PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES DROLL
When was the moment that you realized you wanted to be a musician?
James: “Honestly that’s a hard one to determine… I’ve always had a passion for music but wasn’t always in a place to believe that my dreams could manifest in reality. If I had to pick, I would say when I made the decision to drop out of school to pursue music in my first band. While that didn’t end the way we had expected, it showed me that I’m willing and able to prioritize music over the ‘more stable’ path.”
How would you describe your sound in three words?
J: “Smooth. Real. Ouch.”
You recently released your EP Self Sacrifice. Can you tell us a little about the EP and the inspiration that started it?
J: “Self Sacrifice is a reflection of the last two years of my life. It’s bullet points on a timeline, where I’ve been and where I’m going. There’s a story behind every song but I think I’d prefer the listener to find that for themselves and apply their own lives to the message.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES DROLL
Which song on the EP would you say was the easiest to create? Which one was the hardest?
J: “I think those two questions exist as the same answer... I Don’t Smoke was definitely a ‘pour out of you’ kind of song and in that sense was very easy. It was hard when I looked down at the page and reflected on the words I had written. It was a very full circle cathartic experience.”
When you aren’t making music what can we find you doing?
J: “Probably home playing video games with my boyfriend or chasing my cats around the house dancing to Kim Petras.”
What do you hope people take away when listening to your music?
J: “Six dollars to buy themselves an iced coffee.”