interview: drauve
We recently sat down with Victoria Draovitch—lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Pittsburgh dream pop band, Drauve, to learn a little more about the band and talk about their latest single “Selling Out.” Since they debuted in June, they’ve been a tidal wave of sound, drawing everyone in like a siren’s song. We figured it was about time we explored what makes Drauve such an spellbinding group, and just where this dream will take us next.
photo: Jenna McCloy
So what is the legend of Drauve? What’s the origin story?
We had all been playing in projects for years. I had been playing in bands since I was 13. I had just graduated college in May 2018 and I was at a point where I was like, “Alright I don’t want to work in marketing”—my degree is in marketing—“I want to really pursue this music thing. Let’s go.” It was a now or never sort of thing. I had met Steve and Evan and Nick back in December of 2017. We just met at a show because we were on the same bill. I had a different project, they had a different project. And after that show we were hanging out a bunch and, like I said, after I graduated I was serious about starting that new project. The four of us had been jamming so we just figured, “Let’s make it official.”
Where did you get the idea for the name, Drauve?
My last name is Draovitch and when I was coming up with a name for the new project, Steve—the guitarist of Drauve—just kind of threw that name out. Because we were messing around with my last name to try to turn it into something cool. And we went through a bunch of different variations of names that we were going to have, but then we just settled on the first one, which was Drauve.
When you guys debuted on social media, it seemed really well put together. It showed that you guys had been working on this and planning a lot before coming out as a band. What all went into that?
Drauve had been in the works for about a year before it actually started. We’re all in our early 20s and ready to work seriously on our careers, and this is what we want to be our careers. I think that’s sort of where it stems from—and my marketing degree definitely helps. I can’t say I enjoyed every minute of it [getting the degree]. It definitely wasn’t something I was super passionate about, but I’m so glad I did it because it was so helpful.
You’ve just put out a new single—“Selling Out”—but tell me about your first two songs—“Haunted” and “Out of It.” Where do those come from?
When I graduated high school, I went to college immediately. I went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and I was originally studying music business. And that was my dream. In my mind, I had made it. I was like, “This is what I’m going to do with my life. I’m going to go for music business. I’m still going to write my own stuff, but I’m just going to work for a record label and become a high level CEO or something.” So in trying to achieve that, I made it at Belmont three semesters and just had a total nervous breakdown. It was the fall semester of my sophomore year. My parents had to come get me and everything. I was just totally detached from reality. So I moved back home to Greensburg, Pennsylvania and was in intensive counseling for the remainder of college—for about two and a half years. And all the songs are pretty much about that time because it was just so heavy. I have five years worth of words to say.
“Haunted” is about me reckoning with mental illness and “Out of It” is about the period where I started to feel better, but I still had to get rid of a lot of things in my life that weren’t serving me anymore. I kind of touch upon it in that song, but that time of my life was not accompanied with the best decisions. I hurt people and I recognize that, but at the same time I had to do it—just not necessarily in the way that I did.
They’re definitely songs a lot of people are resonating with though—how does it feel to see people connecting with them in that way?
It was my whole intention. That’s the reason I want to take this as far as it can go. It’s not about being famous. You make a sacrifice with music. You’re not making a whole lot of money, you’re investing a lot of money into the project, you’re forgoing a lot of social time. All of our Friday nights are spent in the studio. You have to ask yourself, “Why am I doing all of this?” And the answer for me is that I really believe that if we continue to grow and get a bigger audience, that’s just more people we can spread a good message to. I think that’s really important. That’s what I find purpose in, in life. That’s the goal.
Tell me a bit about the new single, “Selling Out.”
The new single is again about that period of time where I was living at home and going through counseling. During that time of my life I decided, “I’ll just do away with this music thing. It’ll be a nice little hobby for me. I’m going to be the perfect person because I already failed once. I didn’t make it through my dream school. I didn’t graduate.” It’s so silly to think about it now because life is a journey and things don’t always go how you plan. But at the time I had never really failed at anything before. So those two years I was like, “I’m going to get a really nice marketing job, I’m going to get my MBA, I’m going to marry this nice hometown boy, and it’s going to be great. Everyone is going to think that I’m wonderful.” Until, in my senior year of college, I thought about graduating and realized I was dreading my life every day. And I was 21. When you’re 21 you shouldn’t be thinking about how you’re dreading your own life. So I had to really look at it. And I realized I’d sold out. I was trying to sell out. This song is about that realization. The main line in the song is, “What kind of love are you selling out for / Is there a price you can put on the pain you ignore.” I was thinking about stability and money—which are important—but sometimes, as corny as it might sound, you have to put your dreams first. Especially when you’re young. Because you don’t get that time back and you have to figure out what you need to do to be able to look back without any regrets.
Overall, how would you describe your sound, for people who haven’t heard you yet?
I would describe it as dreamy pop. The structures of the songs are very pop. But with the production, we like to add in a lot of elements that make you feel dreamy and wistful and reminiscent.
Do you keep that in mind with your aesthetic? You post a lot of polaroids and film photography on your social media. There’s a real handmade touch there—a kind of haze to them.
I want people to look at us and feel nostalgic, honestly. For me there were so many years that I spent very unhappy and longing for some sense of that ideal life of a young person. I want people to look at us in that dreamy sort of way and think, “They’re just like me. I can do this too. I can find happiness as well.” And it means something different for everyone! Happiness does not mean being in a band for everyone, but I want to promote having good support systems, taking care of your mental health. And I think having a cool visual aesthetic that people admire can help get that across. I want it to be relatable. I don’t want people to ever look at us and think, “Oh, they’re so cool, I could never be friends with them.” Absolutely not. No, no, no. I want people to look at us and think, “I wanna go hang out with them!” That’s truly what I want. That’s why things have that sort of handmade element to them.
That also comes across in your music video for “Out of It.” Originally you said you had planned to shoot it in a grocery store, but it didn’t work out. Between that and the laundromat where you ended up shooting, there’s a very daily life calmness to it. It’s reachable, it’s tangible. Did you come up with that intentionally to match the lyrics?
Yes, that’s exactly it. The song is about being stagnant and bored in your life. So, visually, that’s exactly what it is.
How did you scout the laundromat?
It’s right down the street from our house! I had passed it so many times and looked inside and thought, “That’d be a great place to film something!” And then we had the opportunity to do it, so we did.
Alright here’s some fun ones—if you guys were a color, what color do you think you’d be?
Mauve.
If you were a restaurant, what do you think you’d be?
That is hard. We’re four very different people. I feel like we would be Burgatory because you can make whatever you want.
And lastly, what do you want people to know about you guys?
I think the biggest thing I want people to know about us is that we really want to be involved in the music community. We want to get to know people, we want to connect with people—with other bands and music fans. I think sometimes there’s a sense of awkwardness or you feel like you shouldn’t approach people. I’ve had people be like, “Oh my gosh, I really like your music—I don’t want you to think I’m weird!” But we’re never going to think that’s weird! We want to be friends with everyone. Even if we can’t do a show, it’s the biggest compliment to me, when another band reaches out to us, to offer us a show. We really want to be involved with the people who enjoy us. We don’t want to be aloof.
Be sure to listen to Drauve’s new single “Selling Out”—available now on all streaming services. And catch them next on November 29th at The Government Center for the Black Friday Party, or on December 7th at the Kollar Club for HughShows’ Secret Santapalooza IV.