The Driver Era

Now they're back with their sophomore effort Girlfriend. It's an eclectic blend that melds a diverse array of influences, ranging from classic rock staples like In Excess and Bruce Springsteen to nineties hip hop producers like Timberland. Will I Am in the Neptunes the records at October fifte but fans got an early taste with a string of recent singles including Heaven Angel, Number One, Fan and Leave Me Feeling Confident. I'm so happy to welcome Ross and Rocky Lynch of

the Driver era. I hope you enjoy our talk. Take a listen. You got a new album on the way, Girlfriend, the first since your debut in You said that this is your most eclectic work to date. I think there was a quote about you saying that this was more Rihanna like than your last album X. I wanted to start there. What kind of influences went into the pot for this? I mean, I guess it's kind of everything, everything that we've ever grown up on or anything that

we've been influenced by recently. UM, it's such a it's such an interesting question to answer because like we live with music, like music always everywhere with us, UM, like on on the best days, like music is playing all day, you know what I mean? UM, And that could be arranged from like Bob Marley to like freaking We've been uh talking about a little Wayne recently because of his UM he honestly just has an amazing career in some

amazing tracks as well, obviously, UM. And then like Cardi B, like Pharrell, UM, I feel like there's always uh growing up with Like there's a lot of like I don't know, kind of like mineties like hip hop someone I guess that influenced a lot of our production tendencies. And so I mean Rolster said Farrell, you know, even like you know Drey Uh some stuff that Jay Z has done,

Like we've been listening to a lot of that recently. Um, and then it kind of like it goes all the way to like for whatever reason, I was kind of obsessed with and we both liked this a lot. But like family opera, I listened to a lot of family opera, so like it was, yeah, it was. It was a white spectrum. Uh, and I I think that's kind of why a lot of what we um, a lot of what we do now usually a lot of our productions tend to have a little a little like hip hop

R and B flair to him. And you know, we always like to kind of just like, I don't know, gloss it up with some with some some nice pop elements. I feel like even more and more as we go. Actually we're sort of like leaning more towards hip hop, like the more music we make. Um, so I feel like that had still yet to be uh fully accented in our music, I guess, but there's undertones throughout for sure. It's gonna say. I mean, I think you're three two

singles back, have an Angel. Let's started off as like

a hip hop freestyle, right kind of. Um, yeah, you were kind of saying that it's a lot of a lot of the melodies and parts that end up going into songs usually are somewhat of like a I'm just like a flow or like a freestyle so I have an angel For instance, was um, I was in here kind of working on in the song and Aweso's just like over yonder by the fire kind acoustic guitar and essentially it's like the same uh it's someone is the same thing of like, oh, let me freestyle, but it

but you just are kind of doing it with like an acoustic guitar and or you know, yeah, the genre is is floating more in specifically that song, like a little more like funky uh you know yeah, a little funk pop rocking a little more. Now you're talking to me from your your home studio. You've been insanely productive, I think in you released I think five songs. How

much of this album was done during during Lockdown? In the room that you're talking to me in right now, was this uh, I hate to say Quarantine project, but it was a lot of the stunt during Lockdown. Um sort of towards the end of Lockdown. In the beginning of Lockdown, it was a bit of an uninspired time, you know, the world being shut down and and and just like there's nowhere to go, nowhere to see. Um. It was much more of a of a of a self reflective time to to read and meditate and too

kind of get spiritual, I guess, um. So we so we took a lot of our time to do that, and then about halfway through we started picking up production again. And yeah, you're right, this is this is where pretty much it all happens, um, and pretty much all of the Driver era has happened in this room. Actually, yeah, there was on this album. We basically like wrapped and finished everything in here. Um, but where the um some songs were started and whatnot. It's you know, it's this room.

