Dylan Rockoff, a singer/songwriter in Boston, MA found recent success with his debut single, "Feeling Fine" which is featured on his EP, "These Old Streets." His track peaked at #51 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart and was featured on The Today Show following its release in September. As Rockoff prepares to embark on his East Coast tour, I had the opportunity speak with Dylan and ask him a few questions:
Tell me about yourself. I read you are from Pennsylvania, what made you make the move to Boston?
I grew up in Williamsport, PA, a small town in the center of the state. My class graduated just over 100 students at Loyalsock Township, and I wanted to expand my horizons by changing up my environment. I was really craving a setting in which I’d be surrounded by many different kinds of people from all walks of life and thus be exposed to so much more culturally. So the move to a city was definitely the choice for me. My older brother Craig chose to attend Northeastern University up in Boston and I went to visit him a few times and fell in love with the city and the campus there. I also knew that Berklee was right in the neighborhood so I would have the opportunity to be surrounded by Boston’s best musicians while pursuing an education in business.
Have you always had a passion for a career in music?
When I was younger I played pretty much every sport—and still do—but while my friends got their growth spurts I stood a towering 4’11” for most of middle school so I definitely fell behind physically. So in comes our guitar unit in sixth grade music class. It was a mystery to me and I really just wanted to figure it out. My mom had bought a really cheap guitar for the family that Christmas so I would come home and practice what we had learned every day. I guess they got tired of hearing "Smoke on the Water" 100 times an evening so they decided to get me lessons. Once I started guitar lessons it opened up a world of music to me that changed me forever, I realized that I could create with the guitar and that others could be moved by that. The high of performing in front of a crowd is a feeling I will chase for the rest of my life. So, in short, I have had a passion for a career in music since the age of 12 when I played an AC/DC song in front of around 20 people at my first guitar recital.
How did you get your start?
The Uptown Music Collective is the school of music that I attended for my musical education. But the education I received was so far beyond lessons, I took extensive music theory and history classes, workshops in just about every genre of music, and was involved with the planning and performance of large-scale productions every fall and spring. It was my first chance to play in bands, learn and teach songs, put on great shows, and perform in front of large audiences. In addition to the training, I was able to foster long-term relationships with so many of the other students with whom I performed in several bands throughout high school playing around Pennsylvania. I also had my first experiences with writing and recording original music with those bands; releasing three full-length albums with two bands by the time I graduated from Loyalsock.
Your debut single "Feeling Fine" topped #51 on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts, were you aware of the single's potential when recording it?
I was very pleased with the way "Feeling Fine" came out. It was definitely the most well-produced and well-arranged song that I had written at the time. I knew that the chorus was catchy and the few people who had heard it before it was officially released had made comments that the chorus was stuck in their head. That’s always a good sign that there is potential there, but I was never totally sure that it would catch on. I’m so excited that people seem to have taken to it so positively.
Following "Feeling Fine," you released your EP, "These Old Streets." Explain the significance behind this record.
"These Old Streets" is kind of like my own personal tale of two cities. “Feeling Fine” serves as the statement for the happiness I found outside of my hometown while “Coming Home” and “Awake or Asleep” are nods to the nostalgia that I feel for the people and places in Williamsport. “Paranoid” is my personal favorite track on the EP. It deals with the lessons that I have learned since becoming independent from my parents and realizing that the world isn’t what it seemed when I lived in the bubble of my loving hometown. Though I have these wonderful memories in that place and I feel like a child again when I spend time there, I come with a different perspective than I had back then. The title itself is inspired by the rich history of both of the places I call home, Boston being a hub of the American Revolution and Williamsport being a huge part of the lumber trade in the United States in the early 1900s. I’m a huge U.S. History buff; sorry, I had to nerd out on you there.
Your music has gained a lot of momentum this past year including being featured on "The Today Show," SIRIUS XM, and "These Old Street" ranking eighth on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart. Which of these accomplishments have you been most excited about?
It’s really hard to pick one. I feel so very fortunate that the music has performed and been received positively enough for any of this to be possible. But if I had to pick one, I’d say the most exciting thing for me was to hear my song being played on "The Today Show" while the show hosts chatted away about the day’s topics. My mom was always watching "The Today Show" on days when I would stay home sick from school and it’s kind of surreal to think that I created something that would be a part of the production. That’s a nationally viewed program and millions of people heard me playing guitar and singing on TV that day. That was way cool.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't listened before?
