Review Fix chats with Drea Castillo from Drea & The Marilyns, who discusses the band’s goals for 2020 and more, including the band’s new single, “Everything To Me.â€
Drea Castillo: I got involved at a young age. My grandmother was my first piano teacher. She taught me Filipino folk songs by ear. Since then, it’s been the only thing I can really imagine myself doing. Â
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Castillo: It varies with each project. As of late, I’ve been trying to set intentions for working on specific projects, force myself to write even if it’s not great. Other times, I’ll have an idea come to me at the most inconvenient hours of the night.  As methodical as I’d like to be with my creative process, it’s not. It’s messy.
Review Fix: What inspires you?
Castillo: The people around me or people who are important to me. Â
Review Fix: What does music mean to you?
Castillo: I struggle to communicate clearly. I often feel people get a misread on me or I word things oddly. Music tends to be the most effective way for me to communicate how I feel. It’s so important to me.
Review Fix: What makes Drea & the Marilyns special?
Castillo: Drea & the Marilyns have always been a group of friends.  It started in South Korea, ended up in San Diego, and now we’re here in Seattle. I’ve grown quite attached to my band mates so I’m hoping this is the final reiteration, unless we add more members. Â
Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
Castillo: We’ve had a number of people call it nü doo wop, little big band, indie pop with a jazz influence. Â
Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?
Castillo: The audience becomes a part of the music. They’re musicking ( a term from Christopher G. Small book ‘Musicking’) with us. The audience plays such a big role on our live shows. They’re so important. They help create the vibe. Each one makes our songs tell a slightly different story. Â
Review Fix: What inspired your latest single Everything To Me?
Castillo: The song is a cover off of Lips. Her song is definitely one of my favorite pieces. Â
Review Fix: What are your goals for 2020?
Castillo: Create more music. Play more shows. Have fun. Â
Review Fix: What’s next?
Castillo: Create more music. Play more shows. Have fun.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
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