs’ newest EP This Is Our Life is available to purchase now.
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