Review Fix chats with Demi The Daredevil’s Jeff Azar, who discusses the band’s origin, goals and creative process.
Review Fix: How did the band get together?
Jeff Azar: The band’s line-up has been through a whirlwind. We initially got together in high school, unannounced, unapologetically, and righteously. We were some guys playing some punk inspired music amid a whole post-hardcore scene and were made fun of dearly for that. But none of those bands lasted.
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Azar: The creative process too has been through a lot of changes! Now a lot of the song in its entirety is programmed on pro tools alone by someone. Then it’s pieced together and produced, etc… Tom Waits once said you gotta scrape up your knees when writing, and I think that’s what I do, I wanna wrestle with the song and get crazy with it and obsessive and potentially destructive (hopefully not) when finishing something up. Once you record that’s it, you can’t go back.
Review Fix: What’s your standout song? How was it written?
Azar: Change Me. Well, the new stand out is Change Me. The old stand out is Speakeasy Love. Change Me was written in two studio apartments and a teepee. It was Frankenstein together over a period of time because I kept improving it slowly but surely. it’s a simple progression so there are a lot of other things I needed to do to make it interesting.
Review Fix: What are your goals for 2017?
Azar: Tour the US to play shows for our fans. We are playing for a high school in Georgia and fans in Virginia have created a petition for us to play—- it’s mainly the playing for preexisting fans as much as possible. Our producer John is also working with a music publisher to get a song licensed somewhere. Hope that happens.
Review Fix: How do you want your music to affect people?
Azar: Each song I want to be like a different pill to take to spark a different emotion. That’s the goal as a songwriter, it’s making stuff people can go escape to. But I suppose, more importantly, I want people to feel pride in being different and in their crazy emotions and problems because when we start owning our own thoughts we are bound to attract negative attention. I want to offer consolation and community so we all know we aren’t alone.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Azar: Finishing more songs. Playing more shows. Answering questions like this. Messaging continuing and new fans. Getting soberer. A gig on Wall Street in July. And hopefully, license Change Me for a commercial!
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