ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
Season Four runs from September 2024 to December 2024
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S04E24 • Drew Danburry of Icarus Phoenix
Ever wondered what it takes to keep the creative spark alive amidst the hustle of life? Join us as we chat with Drew Danburry of Icarus Phoenix, who shares his incredible journey from a spontaneous songwriting moment at his brother's house to performing over 800 shows and releasing 400 songs. Drew provides a candid look into his world, revealing how his love for music and songwriting became a vital form of self-expression. He talks about the challenges and joys of forming a band, organizing performances, and nurturing creativity through an organic songwriting process. With personal anecdotes and reflections, Drew sheds light on how interactions with different generations inspire his music, especially the storytelling woven into each album's first track.
As Drew and Icarus Phoenix emerge from a whirlwind Japanese tour, we explore his remarkable achievement of recording 40 songs in just three days. Despite facing mental exhaustion and a guitarist's wrist injury, the band is steadfast in their creative journey, with plans to release singles over the coming year. We also get a glimpse into Drew's personal transition from barbershop owner to his current role at Old Bank Barbers in Baltimore, where he welcomes visitors for both haircuts and engaging conversations. This episode celebrates the resilience and passion that fuels Drew's pursuits, both musical and personal, while building anticipation for what Icarus Phoenix has in store for fans.
I took a long car ride. It was worth the time For a dip in the dark tide with your hands in mine. I felt the cold in your fingertips I tasted poison, um great.
Speaker 2:So episode number, oh je episode. I don't even know what episode we are anymore. I know we're season four and I do know we're going to have a great conversation with Drew Danbury from Icarus Phoenix. Um, drew, where are you coming in from today? I live in Baltimore, maryland. Hey, good old Baltimore. Have you lived there? Most of your life Is that? That was that where you grew up.
Speaker 3:No, actually I grew up in California and then spent a lot of time in Missoula, Montana and Utah and then, a few years ago, split up with my partner and moved across the country to survive.
Speaker 2:Well, we're going to talk about survival, but why don't we rewind a little bit? And when did music become really important to you, in the sense that it had to be a part of something that you were going to do in your life?
Speaker 3:Probably early to mid-20s.
Speaker 2:Yep, and what was it? Do you remember an event or an occasion or a track you listened to, or a band where it was just like I gotta do that. I'm in on this, I think.
Speaker 3:I was at my brother's house with nothing to do. He had a guitar and I had a poem and I picked up the guitar and next to it was like a song book with like three chords. So I wrote a song and I thought, oh, this is fun. I showed my friend who played guitar and made music and I said, hey, help me record the song we he did. It was super fun. I was like, oh, let's start a band, let's record, let's write and record songs. This is super fun. And and then, of course, you know, I think, step by step, it kind of just became a way to channel and self-reflect, uh, the the things that you know you step through and walk through.
Speaker 2:Right, and that was the beginning, right, right. And do you remember that? What, what, that first song theme was about, that first poem that you wrote um and put to music, what, what, what theme it dabbled in?
Speaker 3:Um, I mean mean yes and no. It was very much like a palace brothers palace music, like bonnie prince billy kind of vibe and the lyrics. It had some really good lyrics and some really dumb lyrics, but it was just. You know, I'm in my early 20s, I'm writing poetry. There's some good stuff in there. I have it somewhere. It's not great, it's not even good really, but there's something there.
Speaker 2:Right, right, great. It's not even good, really, but there's some, there's something there, right, right, and was it that something there that that kept motivating you to keep going? Or did you know regardless, like? This is something I need to do is who I am, and you know how I deal with the things that are happening in my life. I pen them down, I put them on paper. Like what was that? A moment also when, when you found some of the little bright spots in that first song that you put together, no, initially it was just fun.
Speaker 3:Initially it was just I guess I always spent a lot of time being creative with my friends. That's kind of. I didn't realize it until later, but that is kind of my love language and I didn't really put put that together till later. But essentially, initially it was just fun. And we started a band and in my head it was like okay, we're going to write songs and record them and we're going to be creative together. And then half the band was like no, we're playing shows, this is we're. We're in a band, we're going to be, we're going to be cool, we're going to get chicks. And and in my head I was just like, oh, that sounds really stressful, I don't want to do that Like well, that's what we're doing.