It's uh. In Vancouver, he hit a little spot we had like a little uh baby grand you know, like a little portable studio set up where some songs were started and somewhat you know, not necessarily finished, but like got to a good place and even back in our old um, our old house, ye are. So there's a little there's a track that we started like in the

living room in our our parents house. And there's another there's another song that was worked on in our our original studio, in our older band house, which was just like a little guest house to a house in the valley. And so it's there's a little bit of you know, songs from different places, but they all ended up coming together here in this room. I think your your latest single leave Me Feeling Confident, I think is the oldest track on this album, right, Can you tell me a

little bit about where the genesis of that track? Yeah, so that one happened when we were between houses. Um, we were just finished up a tour something. And on that one we were on tour. Yeah, we're on tour. That we had a little um, we made like a little portable studio rig, like I don't know how many years back. That's just kind of like always work, like if you just have a mic, we have, you know, a little interface that we can accord with. And that was just a some night on tour that we just

we just brought it into a hotel room. I think, I want to say, we have bus call that night at like midnight, and so we were like, oh, it's just going this room for a little they have to fix the m o A. Is that why we had that? What we have this keyboard, this like big keyboard, and it's sometimes my functions and one of our texts has to take it in and fix it. I think that was what I think that's why we were in the

hotel room. Oh, because then he was working, he was fixing the keyboard, and then we took that opportunity to set up like the rest of the we're like we'll hang out here. Yeah. And then and then, uh, I just found this like weird little cord, that descending chord thing and just thought it was all sorts of funky and uh, it was just having a heyday with it.

We just loved it. The type of artists that have like a million songs in the vault, like the people that just sort of like can't stop right and then when it comes to album time, you gotta do this kind of massive culling process. Yeah, just getting the vibe talking, it feels it feels like you're writing NonStop. I imagine

that you gotta get a whole lot in reserve. Yeah, Like I mean, just yesterday, you know, we wanted it was Sunday, We watched a little football um and then somehow we found ourselves kind of just you know, back at the house and we're like, all right, let's you know, let's go in the studio and and we're we I want to say we like we opened up like three different songs that we have been messing up recently, and they're you know, it's three brand new songs that we're

adding to this pile of Like I don't I don't know how many kind of like idea wise, just exist on our hard drive, but it's it's one of those things we were like, we can't we can't help ourselves but to want to find the next exciting hook, like or like the next exciting beat or like. So so sometimes we will end up having like five or six of these songs that were just sort of like crafting or letting them brew in the in the hard drive,

if you will, um. But then like you have five or six songs over here, and then all of a sudden, like Rocky starts playing a riff that's like super cool we've never heard before, or like a drum beat comes up and we're just we gotta jump on it. You can't help ourselves. It's so weird. But so that's why we have like thousands of songs and are hard drive that hopefully we'll see the light of day eventually, are

you tinkers? Is it hard to like pet to let a song go, like when you stop working on and say, okay, you know what it's done? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, there's like how do you know when it's done? It kind of I mean, whether it's like it's either managed mint it's like okay, it's time to go, so we're like all right, have it, or it's like this one's done, this needs to see the light of day. Rocky stopp E quelling

that snare drum, Let's get this ship out here. Yeah, like that, Like I want to say, actually, like like right now, songs that aren't released, it's probably like maybe like ten to fifteen that are common in like a place probably, and it's like like the we like some bounces of them, you know, like sitting on our phones, you know, um, and they and they're they're basically finished, but we probably won't actually be like all right, cool it is until somehow there's like a somewhat of a deadline,

're like putting together an album or something so and then we'll be like all right, cool, like you have to that one last thing we were like sitting on money to take us like five minutes, um. But like like if like in the back of my mind, like I kind of know, like whatever, like something like it's kind of done, but there's like these couple of things, but like we'll do those couple of things when the

time comes. And that somewhat is like it's like I don't know if we're a little bit like a little more.

I guess like better set up are like are like efficiency of like working, Yeah, like we we might there might be like you know, we probably get I also think there's a there's a very vulnerable aspect to to releasing music and letting it go and and um, we're getting better at it for sure, but I think that is also what maybe delays the release of some of these songs is it's, first of all, we like to live with the songs a little bit, like like we were saying at the end of the day, like it's

nice to have the song just be ours for a little while in case like there are big decisions or changes that need to happen, um. And then also just kind of putting off the inevitable feeling of like vulnerability. Yeah, I guess what Is that just about you know, these things are your babies, These things you put so much work into and so much of your heart and emotions into. You just nervous for What are you nervous about it? Is it just judgment or or not being as good

as you you wanted to be? Or I think you just always think it. I think I mean, you know, because like even when I listened to songs on the radio or I'm like listening to songs in my car, I'm always like, oh, yeah, it can be simple. That's okay too, you know. UM, but in the process of it, you're thinking, like, oh, like people want to hear me, be honest, and they want to hear me like shed these layers or like they it needs to be more

than just like I love this ship. I guess sometimes can hold you up, but it can also be simple.

