Page 174 - July ONLINE VERSION_Neat

Dan Drogosh is a “Dan” I love the attitude of Guns N’ Roses, and that I can ZPG: How long have y’all been together.

of many trades. crank the gain up on my amp. Slash is a hard guitar DD: My friend since middle school, Zack Mutual, we
d
Drogosh is a power player to mimic, but every now and then I can pick both moved down to Jackson back in 2013 and we
house guitarist, up something that he’s thrown down. I’m very blues found two other guys named Evan Mayo and Joseph
Maliszewski, and they’ve been with us ever since.
e
marketing guru with based, so there’s some Eric Clapton and Lynryd Sky- We’d been together for eight years and were glad l
TheCO, and an all around nyrd in there too. Our group is playing more in the when Ethan Willis joined us.
realm of Southern rock currently.
groovy dude. t
ZPG: When you are working together,
Interview by: Tammy Yosich what happens if someone isn’t feeling it?
Written up by: Merideth Myers DD: We’ve had a lot of come-to-Jesus band practices

ZPG: When did music start for you? where we don’t play, and we just hash it out. Tensions
DD: I love telling this story. When I was in the eighth get high and egos come into the picture. We’re all
a
grade I went to a middle school event, and it was a there to do the same thing but you kind of lose
d
themed Vegas night. Karaoke was one of the many ZPG: Just for fun, if you could go on tour track of that sometimes. Everyone wants
activities there. As you can imagine, in middle school, Dan Drogosh with any band, living or dead, who would it their opinion heard. We have to remember that
e
getting up in front of your peers and doing anything be? we’re trying to make the best song we can,
is terrifying. One of my buddies got up and not only DD: Guns N’ Roses. I don’t have to think hard about and it’s a give-and-take. It’s like being married to
played guitar, but sang too. It was that moment that hit me that this was way cooler. that at all. four other guys. You learn a lot of psychology
l
I saw him get up there in front of all our friends and tricks along the way. You can almost talk S
peers, and rip Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” on ZPG: What instruments are you playing ZPG: What’s the name of your band? someone into thinking it was their idea, and
t
guitar and it was awesome. I ran home that night and now? DD: We are currently called the Delta Sons. We were it evens the playing field. You learn to compromise,
begged my parents for a guitar and the rest is history. DD: Mostly strings: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, playing under a different band name that we just and to take a step back and see the bigger picture.
The two of us are still playing to this day, fifteen years and I can dabble with the mandolin. It’s a little differ- hated for years. It never felt right, and the four or five o
later. ent in terms of the tuning and the strings, but once of us could never agree on one name. Then during ZPG: We’ve heard of big bands
a
you learn a string instrument, you can kind of figure a recent project when we were recording a batch of having to take a break from each
ZPG: Let’s talk about out what you need to do. Your fingers work the same songs, it came to me. Delta Sons. other, and often their music is
“Johnny B. Goode” for a way, it’s just remembering the scales that change. more powerful when they come back n
minute. I have inter ZPG: Where did it come from? together.
viewed several musicians ZPG: Do you have any musicians in your DD: I was frustrated. I knew we had all these new DD: Yes, it can be so hard. A lot of people
S
and three of them have said family? songs and that it was a great time to rebrand. We’d overlook that fact, that if you are witnessing
that when they first started DD: Yes, my mom played guitar when she was young- make trips down to the Mississippi Delta, and there’s a group that’s been together over five s
out they had a similar expe er. She actually had an acoustic guitar laying around a town called Clarksdale where the folklore started years, that’s saying something. I feel
the house that I would pick up and mess around with. about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil, proud to say that we’ve been together for
o rience with that song, that it
was a turning point for I think we still have it. I never really took lessons. and where all the old school Delta blues started. We so long, because it hasn’t all been awesome.
them. What is it about that I took one or two lessons from a guy, but he was would make trips to the crossroads and camp out There have been a lot of times when we
song? moving too quickly for me. Thankfully, my friend with our guitars and feel the vibes and live that folk- get really bummed at each other. But you
DD: That song, at the time, who played “Johnny B. Goode” that day, rode the lore. It’s a cool town, and it’s really fun to put yourself figure it out and keep moving.
n
was crossing a lot of boundaries. bus home every day after school with his guitar and where some of these old blues players started. We’ve
It was kind of the first hard rock and he would teach me everything he knew. I caught on always had this fascination with the Delta. And ZPG: Do you think there is a connection
roll song that era had heard. It has a really memorable quickly after that. “Sons”, for just a group of guys. between music and the soul?
riff. It’s actually an easy one to get down but sounds DD: I think that’s definitely the case. If not, there
s
like it's difficult to play. It’s perfect musi ZPG: Who are some of your musical influ- wouldn’t be much reason to listen to it. People get a
cian riff, and it’s fun for the audi ences? lot of soul healing from music, no matter what mood
ence to hear. It was like some DD: The first guitar hero I latched onto was Angus they’re in. I think that’s why a lot of people turn to
thing hit me when I hear my Young from AC/DC. I loved the bluesy, rock’n’roll music, to match their emotional state.
friend play it. I was playing riffs that he would create. Then I branched off to
French horn in the middle more of a John Mayer side of blues. I’m a rhythm
school band at the time, and it snob, so I like the groovyness of songs and artists. Continued Next Page

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