Meet Droo: Musician & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Droo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Droo, why did you pursue a creative career?
Truthfully,I pursued it because I’m super lazy at my core. 😂 I was trying to figure out options for my life in the department of earning income,so…yknow…I wouldn’t have to live with my parents the rest of my life. I KNEW that I could NEVER work in an office. I’d been working part time in one for about 6mo as I was finishing college,and I wanted to just die in there. It was like time somehow went backwards in there. I had majored in music and specifically bass performance,and music has always come pretty naturally to me,so when I was offered an actual job playing bass for the band RHYTHM at a whopping $650 per month,I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back. That’s all it took. Once I realized I could make money playing music,my career path had been set before me,and it’s never diverted,because I absolutely love everything about music,so my “job” has become something that I look forward to and enjoy like nothing else in my life. It’s also fun to constantly grow and improve every time I’m “working,” so it feels like I’m always reinvesting in my business. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Droo’s Peace Crush came about very organically. It’s this one fact that mostly surmises what sets us apart,what I’m proud of & excited about,how we’ve overcome challenges and what lessons have been learned. As I transitioned out of being a vocational bass player and into singing & playing guitar for a career,I had been the bassist/co-writer in a fairly successful local (somewhat national) band called Rhythm for approximately 10 years. That band had just broken up,and I had more or less sworn off ever wanting to actually “be in a band,” again. As I began,and was only less than a year into,what I thought would be my solo career,I met a young lady who,unbeknownst to me,would become the first member of DPC. Elissa,our fiddler,happened into a very dead bar where I was performing one random Tuesday evening. Since there was no one there besides her,her best friend,the bartender,and myself,naturally we all visited. In that conversation,which obviously led to music as I had been performing,she said she played,that she had her fiddle with her in her car,and so I invited her to jam. She got her fiddle out,played with me,and just never stopped essentially…all because she wanted to. Over the course of the next 8 or so years,gradually,all the rest of the other 5 members of DPC all somewhat just found me and/or were introduced to me and/or I met them hosting open mics,but they all just enjoyed playing music,and I enjoyed giving them a platform to share those talents. Because we were never really TRYING to sound like anything else or necessarily LOOKING for specific instruments or people with similar interests and lifestyles to perform with us,we have a mix of some extremely random and unique individuals who all bring their own flavor to the table,but who all work with one another to find where each flavor fits,thus creating a sonic art like no other,while also wonderfully exemplifying how differences aren’t bad and how they can often bring about something more beautiful and captivating than things created by a group of mostly likeminded and similar people.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many rad spots to hang out in Dallas,it’s difficult to narrow it down to a few,but if I had a friend visiting for a week or so,and I could take them anywhere during that time,the main places I’d try to hit would be: Six Flags – cause I love thrill rides,and our park here is pretty decent Deep Ellum – for some good local live music in a rad music venue where you can feel every note…probably check out Armory D.E.,High & Tight Barbershop,Twilite Lounge,DaDa,and Deep Ellum Art Co. And maybe end the night at Adair’s. Also,I used to enjoy riding the scooters down around that area a lot,but I think those are all gone now. Record Store shopping- We have some of the raddest record shops here in the Dallas area,and I would most definitely take a friend to Josey Records & Spinster Records. And then while we’re in bishop arts for Spinster,take to em to hang at revelers hall for some kick ass band tunes,and then half a block down to Whitehall exchange for the patio vibes and great acoustic tunes. The Colony area has a lot of great things goin on now over by Grandscape. Lava Cantina and the Grandscape stage have incredible live shows happening all the time,and there’s plenty of great food out that way that I’d wanna check out,including Legacy Hall,

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Outside of my parents,who have always been supportive of my artistic aspirations and making them into a vocation,the main person who I credit is Eric Delegard. His musical ear is unmatched,and his heart is golden. He has,over the 8 or so years that we’ve worked together,become one of my best friends,and when I could barely even sing and didn’t even have any original music to record,he welcomed me into his magical studio to track some cover songs. Within the recording arena,he always knows exactly what to say,how to say it,and when not to say anything in order to work with and encourage and strengthen whatever talent comes through his door. He drives us all to be better as he works his ass off to capture the greatest possible sonic tones for each recording. Specifically speaking,regarding my band,Droo’s Peace Crush,his genius,two-time Grammy winning mixing abilities have created a fluid final product and developed sound (3 full length records) from a very diverse group of musicians that vary immensely in age,gender,ethnicity,and backgrounds. And that truly is even the whole concept behind DPC. A bunch of very different people making one very beautiful artistic creation together. So I guess you could say he really “gets,” our band and the entire vibe…which is why he has become such a close friend,mentor,etc. in my life…we vibe from the same tribe.

Website: www.droo.co
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/droospeacecrush_
Facebook: www.facebook.com/droospeacecrush
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drzeroes

Image Credits
Kim Eden Bob Hedlund