Speaker 3:So I don't know, like I kind of guess I guess I just do the shows and do the booking and the organizing and the promoting as a means to kind of be kind to the things that I've created. It's almost like those are not the things that I like. I don't really there's, I don't like the booking and organizing and the promoting and all that stuff. But you spent so much time making something you feel is special and you want to give it the kind of love and attention that it deserves.
Speaker 2:Well said, man, well said. And as you were starting to be in a band like you've done over 800 shows right in your career, I read that on what your PR sent me. Yeah, say, over 400 songs that you put out, I mean I'm sure you're sitting on another 400 that never made it to the, you know, to the to the tape. But how? How was your approach to? We'll start with writing songs Like what's your process to an idea to? I think this has legs to go on to.
Speaker 3:Uh, you know think this has legs to go on to. Uh, you know the record well, I generally just record little ideas, put them on a little digital recorder and then I go back to them a few months later. And so a lot of them a few months later I'm like this sucks and I delete it. And then some of them I'm like, oh, I kind of hear something here, let's just keep playing with it, and it's a really long, drawn out process where you're. You know, we went in and we recorded like 40 songs for this 10 song album, but before that there was at least 100 songs, ideas that I got nicks, um, currently I don't even know how many songs I'm sitting on. I'm sitting on like 50 or 60 right now that I've just kind of been gathering like ideas, or like here's a verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Or here's an outro that, um, we can attach somewhere. And then you kind of like a lot of those ideas. They develop over time.
Speaker 3:Like there's a song that we wrote as a band called Colorblind Mormons and then I thought, oh, how cool would it be if we started the song not the way we've been starting it.
Speaker 3:But we start with like a bunch of noise not the way we've been starting it, but we start with a bunch of noise. Then I thought this should be the opening to the album, because we just start with chaos and noise. Then I thought, but before we start that we should have a little phrase, and then the chaos and noise makes sense. Because I just wrote an album about a breakup. And what if I had some idea where this person wants you back or this person's asking to get back together? And then you have all this chaos and noise for like 20 seconds before you go into the first track. So you have all this stuff that kind of evolves, and initially they just start as an idea, but then over time it's like oh, but this makes sense, and a lot of times you're just letting your subconscious do its work and then later you reap the benefits of not getting in the way. I guess right.
Speaker 2:I love it. It sounds like a tapestry, almost, where you know they're all of these colors and pieces that that are out there that you have access to, and it's like finding the pieces that have a line that connects them all together and creates this beautiful quilt right.
Speaker 3:Right, I mean, life is a lot of different experiences, it's a lot of different things and it's a lot of different feelings. And I had an experience with like an older gentleman who I don't know if you've encountered this, but I encounter a lot of older people who are like aggressively polite, aggressively forward, and then, because they're older, they just want to monologue you with they, just like waterboard you with their words, log you with they, just like waterboard you with their words. And so I was trying to come up with a way to write a song about that kind of experience and like kind of process that, and then also kind of like white fragility and how you know, like how could I write a song that kind of delves into you know redefining the word white itself or like something to just kind of yeah, I don't know and drew.
Speaker 2:what is it, like you kind of mentioned, like there's something that sparks in it, you know, know, like when, when it's like it catches your attention after you know, whatever you pulling something out that you put down on on your notes or whatever, Like, can you describe that, Like what is the thing that, or what are the things that that pull you back into it and say like, yeah, I'd like this. I mean, I imagine it's a plethora of different things that can do that or spark that sure.
Speaker 3:Um, I think the best way to describe it is simply I've forgotten. I've forgotten the original idea, so that when I come back to it and I listen on my little recorder it's kind of like it's fresh. I've never heard this before and just like when I'm hearing a new song on the radio or just anywhere, something about it hooks you. Something about it like gets in under your skin. And not that everything I write gets under my skin skin, but there's like a level where it's like, oh, I kind of like this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's, there's always room for songs, at least for me. A lot of my favorite bands like they'll have one song that just immediately hooks you and then the rest of the album's kind of like okay, and then the more you listen to, the more other songs grow on you. So you had that one initial hook of a song, but then the rest of the album just exponentially grows and you get so much more life out of that album versus another album where it's like all the songs are so good and it's almost like this voracious candy fest.