And actually simple is is the best I don't know, maybe it's just overthinking, but we've been, but we've that was one of the best things about the pandemic is it give us a second to like reconstruct what was or um just kind of like reevaluate, like what's serving us and what's not On a on a mental standpoint, um, so, I'm actually really grateful for the pandemic gave me a lot of time to like reconstruct, uh some of those concepts for myself and and for for production and stuff.

It's good. Was that Leonardo da Vinci quote something like Art's never finished, it's only abandoned. Yo. That is I love that guy. That guy was a genius for sure. Isn't there something I want to say? It's want of it's either cam or with some some one of those guys is like painting something and you like you like, yeah, is is it uh? Or or there's like like working over like twelve years or some ship the Mona Lisa? Yeah,

is it that? Yeah? And he's like he's like like he's like doing like he's like a juststing, like barely anything, like he like carries it around with like years something like is it that it's the Lisa? Is that? Yeah? I think that? Where am I thinking of Michael Angelo? I think it's the Mona Lisa. I know Michael Angelo was working on the Sistine Chapel for some ridiculous length of time. I don't know. I'm not sure though I

can see them both doing it, to be honest. So it, says Leonardo be I mean, this is just some random Google thing. Leonardo begins paying the Mona Lisa, which he will work on for four years. According to Leonardo Deo, well yeah, I'm pretty sure he thought it was bad too.

I mean, do you are you that way? Like when you release your out I mean, if you're listening to your first album X for example, like I do listen to it's like, oh man, that you know that high hat, we could have done something with that high hat and that snare or that that that base sounds too trebly or something. I mean, do you are you ever satisfied

with what you do? Um? I think on a on a on a vibe level, yes, like whenever you like, whenever like a track, or like a pocket a sense for rhythm or or like those ways, It's easy to

be satisfied. Um. The hardest thing to be satisfied about, I found is is about my voice, because I've been I've been doing this for a long time, and uh, it's almost funny now actually, like I can go back, like literally, I can go back and listen to a song that I did ten years ago, which I don't think a lot of people can say um and just and just hear like fifteen year old me like singing a track and it's almost hilarious because I'm like, wow,

I sounds so young. It's like but it's it, but you know, yeah, it's it's more hilarious than it than it is anything else. I think it kind of goes both ways to like if we go you know, dive into X uh, I guess it's someone inevitable to be like all right, cool, like you could have like you said, oh,

like you know, there's always mixed things. I feel like, uh yeah, which you know you're like, oh, like you can have more low one Like I'm I'm always like like guilty of be like you know, we need more lower Like I'm always just like like just trying to crank the low end. I'm a bass player, so I I really I feel like okay, okay, yeah. So like

there's there's dona be that, and then there's um. There are times where you know, uh say, we haven't listened to a song on there for like a second, maybe like a year, and we'll stumble upon it somehow maybe like I don't maybe some will play it or we'll be like oh, we'll like bump it or something, and there are moments of like, oh night, like nice job rockety Ross from but years ago, I say, like that was kind of like you kind of can like I don't want you get to a point where you worried.

Is I don't know, it's you're just like okay, like I see what y'all were doing. I don't know, it's it's it's good sometimes. Yeah, sometimes like a year out or like maybe more, you can like revisit things and it definitely gives you a feeling of mom, you know, you can buy yourself on the back. It's a good

feeling for sure. Yeah. I mean this is probably a nice segue while we're talking about judging our ourselves to talk about number one fan, let's like get into the you know, fans, the positive reinforcement your your recent single, second most recent single. Uh, tell me more about that. Where did that that title come from? The message of that song? UM kind of has a lot of messages.

