In a time where creative minds are thriving, the psychedelic rock duo, The Dawn Drapes (Michael Sanzo and Daniel Rice), are using the past year in a global pandemic to perfect their sound. Over the past six years, the two musicians have taken their music to the next level. We had the opportunity to catch up with Sanzo and Rice, and chat about their music, collaborations, and what the future holds.
Question #1:
As a duo you guys officially became The Dawn Drapes in 2014. What has the journey been like the past six years in Philadelphia, pre-pandemic and during the pandemic?
Mike:
Me and Dan have been playing together since 2014, prior to being The Dawn Drapes , we functioned as a songwriting duo, called ourselves “Two Alpacas”, it was more singer and songwriter-esque music. Around that time (in 2014) we picked up a drummer, and became a three piece. That’s when we rebranded to The Dawn Drapes, and toured for a really long time, all over the country (based out of Virginia primarily). At some point we made the decision to move to Philadelphia because we loved the community and made a ton of friends in the area, and wanted to be a part of the scene. We officially came up here in 2016/2017, we were back and forth for a little while. Pre-Pandemic we were starting to get comfortable again with our band in Philadelphia, which was a bummer to have the pandemic happen. Me and Dan have always been the songwriting force of the band but have had multiple iterations of musicians behind us. The group we have backing us up right now (Noah Scaroff: Bass/Keaton Tandy: Drums). As a four piece we were coming into our own, which was a product of us playing shows together and recording. That was starting to happen for us pre-pandemic, we were really excited about the direction we were going. It was opening up a lot of doors for us. Luckily we got the recording done that we needed to get done before the pandemic, so we’ve had releases to put out this past year, so we can stay relevant. We haven’t been able to play shows/tour, to be totally honest with you, we haven’t really been able to practice. People don’t want to be in tight little recording areas together. We’re hoping for the future, hoping things start to open up soon, when that happens we’ll have some new material to record.
Dan:
We came up to Philly because we were convinced by friends to come up here. The community has been very welcoming and inclusive. Mike and I play in a couple different bands up here (Philadelphia) as well just because everything is so close knit in our circle. It’s really a thriving scene. There’s a lot of creativity and talented musicians.
Question #2.
Were your parents or siblings really influential to you guys at a young age?
Dan:
My Dad taught me how to play guitar. He had a band in college. His band was called “College”. He would teach me Crosby, Still, Nash and Young tunes. A bunch of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, as well as introduced me to The Beatles.
My older brother is a musician as well, and he paved the way to let me know “It’s okay to be a musician.” I know it caused a lot of strife in my family for a while. They were like “You’re not going to go to college. You’re going to be a musician, what does that even mean?” He (my older brother) had success and that made it “ok” to be a musician. My parents are very understanding people and I’m glad they gave me an opportunity to go with what I am passionate about in life. My Uncle was also a talented musician, when we would go on family vacations, the rule was you needed to be able to tell a joke or play a song. Just being able to do a performance based skill was very helpful. Mike’s Dad plays classical guitar, he’s a really stellar player.
Mike:
My Dad played classical guitar, and got me interested in playing at a young age. I was just always into it! I started playing drums when I was in fifth grade. My good buddy, Dan Vinagard (Big Something), was a musician that I hang out with in elementary school. To be honest, I always just wanted to be in bands, and continued to do it throughout high school. Getting to learn the guitar early on definitely benefited me.I see people try to pick it up at a later age, and it’s pretty awkward. I’m pretty grateful that I picked it up at an early age. I’m not saying that I’m an amazing guitar player. Just pointing out that doing it young is good.
Christopher:
I feel that at a young age you get into your creative mindset, and you’re evolving as a musician over the years.
Question #3.
Are there any stand out moments over the years between you two or musicians you have shared the stage with? The pinch me moments thinking “Is this really happening right now?”
Mike:
We have played with so many musicians that have gone on to do amazing things. You kind of forgot sometimes and you’re like “Oh! We’ve played with that band! They’re crushing it!” I don’t know if I took a lot of those moments in. I do see success but I know how hard a lot of those people were grinding it out. When we were playing with some of the bands in Cincinnati in front of eight people. What was really special was doing the record in California.
Dan:
In the past four years that is probably the stand out moment for me. Maybe for both of us as well. The musicians we played with, as well as the speed that we worked and the quality of recording we got was insane. I believe we never made a record that quick and have it come out as well as it did.
Christopher:
You felt like everything was clicking and firing on all cylinders.
Mike:
I’m sure you could pick out a show from any tour and one of them would be awesome. Ten of them would be $bitty but if we went back we could find those moments.
Dan:
We have a lot of close friends all over the country. I like when we get to share the stage with our actual buddies, who are a quality band as well. That’s always a great moment.
Christopher:
It’s always the smiles and friends that make the music scene go round. Technology is great during the pandemic but the in person hang sessions are not there right now.
Question #4:
“Slow Spin”, your LP, was produced by Jonathan Rice (Dan’s brother). How did this recording come about? Are there any tracks that resonate with you guys?
Mike:
We had a group of songs that we wanted to do and had a certain restriction for our budget. We got together with Jonathan and went over the songs we wanted to do and he filtered through them. Then we all got together and he made some suggestions, but we wanted to keep it really simple. We put the trust in him to get the right musicians on there and make the songs the final product they are right now.
Dan:
I would agree. Working with family is always cool!
Christopher:
Did you ever work with your brother prior to this?
Dan:
We have played together but never hit the studio and collaborated.
Christopher:
I think it’s really cool having a sibling watch you at your passion, music.
Dan:
It was great working with him! He did a great job keeping us on task, and bringing in the right musicians, and making everything sound cohesive. I think that was a real accomplishment.
Question #5.
Where do you see live music going in 2021? Do you see if coming back fully by the end of the year?
Dan:
I hope so. Hopefully everyone can do their part so we can get back to doing what we love. Right before this started Mike and I were about to go on tour with different bands. We were also planning a tour with The Dawn Drapes. Our “bread and butter” is playing live shows. We hope it comes back for our sake selfishly but all the venues and employees that we love seeing.
Mike:
I think at the point of who flippin’ knows what’s going to happen. There’s a good possibility it will bounce back if people get vaccinated. I feel that people are a little defiant of simple rules that are in place already, which is unfortunate. Hopefully if we can start getting vaccinated, venues will start opening up again and fans will show up gigs. You really want to play a show in front of a hundred people again.
Dan:
It will come back for sure! Who knows the timeline. The hits just keep coming.
Christopher:
I feel the creative side is stronger than ever in this pandemic. It’s going to be unreal.
Dan:
It’s going to be huge. When it comes back at full capacity (even half capacity)
