Rising Music Star Jeff Draco On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Make genuine friends with other creatives. It’s inspiring to have a community of like-minded, creatively motivated people around you.

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jeff Draco.

Jeff Draco is a 22-year-old musician from Maryland fusing kaleidoscopic dream pop with vibrant beach rock sensibilities to create “thrashing retro-tinged” (Wonderland) and euphoric music.

From house shows to D.C. venues and Firefly Festival 2019, Jeff Draco toured his 2018 debut album, Paradise, across the east coast while establishing himself as one of indie pop’s newest must-hear artists. Along the way, he also shared “For Too Long,” which has attracted 200k+ streams and eventually became the lead single off his six-song EP, 2101.

Releasing music throughout 2020, Draco’s funk-infused “Last Night” secured a placement on Spotify’s metropolis playlist and was followed by “Losing My Mind” featuring Ben Beal — “a vibey offering that is most definitely in need of your attention, if you want to start your week off right and indulge in some good vibes and positive vibrations.” (Early Rising)

Following a collaboration with Skate Stance, Jeff released “Dreamgirl,” a song about “a girl that feels like a dream and leaves as quickly as she comes” (At Capacity) in June 2021. Made with the help of his band, the song has become one of his most popular, surpassing 350k+ streams in its first year.

Ahead of his new EP, Freezing in Hollywood, which landed in July 2022 and has already accumulated over 100k streams, Jeff Draco shared “Fall For Another Day,” a song about long-distance relationships, gaining support from Wonderland, Ones to Watch, V13, Soundazed, FOMO, and Global Money World — a massive year capped by Jeff Draco accumulating 4 million views and 600k likes on TikTok and sharing the stage with Austin Weber, Moon Tide Gallery, and The Never Ending Fall. Watch the video for “Freezing in Hollywood” and learn more about Jeff Draco below.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born into a very musical family and grew up in a rural area of Maryland, about an hour outside of DC. I’ve been playing music since age five (I released my first album on MySpace at age eight), and I play guitar, drums, piano, bass, and tenor sax. In my early teen years, I often played guitar for Nashville-based New Orleans-style “jazz punk” band The Willies and was even featured on Diamond Youth’s EP Don’t Lose Your Cool — released in 2012 on Topshelf Records. In high school, I also fronted Baltimore garage-rock group STRANGER until starting Jeff Draco in 2017.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was surrounded by varying musical influences throughout my upbringing, and like any younger brother, I wanted to be like my older brothers. My first real memory of truly being interested in music was sitting in the basement during my brothers’ band practice as a young child, which led to my wanting to play drums and guitar.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

While on my last tour, we were driving to Philly, somewhere right outside of Asbury Park, and we got rear-ended by a huge work truck (the aftermath of the accident is somewhere deep in my Instagram). But, the rear window was shattered entirely, and the trunk doors were smashed in. The doors being smashed in cracked two of our amps and even bent the edge of a cymbal ninety degrees. So we missed the Philly show that night, but fortunately, no one was hurt, and we were able to make it home to DC (with a rear window covered in a trash bag and about a whole roll of tape (haha).

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think the funniest (and most embarrassing) thing that has happened so far would be early on in my career; I accidentally shouted out another band’s name incorrectly (it wasn’t too far off their correct name, but…). I think this may have happened just due to nerves. This definitely taught me to be much more careful when speaking on stage and to try to make a deeper, personal connection with other artists prior to a show.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have just released my newest EP, Freezing in Hollywood, a six-track project I first started sharing last year with “Fall For Another Day,” which was warmly received by outlets like Wonderland and Ones to Watch, and have since released an additional single and music video, “Desiderium” and a visual for the EP’s title track. I’ve been working on these songs for the past two years, and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s all come together. I feel like through the process of writing these songs and creating this EP holistically has really allowed me to really figure out who I am as an artist and how I want to present myself and my art through this project.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversity in the entertainment industry is vital because television and film are best representatives of our communities when people of all backgrounds are included. Representation is important because diverse casting can inspire younger generations to pursue paths they hadn’t previously considered possible. It’s also important because viewing diverse programming may enable people to gain a new perspective or understanding. These efforts all contribute to a more inclusive society.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

• Always bring a backup guitar (if you don’t, a string will always break, haha)
• Have others listen to your demos and consider critiques; it can help your production and songwriting.
• Make genuine friends with other creatives. It’s inspiring to have a community of like-minded, creatively motivated people around you.
• If you’re trying to learn production/recording, YouTube is your best friend.
• Don’t let “demoitis” get you — take a break while recording. I sometimes overwork a song if I don’t take a step back from the track.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Go outside — it sounds simple, but sometimes it can be hard just to go and do it. And I mean really go outside, into the woods/mountains (if you’re able). The one thing I discovered about myself during the first COVID-19 lockdown is how much I benefit from just spending time hiking or sitting somewhere in the woods. I think it’s a great way to let your mind off of whatever creative stresses are taxing you.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Green initiatives are super important to me — if I could get more people to actually take action towards protecting the environment versus just supporting the protection of our environment, I would. Within our team, we’ve made sure to steer away from plastics and try to use large reusable water jugs on the road to only use our own reusable bottles.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Most definitely! One person that deserves a huge thank you is Jack Rubin. During my freshman year at UMD, he was a senior and the President of UMD’s Terrapin Record Label. He was pivotal in helping to land me a slot at Firefly Music Festival in 2019.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

It’d be David Bowie’s quote: “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”

This has always stuck with me (and was actually my senior quote, haha) because, like everyone, there have been times when I feel confused about what move to make next, and sometimes exterior pressures of conflicting support for what I was doing, usually in a musical sense. Also, this quote helped me build some confidence in myself early on in my life.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

If I could, I’d love to grab a coffee or meal with Mac DeMarco. He’s a huge influence and a large reason as to how I got introduced to a lot of the music I enjoy and write. From what I’ve experienced and seen, our humor seems to be pretty matched; I just think we’d have a great chat. Mac, if you see this, hit my line; coffee’s on me.

How can our readers follow you online?

Follow me on all socials @jeffdraco, or head to my website jeffdraco.com! You can also stream my EP, Freezing in Hollywood, on all available platforms.

This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!