I think initially it was always about UM my girlfriend H who is an artist as well and and really talented artists and UH and UH want and you know, just I don't know how personal I want to get about Uh, Essentially, it's about just being like, hey, like I like, I've definitely made mistakes, like everyone makes mistakes, but I'm here and uh and I want to do my best and um, I'll be your number one fan, like I'll be there for you, uh and I'll be support I'll be supportive of of of of us, of us,

you and us um and then and then this the the other side to that song is wanting to be your own number one fan, you know, because because oftentimes, especially in art, the artist is you're you're of the person holding yourself back like share like you might get like positive praise, negative praise, whatever, it doesn't even matter. But at the end of the day, it's it's like

up to you to do it or to not do it. Um. And so it's also about like you're on number one fan and like, dude, what you love kinda uh do you want to add anything onto that? Uh ir for some reason, like to mention this, but that's like somewhat of uh when like that song uh, like we we had a track four and once we kind of started um thrown on you know, a top line and whatnot. It was right around this time when Ross fell out a treat and I don't like, I don't know why.

I feel like it's it's relevant to the verse. He thinks this is funny because it's like like to me, it like it like kind of sparked like the let down moment of like the verse um like literally fell out of a tree. Yeah, Like he literally hit concrete. He was like hurt and hurt. Yeah, he was like, I don't know how many tie up I had to have been fifteen or two. The branch breaks underneath him and he just just his cement and which is a

terrifying feeling. Yeah, you're right, you're the ground like fell out from under you. Dude. It's not a fun feeling. So at that point, not only are you like, well, I I don't really know how people feeling, but okay, like I was pissed. Yeah, you're like do you feel some extreme pain and your and somewhat whether that pain

or something that or not, you're like somewhat maybe feeling low. Uh, And to me, it kind of like sets up the arc of the song of like I don't know, like coming back around like being like I got you somehow, Like in that moment, I feel like I got you, so like yeah to me and to me it just paints like this some song coming. Yeah, I'm like, oh, okay, it's got out of a Treatum song makes sense now, I don't know, dude. Any of the feelings that went

into Number one Fan inspire the title for the album Girlfriend. Yeah, yeah, I mean like girl girl. The reason we like the name girlfriend is because it it really tied all the songs together. Well, um, but yeah, I think I think Number one Fan is is um probably one of the best songs under the title. Probably. Yeah, you mentioned uh the song I'm Gonna make sure I'm saying all right crazy Baby spelled differently um as being a standout track in the album. What is it about that song that

really makes it special for you? The things we'd like to say about that song is, uh, it's kind of the first song because you know, what we're talking about having an angel house is kind of like, you know, there's uh someone just like a flow and of some of like a freestyle. Uh. Crazy Baby was somewhat uh in that same way, But it's kind of the first song where we both just did that and and did

our part separately. Because growing up, you know you're going to sessions and whatnot, and it's like you're making you're making a song some a couple of people that you just met that day, and you're like sitting on a verse.

You're like trying to write this verse with these with these people for like two hours or whatever, and everyone was like throwing out all these words on like what of James Dean reference, Yeah, just like hod like the like your most typical like songwriter words and sentences and crazy baby is uh is exactly not that, it's it's I I got back from I came back from my girlfriend's apartment actually, and Ross was in here. Um he just had that song up. He had I think you

just started. Just like a lot of our workflow is um which we do. We do, you know, we're kind of hands on with everything when it comes to the music, but a lot of times I'm a little more producer and he's a little more um top liney. But I got back and he was in here do the majority of the production on that song, and he had and he had a couple of his parts that he was already doing, and I was just outside, uh kind of like yo, I'm like I'm bubing this thing. I was

like trying to like sink it to him. He was like, get in there, bro, it's like get down. I was like very talk like um, and and again it just kind of you're like, all right, I guess that's the part now. And and again it's not like it was like all right, look like how can I like come in with these like what what lines can I say? It was just like, oh, here's these lines are like happening currently, and um, you know it's I wasn't even trying to think of words, you know, it was like

they're just they're just kind of coming out. So in that sense, it's somewhat is like a a freestyle, but it's also like maybe maybe the maybe you've you've found

the part you're looking for, like the last thing. A little thing I want to add about this song too, is it's um a good representation of our of our uh like orally chaos um when it comes to our music, because sometimes, like Rocky is kind of saying like we'll just throw things on the canvas and and uh often sometimes just like let it stick and work with it, even if it's like has like minor mistakes or whatever.