It’s tough because I have other music that wasn’t included on the EP that’s very different than what’s on “These Old Streets.” However, I’d say that in general my musical style is a combination of rock, pop, and soul with a just a touch of southern/country flair.
Who have been your biggest musical influences?
Jeff Buckley is a huge vocal, lyrical and compositional influence on me. I think he was brilliant. I also love Kendrick Lamar; I think he is a phenomenal, haunting storyteller. And his approach to rhythm is so impressively unique. Led Zeppelin and The Beatles blow me away because they can do so many different styles so well and yet still maintain an identity as a band. There is no question who is playing when you hear songs like “Heartbreaker” or “A Day in the Life.” I love to play, listen to, and write all kinds of music but it’s hard to accomplish that while still maintaining an identity as an artist. So I look to Led Zeppelin and The Beatles for guidance in that respect.
Walk us through your songwriting process. Where do you get your inspiration from?
It’s always different. Songwriting is a very fluid and ongoing process for me so it starts in one of a few places: a rhythm, a vocal melody, a lyrical idea, a guitar part—one of those pieces come first and then I try to build the rest around it. Usually I know where I want to take the song but am not sure how to get there. In other words I know what I want the climax to be but it usually takes me a while to come up with an effective way to communicate the setting and mood. Sometimes I get on a roll and can finish a whole song in an hour, and sometimes it takes me years to finish a song. I’ll record ideas as they come as voice memos on my phone and every once in a while I’ll go through them to see if there is anything that I might have overlooked at the time. I tend to have a more objective view of my own musical ideas when I put them away for a while and then come back to them with fresh ears.
When it comes to inspiration I really try to write things that move me whether they be positive or negative. Sometimes it’s an idea or an emotion communicated in another song, sometimes it’s a conversation that I have with someone, something I see in a movie/on TV, something that I observe on my way to class, etc. I’m very easily moved by my surroundings but only sometimes does that inspiration manifest itself in a song.
Who would you love to collaborate with in the future?
I would absolutely love to do a song with Jason Mraz. He’s definitely a big influence on me and I think we could make some sweet music if we joined forces.
You're embarking on an east coast tour in August, which song are you most looking forward to performing?
I have been playing shows around Williamsport this summer and as it stands now I really love playing Paranoid. I’m still singing that song like I have something to get off my chest. A close second would be “Yell Out”—it has these really big rhythmic crashes at the end that I tend to put my whole body into and stomp around the stage. I hope you all are ready for that craziness.
For someone interested in purchasing a ticket to your show, where can they find the information for that?
All updates related to my tour and anything else related to my music can be found by following me on Facebook (Dylan Rockoff), Instagram, and/or Twitter (@dylanrockoff). I can also send out carrier pigeons per request.
When you're not writing, recording or performing, what do you like to do with your free time?
I love to cook. My two favorite TV channels are the food channel and the travel channel so I’ve always had an interest, but now that I have my own kitchen at my apartment in Boston I actually get to play around with it. My Italian mother is the queen of the kitchen at home and she was always giving me little lessons here and there. Also, as I alluded to before I’m huge into watching and playing just about every sport: basketball, football, baseball, soccer, snowboarding, long boarding. I’m also a huge U.S. history buff, so give me a book on that subject and I’ll be a happy camper.
Do you have any advice for other aspiring young artists?
Just continue to hone your craft and always keep trying to improve yourself and evolve what it is that you do. As an artist you have the gift to create and say whatever it is that you want. Don’t worry so much about what other people think. If what you are doing is true to you and the things that you believe then you should continue to do it. Eventually people will recognize when you’re putting your heart and soul into what you are doing and they will feed off of that. Always keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to be different.
Lastly, tell us a fact about yourself that not many people know
We have this room full of mirrors in the basement of my house where we have all this workout equipment. On nights when I couldn’t sleep as a teenager I would go down there and stand in front of the mirror and pretend I was playing in front of thousands of people. It’s embarrassing but I really feel like watching myself play was how I was able to visualize myself on stage when the time came to play for crowds. That’s how I learned how to visualize and attack!