Speaker 2:That's super well described. That's that's how I felt about this latest record of yours exactly that the first track pulls you in and you got a line on there. That's so simple, but it's like you know all these little massages in the brain that it clicks off and I think that that first song has like that quintessential, like bombastic, but not like crazy. But then the beautiful little pop, indie pop intentions with like the line that you play in that Um and it, it, I would listen to it. I was telling you this before we hopped on where it.
Speaker 2:It became kind of infectious of just listening to it and the rest of the record I was kind of like forgetting about a bit. You know cause I just I was like fixated. And then the rest of the record I started listening to more and it just started to blossom and like the head of the, the track list, I mean there was a whole body under, beautiful body underneath there that started to emerge. Um, it's interesting. Like when you said that, I was like I mean, that's what you do with your music.
Speaker 3:I hope. I mean, I definitely it's hard when you make your own music. It's almost like you can't enjoy it because you spend so much time, just like you're just pouring over it so much. And then you know you finally finish it and then you're like, okay, good God, I can get away from these songs for a little while. And then the producer, whoever is going to send you the songs, like, hey, what do you think of this mix? Like god, do I have to listen to this again? Like it's um, yeah, it can be really, really disconcerting or like disheartening, and it can be really easy to feel like you're not doing anything worthwhile when you hit that wall. But I have had those experiences where you go back to an album years and years later and you realize, no, this is exactly what I would want to hear in the world if I hadn't heard he already heard this like a million times You're making. You're making the thing that you would fall in love with if it weren't for the fact that you were having to make it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, that's probably one of the trickier parts of putting a record out. Is that the before of like just the repetition and the different tweak there and tweak there and tweak here, and we'll add that there. Take that out Like it's just this onslaught and you're just like full of it. You know, like you're just like overeating almost a meal. You're just like I can't fit any more in, right, and you've had a bit of distance now from I should have known the things you never said. I mean it came out August 16th. Has there been enough space yet between the release and all of the intensity of building a record to now kind of looking back on it? Has has your perspective changed at all, um, towards that record now?
Speaker 3:honestly, probably the very opposite. Um, it'll probably take a couple years to be able to revisit it, but uh, we just got done with like a tour a couple of weeks ago and between playing the songs every night and then just like press releases and and just promoting I think. I think I put the record on at work before anyone got there one day and I was like I can't listen to this.
Speaker 2:It's definitely, yeah, it's still too raw you think like, is it? Is it? Is it the, the themes and because I know it talks a lot about your breakup and you know the really everything that kind of falls out of that um, when that decision is made and I understand from from what I read too, that you have to move across the country and separate from family and loved ones and um, difficult times, um is it? Is it that it's still too raw for you or is it that, plus just hearing the song so many times, uh, that you still need that distance?
Speaker 3:it's just hearing the songs too many times. Um, emotionally I'm not too raw, like I'm in a good spot. I just asked my son the other day, like, hey, isn't it weird? Like this is our life, like is like, have you, have you gotten into the flow? Like, are you okay? Like, how are you doing? And he did not. He got real quiet really fast, and so maybe I I might have, uh, verbally stubbed my toe in that regard, but it it was a moment of like man, it's been three years like I fly out and see you like every month, as much as like, as much as I can, all the time, and it's weird that it's just so weird because it's now. It feels normal and not like it doesn't. It doesn't feel like just ripping my heart out of my chest every month. It feels like okay, this is our life, this is, this is what this is, and it's that's the weird thing to me hard times, hard times and experiences, but I think a lot um can grow out of that.
Speaker 2:Um sure, hard times are particularly reflective moments for us as humans. Um, and I always remember the hardest things I've ever gone through have been some of the greatest lessons. But you, you it's never like okay, this is, you know, it always kind of tugs a bit and, um, I don't think you ever get used to it, uh, in the sense of it being normal. But we, we survive, right, we we find ways and push forward, and I think that what you do with your music is a little bit of that catalyst as well, of kind of coming to terms with the way life is. 2022, october 24th.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's absolutely that and it's very much addressing like the big, the small, all the stuff. It's really cathartic and I really appreciate it. I am really grateful I have it as a almost, like a self-therapy Say that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Well, it seems like to you that this has been something that has been a part of your life from your twenties right, like where, where this need to kind of put things out, get things out, you know, instead of like pushing it down and down inside and not not realizing that once you do finally start letting some of it out and maybe not letting it go, but giving it a bit more space to be that it allows you to move a little bit 100 yeah, I'm a big fan, a big fan of the process cool and let's like rewinding it back to your music a little bit.