Is it um. So this song is like a cool version of that where it's like orally chaos UM, where if you listen closely at the pockets real wonky and it's just like a lot of cool elements hidden throughout that you can UM and I just take a listen to it and see if you see, if you hear it. It sounds like so much of your process is letting

things happen organically. I know there was an interview you gave recently, I think with Entertainment Weekly where you're talking about how m making music is almost like a meditation for you. It's it's sort of reawakened UM. You know it affected your spirituality in a way. I wanted to ask you more about that about sort of like being present in the moment when you're you're making music and how that impacts just you know, you're you're in a spiritual level in a broader sense. UM h m hm.

We're I think you're like, we're seeing this a little bit ago. But there's something with UM like like attempting to write music UM in itself is like it's one of the like craziest like transformation UM processes. Uh. I think, especially especially if you are trying to uncover or or or like arrive at like something like, um, arrive at some version of of what is true to you. Um,

you know it is very much a spiritual a spiritual thing. Um. Yeah, even if you don't start at that place, like if you're an atheist, like trying to make music, I think eventually you're gonna gonna have to sort of surrender to the fact that it's a little bit beyond your control, um, the process of it. And and we've found the more you do try to control it, and this what's so weird about this is this process directly reflects, like it's

directly reflected in just like everyday life. But trying to control it's unveiling just kind of squashes the magic of it. Like you like you can just get in your own way, which is the idea behind Number one fan, is like stop getting in your own way just just like you can just you can allow it. And I love and and love it and and kind of like allow yourself to be great by being your own number one fan. Um,

that's like the second idea. But I think that's why music has such a spiritual reaction for the people that make it speak because yeah, it's when you witness magic while trying to or or while deciding not to try. Just so like being with the music, you end up witnessing magic in your life. I don't know where that necessarily came from. Um. And you'll hear this from the likes of a lot of like amazing musicians John Lennon and UM, Billy Joel and UM, Chris Martin, um from Coldplay,

like all sorts of musicians will will say the same thing. Yeah, when did you discover that you grew up in a really musical household? Um? Pretty much our parents didn't play music, but our oldest brother it was just like obsessed with um all the biggest stuff, you know, the Beatles and Elvis and Michael Jackson and and we used to recreate his music videos and dances and stuff and put on shows for our family. Wait, I need to know everything

about that? What what videos? That's awesome? Like? Oh man, we did like justin Timberlake music videos and videos all the moves and everything. Oh yeah, yeah, we moved by move like we were like degree too. We did agreece and we were like like we copied them exactly. Oh, the Darren's dance groove stuff for I think that was him, right, Yeah, yeah, so much so that our mom at a really young age, was like, all right, they obviously like to do this. I can't get them to not do this. They're always

just performing in my basement. And so she enrolled us in dance classes and like choir and stuff. We're a real really young age. UM. So yeah, like we've we've spent like days upon days like I was. I did like a bunch of ballet. Rocky did a little bit of ballet too, but he was don't feel like he was as much into UM. But like, yeah, so we have a pretty extensive dance background because of that. UM

but uh, I don't know. I man, I felt like music just kind of found us when we were really young, thanks to our oldest brother, UM, and then step by step we've just gotten here. Ross. I have a ridiculously specific question for you, speaking of influences. I was reading an interview gave I think it was with h M V and about your your favorite albums, and you name checked the Paul McCartney and Wings album Back to the Egg, which is one of my favorite albums that no one

ever like. He makes fun of that album himself, and I've always loved that album. I just wanted to ask you about that because I think that's a great record that nobody ever talks about. You know, it's so funny. Oh man, I felt bad now because it's it's I don't actually know a whole lot about that record. They were I thought they were asking, like what album cover

