00:00And looky here. Here we are. Ah, Desrox. And your name comes up different on my recording device here. Desrox is actually something that is something that you put together, right?
00:15Oh, yeah. Desrox is kind of the mask that I hide behind.
00:21So tell us a little bit about you. You come from the Empire State. Is that correct?
00:28That's right. Actually, I'll give you a little peek right now. From my little studio in Queens here, we've got the Empire State Building.
00:34So definitely appropriately named Empire State for sure.
00:40Yeah, and I'm from New York. I was born in New York. I'll most likely die in New York.
00:46I come from a long line of New Yorkers, so it's very integral to my identity and my music as well.
00:52Yeah. So when you were growing up in – now, you didn't grow up in the city itself, right?
01:01I grew up in what I call the shadow of the city.
01:04Okay.
01:05Okay.
01:05About 35 minutes outside of Manhattan in a commuter town in Long Island.
01:11So I grew up staring at the city from afar like some forbidden fruit.
01:17And it was only when I was old enough to start going to the city by myself that I got to enjoy those fruits.
01:24So as you were growing up in the shadow, what were some of the musical influences that you had growing up, you know, listening to rock and roll?
01:32Well, it was kind of twofold. You know, I was surrounded by this very healthy DIY scene of bands who would just put on shows anywhere, anytime, in churches, synagogues, rec centers, bars, basements.
01:46But at the same time, I was also obsessed with much larger-than-life, extraordinarily powerful stadium rock and roll music.
01:55So both of those are kind of threaded into the DNA of Des Rocks.
01:59Oh, and also threaded into there, were you a gamer growing up?
02:05I wasn't a very good gamer. I was more like watching other people play games.
02:10But I did dabble a bit in some early stuff, yeah.
02:13So this latest song that you've got, This Land, it shows up on a new video game that just came out a couple of, what, about a month, month and a half ago, something like that.
02:24And when you first got the news that you were going to be, when you turn on Borderlands 4, one of the first things you hear is Des Rocks.
02:35Oh, it was so cool because I know it was responsible for launching Cage the Elephant with the first Borderlands game.
02:42And it's just really cool to be considered in that lineage of artists who get to score something like that.
02:49Now, you're not a stranger to video games or even television as well.
02:54One of your songs earlier, wasn't there a Billy Bob Thornton TV show?
02:59What was it? Goliath?
03:02Yeah, that's an older one. Yeah, I can't believe I remember that. That's crazy.
03:05I'm a big Billy Bob Thornton fan.
03:08Oh, nice.
03:09So how do you get involved in your song?
03:16Did they approach you and say, Des, we like this song off of your forthcoming album.
03:21Can we take it from you? Or can we borrow it?
03:24Well, they more reached out at the right time when I happened to be writing my record.
03:28And they told me what they were looking for for the intro specifically.
03:32And I was like, you got to be kidding me because the stuff I'm working on matches this exactly.
03:37They want something kind of crazy and weird and it felt foreign yet familiar yet was intensely rock and roll and personal.
03:45And I was like, look at this. And then it was just like a match made in heaven.
03:49Coming up in another month now, you're going to be part of not a video game extravaganza,
03:55but we are going to call out the Holly and you and let's see, Zach and Brent from Shinedown.
04:04Who are some of the other people that are going to be part of Unwrapped?
04:09I'm putting you on the spot. Who else is going to be there? Quick.
04:12I think I saw Return to Dust. I think I saw Pretty Reckless.
04:20And I don't know. I'm on the spot here. Fantastic artist.
04:24Wolfgang is going to be very upset with you.
04:27Wow. Is he performing as well?
04:29Yes. Mammoth is going to be there. Yes.
04:31Okay. I'm looking forward to that.
04:33Now, among the list of the artists that you've been there, how many of them, say, have you ever worked with Wolfgang Van Halen before?
04:43I have not met or worked with a single artist on that bill.
04:46Oh, this is going to be exciting.
04:47So this is coming up, by the way, in December and it's in Seattle.
04:54In fact, we've got a national contest going on right now with Odyssey and Rock 103.7.
04:59You can register online right now. You get a round-trip airfare to Seattle, two-night hotel stay, and, of course, tickets to Unwrapped and Acoustic Holiday.
05:10Des, what are some of your favorite Christmas memories?
05:14I mean, New York's got all kinds of great historical background when it comes to Christmas.
05:22What are some of your favorites?
05:24For sure, the silence of the time.
05:27I love waking up on those holidays, and whether it's snowing or not, there is just a certain silence that I like.
05:35And everybody's kind of retreated to their cozy homes like little mice.
05:39And then it's just like there's something about that reclusiveness that I find very comforting about it.
05:45What can we expect from this Unwrapped Acoustic Holiday from you specifically?
05:52Oh, I'm going to cut.
05:54Even though it's acoustic, I'm still coming out guns, but I'm going to go out there, and we'll see if the acoustic makes it through the set.
06:02They're very delicate instruments, you know?
06:05What is – okay, two questions related to Christmas.
06:08What is your favorite Christmas movie?
06:12My favorite Christmas movie is a very controversial choice because it's a nightmare before Christmas.
06:17A lot of people would say, no, that is a Halloween movie.
06:21I strongly believe it's a Christmas movie.
06:24It indeed sort of is like a movie of its time.
06:29In other words, the nightmare before Christmas being Halloween, and it was almost like November 1st, boom, Christmas is here.
06:39This is professional.
06:40It ties them together nicely, for sure.
06:43And I don't know if it comes from that movie, but what is your favorite Christmas carol?
06:50Carol?
06:51Does that apply to all, like, pop songs or anything like that?
06:53Yeah, that will apply to – and if you say, Grandma got runned over by a reindeer, we'll have to end this right now.
06:59I mean, it's got to be like Rue Springsteen's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, without a doubt.
07:03There you go.
07:04From just across the border from New York, you're the Jerseyite over there.
07:09That's right.
07:10Ah, wonderful stuff.
07:12Des, if somebody has never encountered your music before, what can you say in 25 words or less, describe Des Rock's music?
07:25Intensely personal hard rock with a heart that's designed to unite people all over the world to the power of rock and roll.
07:38More power to you, Des.
07:40Good luck with this land.
07:41Good luck with Unwrapped.
07:44And thank you so much for talking to us here on Rock 103.7.
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