Speaker 2:Do you find that your music I mean it kind of seems like a silly question to ask now Like I mean, obviously your music has been influenced by your experiences, and maybe not, you know, just recent time, but like since you started recording and putting music out there, have things evolved in how you come about from you know, like creating the actual music that you put out in the world yeah, I mean initially, like I said, I started with a poem and added chords and a melody to the poem.
Speaker 3:And I think soon thereafter I kind of I think even by the first time our band recorded an album like by the time we even started recording actual songs it had reversed into like, okay, here's my melody, here's the idea, here's how it feels, what words can I put into this melody? And I think initially, you know, when you're first writing songs, you're just writing songs. You're not like to actually write a song is such a big deal. And so I think over time, you know, I started writing enough songs where it's like oh, I, I wrote like 30. I didn't write just 12 songs this time, I wrote 20s, and what am I gonna do with these eight? And so you just kind of hold on to them and then they just aggregate and a lot of times, you know, they just never get released. And a lot of times you go back to it like 10 years later and you're like this isn't bad if I just tweak this here and here and here, you'd have like a really good song. It was really close, it just was never quite there.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that's the best I got. So then, just to kind of bring things to a close again, thanks for joining me. I mean it's been really fun talking with you and reflecting, yeah.
Speaker 3:Thanks for thanks for taking the time. I mean it's been really fun talking with you and reflecting. Yeah, thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it's been great. So what's on tap for the rest of your year? With Icarus Phoenix, you mentioned you came off a tour. Is there anything more that you can add to the bones about your music and what we can look forward to in the future?
Speaker 3:the bones about your music and what we can look forward to in the future. Well, we did record 40 songs, so I am planning on releasing a single every few weeks for the next year. But in terms of like shows and other stuff, there's a lot of. We're in heavy recovery Mentally. I'm ready to write a lot of songs and I'm putting things together so we can go in and record a new album. And then our guitarist has had some heavy problems with her wrist and so she's kind of out down for the count for like six months. So we're trying to kind of just navigate and see what we're going to do if she's going to sing and not play guitar and if we bring in another guitarist and just kind of like what that all looks like. And but mostly we're just recovering. I'm trying to save money instead of spend it, and tour is fun, but I always lose money.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, cool and if people want to come visit you work and they come, you have, you have a business correct and people come in I used to.
Speaker 3:I used to have my own barber shop. Now I I work at a spot in baltimore it's uh old bank barbers, if people ever need a haircut awesome, uh, a cut in a chat yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:Well, if I'm ever in baltimore, I'm coming to get my haircut yeah, um yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And um, again, great record. Uh, I'm happy that there's all these other tracks that came out of this session, because this session seemed to really you guys were sparking like. It seemed to like 40 songs in three days. They're going to have a thread runs, so I'm really looking forward to. Well, I'm going to continue enjoying this, but now I can over-listen to it because I know there's more there. So, yeah, amazing. Well, I wish you all the best and good luck in the future with the music, and if you ever want to hop back on here and continue this conversation, I'm totally into it.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, Chris.
Speaker 1:You asked a question. I've had an answer. It was unexpected. It always is. Should I have known things? You never told me. Should I have known things? You never said, yeah, I'm not hurt, but you don't want me. What shakes me up is how you lie and you'll deny it as long as you're breathing and you'll deny it and justify it. Guitar solo. We are now at the end of our drive. They won't suffice. I asked for more, but you had nothing. I asked for more. Things just die. They just die. I walked away from the city.
Speaker 3:I walked away from the heart. Walk the way you want. Walk the way you want. Walk the way you want. Walk the way you want. That's not good enough, but you're a player who can fly high. You're a player who can fly high.
Speaker 1:I'm a player who flies to the highest places. I'll be on your back and fly.