you be like, Oh, yeah, the cover is nuts. Yeah it covers great, But you know what I actually have, I should probably listen to it a few more times. I'm probably not as like dedicated to it as you are, you know what I mean. Oh, it's a bizarre record. I mean, it's like I mean, maybe that's why I like it, because I'm just I'm a huge McCartney nerd, and I've just heard all the stuff like Ram and Band on the Run that everybody always listens to, and

that's the one that just never gets played. So maybe it just sounds fresher than me. But it's weird. It's from like seventy nine, so he's trying to do like it's like punk stuff but then also a little bit of new wave, and then also just him being weird and doing like spoken words stuff, and then there's like a jazz track on there. It's just this bizarre record and the the the actual like not just the genres he's playing it, but the sounds itself are really weird.

I don't know, I'm curious, but what you guys, as as you know, serious music makers, I'm like a fan just like me. Uh, but think of it. I think you might enjoy it. Gotta go peep that now for sure. It's it's super weird. We're gonna we're gonna bump that after this, uh little chat. What have you been listening to? I know a lot of people I know during lockdown I've been kind of turning to musical comfort food and playing stuff that they haven't played since they were in

like high school. I know I've been doing that. What it's been on your your your speakers lately? A lot of reggae? Um, let me just pull my Spotify. I kind of did what you just said where I wouldn't listen just recently. Just I used to like this album a lot, but okay, go ah, oh yeah, that's a cool record. I really I liked the album a lot

and I hadn't heard it in like a second. But hungry Hungry Ghost record at that record around that time, like I liked it a lot and I hadn't listened to it, and just like the other day, I want listen to the whole thing. I was like, Oh, it's sick. They have that to me kind of it. It's kind of early for its time because everything in there sounds super like. They was like, yoh, let's just like make a computer record, like it just sounds like it's in the box or like maybe that's why I like it,

but like I don't. It's a fun Yeah, I'm really like, Okay, go, I think they're underrated. I gotta check that out again. All Right, you played you played back to the a go play Hungry Ghost and comp that'ds good. Well my my, my, last you know question, a couple of questions about the tour. You're gonna be getting back out in the roads, and that's gotta be nice. After eighteen months, I think of of being being home. It feels good. It feels good.

It's it's really reassuring to know that all this work that we've done over the past ten years has um it's it's it's it's kind of like a really nice security blanket. Because you know, over the quarantine and stuff, it's like you spent all this time alone and without like work and and and getting to see like the people who enjoy the music and stuff, and you know they can you can just kind of forget about it,

I guess a little bit. But it's it's really reassuring to be like, Wow, we can freaking go to Europe and like sell out all these like these shows in South America and and freaking we're playing two nights at the Fonda in l a Um and we know and and it's just like it's just really nice to know that people want to come see the show and and even though we've been doing it for so long and like I'm sure it's gonna be a lot of the

same people. Like That's that that was really exciting to rerealize. Um, because I feel like it just hit me the last few days because someone was like someone they were like, yeah, Argentina sold out in ten minutes or something like that. Are and um, I don't know, I'm just like I guess we're just not in the know all the time with those kind of facts. But I was just like,

holy crap, that's really that's really something man. And and I'm really grateful, really really grateful because because we've worked hard to be in this position for sure, no doubt. Um. So that feels really good, really really good. And uh and I'm really excited to to to put together a great show and go see all the fans and knock their socks off. We still have yet to do a lot of that work, that pre show work, uh, caring out for the tour, but um, it's gonna be great.

Oh man, Well, I can't wait for that incredible homecoming on the stage. Ross Rocky, thank you so much for your time, and it really appreciates been such a pleasure talking to you. It's been great talking to YouTube man. Thank you well. Safe travels on the When when's the tour kick off again? I think November fifty okay, oh how sooner than I thought? Wow? Okay, Well, safe travels. Enjoy the hell out of it. Man. I'm really I'm so glad you're getting back out there. Thanks. Thanks for

really excited. It could be great. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside the Studio, a production of I Heart Radio. For more episodes of Inside the Studio or other fantastic shows, check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.