Interview: The Big Drops Set To Release Debut LP, Premieres “By The Water”

The interesting incubator of musical talent that is the great Garden State continues to offer artists the ability to stretch out and explore their sounds while still remaining close to the myriad scenes and opportunities in New York City. One such band that enjoys the best of both worlds, The Big Drops, blends swirling, natural, earthy tones into a litany of rock, folk and psych styles.

The band is gearing up to release their debut album, Time, Color, later this June and GroundSounds is premiering its first taste, “By The Water,” today! It’s a perfect track to get lost in as The Big Drops paint an aural landscape that simulates being transported to a forest on a beautiful day. Definitely deep headphone listening.

To go along with a stream of “By The Water,” we sent The Big Drops some interview questions. Check it all out below!

Hi, The Big Drops! Congrats on your new album! Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got together?

The big drops was founded by two brothers, Greg Kherlopian & Vram Kherlopian. Greg & Vram moved to Hewitt, NJ to live in a small log cabin for 3 years. There, they worked on songs, purchased recording equipment (the Big Drops record, mix, and master their songs themselves), and looked for bandmates to complete the project.

3 years ago, Caleb Estey joined the band on drums, Steve Donahue joined the band on bass 2 years ago.

After playing around western & central NJ for a year, Greg , Vram , and Caleb moved to eastern NJ to be closer to NYC/Brooklyn.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Greg writes most of the songs. He comes up with an idea, and we work on it together as a band. Sometimes Greg or Vram will completely record a song, and then bring it to the band to perform it live.

Our biggest influences are The Beatles, Radiohead, Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett, Nick Drake.

What are some of the larger themes at play on Time, Color?

We feel like our music touches on a variety of different vibes and colors, so we like to think the overall theme of this album is diversity of life, the different emotions there are, and how we can express different feelings while still being the same person. Essentially, life is complex and beautiful, is the theme.

Favorite show or shows you’ve ever played?

We really enjoy performing outdoor music festivals in the summertime. Our favorite is probably The Boogie!! It’s a private festival in upstate NY that’s been happening annually since 1969. About 400 people go, it’s a small knit musical community, everyone is free to do what they want and enjoy themselves as they see fit.

Our friends build the stage every year, and about 12 of our close NJ/ NY based band friends perform over the weekend.

Any new artists/venues/purveyors of the arts in your local scenes you could turn our readers onto?

Footlight Bar in Queens NY is a cool new spot. We’re performing there on 4/28 Friday with Def GRLS, Duskwhales, Darkwing. Def GRLS is one of our favorite Brooklyn bands.

Francie Moon is fantastic too! We play often with her side project Wild Moon.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

4/28 Footlight Bar, Queens NY
5/4 Gateway, Brooklyn NY
5/12 Clash Bar, Clifton NJ
5/16 Gateway, Brooklyn NY
5/17 Bug Jar, Rochester NY
5/18 TBA, Pittsburgh PA
5/19 Donkey Coffee, Athens OH
5/20 TBA, Ypsilanti MI
5/21 Switchyard, Bloomington IN
5/22 The Burl, Lexington KY
5/23 Double Happiness, Colombus OH
5/24 Our Wicked Lady, Brooklyn NY
6/2 Town Square Stage, Bethlehem PA
6/3 Sticks & Stones, Hawthorne NJ

https://www.facebook.com/TheBigDrops/
https://thebigdrops.com/

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Woooooo musicccc. We just really enjoy playing & recording music. Too bad Bernie Sanders didn’t win! We were really pushing for him. Hope everyone can just get along, get along, and stop being racist twats.