Surviving to Create Something I Love: Des Rocs on To Hell and Back

Though the bustling streets, grimy clubs, and the never-ending skyline of New York are a place where music thrives most fruitfully, there’s a specific mentality that powerful modern rock band Des Rocs’ Danny Rocco still holds with him, even after all the years of success in the city: ‘Do or die.’

“There’s a certain survivalist mentality from my earliest years that continues to this day, and that’s just so integral to the DNA of the music. I put so much thought and care into every word and every note because you never know when it’ll be your last,” says Rocco, a line that resonates with most creatives at their core. Art is incredibly important and deeply personal, and when you’ve put this much heart into your craft as Rocco has, you are always going to give it your all. This directly ties to the themes in his most recent records of self-perseverance and ‘getting knocked down and getting back up.’ The questions of “Can I really do this thing? Can I really make music that I believe in, that I would fight and die for, and that I would tour all over the world for?” are posed by Rocco throughout the record but are easily answered once you just listen to the music: of course.

Des Rocs has always pushed the boundaries of rock ’n’ roll while paying homage to the greats who came before, which has helped him get noticed, share the stage with, and earn co-signs from some of the greats: The Rolling Stones, The Struts, and Muse, to name just a few. Channeling classic rock grit through a modern lens has always been Rocco’s forte, and it has never been more apparent than on their new record, To Hell and Back, releasing June 12th. An extension of everything Des Rocs, yet pushing the boundaries further, the record slaps you in the face with its powerful riffs but also asks you questions that might be tough to hear. Described as a ‘new chapter’ for Des Rocs, Rocco says that To Hell and Back differs from previous releases because, emotionally, it “deals a lot with physical pain and existential dread, and then also delves into the duality of the onstage performer versus the vulnerable human being offstage.” It also differs in sound because “we recorded it live as a band, and that was a big distinguishing factor.”

Recording the whole band live in the studio felt like the only choice for Rocco, as he said, “We really wanted to capture the raw energy of the band that we have live, and it’s super electric, but it’s hard to pin down in the studio,” and what better way to capture the energy of a live band than to perform the record live. To “go off the grid (click),” to “not rely on technology,” to “not rely on copying and pasting,” to be able to “do the album as full takes front to back” allowed Rocco to do something that is difficult to put into words: “to capture that kind of intangible magic that defines so many of my favorite records.” Once you listen to it, you know exactly what he means; music is meant to be human, and music that feels human draws you in in an unexplainable fashion.

Another thing on a long list of factors that really sets Des Rocs apart from the rest is Rocco’s vulnerability in his lyricism, which only adds to why his music connects with so many people. Self-described as “hard rock with a heart,” he states, “I love big, powerful, masculine riffs, and then I love to be extraordinarily personal and have a much more modern approach with the lyrics.” He adds, “To really connect with people, you have to reveal yourself, and for me, making music is a real form of letting go and letting things out that I can’t express in any other non-musical way.” Deep, personal emotions combined with screaming guitars are what Rocco’s songwriting thrives on, though that level of self-revelation could feel alarming to others not in Rocco’s shoes. The line for what is right to share is an ever-shifting thing, changing song by song, to what feels right at that time. “When you start writing, and you pick up the pen or the guitar, wherever it takes you lyrically is where it’s meant to go. Sometimes that can be a very surface-level statement, or sometimes it can get very deep and get under the hood… I don’t really draw lines. I’ll dive into some pretty dark, deep, and personal subjects, but at the same time, I’m not going to reveal my home address [laughs],” he states. Even though that line is always changing, To Hell and Back is a perfect representation of lyricism that’s personal enough to feel cathartic, yet accessible enough to connect with the millions of Des Rocs fans.

With Rocco wanting this record to feel like a band playing live in your headphones, it’s only natural to infer that Des Rocs puts on a hell of a live show and has always been a point of pride for the band. The end goal has always been “to create something that is real and something that is extremely entertaining. If you’re going to come out, spend money, and buy a ticket, maybe get a babysitter or take off from work the next day, you’d better get your money’s worth and get a show,” which is the mentality every performer should have. The live show, in and of itself, is a separate art form from simply playing music. As Rocco states, “It also has to be dynamic. It can’t be one note. I’m not going to just hit you over the head with bangers for 90 minutes. It needs to play like a good film where there are highs and lows. You will be entertained, you’ll cry, you’ll hit all these different emotional notes that make for a well-balanced modern rock and roll performance.”

This hyper-intentional live show curation isn’t something Rocco perfected overnight, and he has even admitted it’s still being worked on. He states that “I go through many different variations of the shows before I get to one that I like, and even when I get to one I like, I’m still tweaking on the road. I still leave in little blank spaces for a choose-your-own-adventure kind of thing, where it’s like, okay, we could go here, we could go there at some point,” which shows even further how incredibly dedicated to the craft he is and that, ultimately, he will always put on a show he’s proud to put the Des Rocs name on.

All of this artistry, all of this success, and all of this vision have been quite the journey for Des Rocs. With To Hell and Back as the third studio album and music released since 2018, Rocco has come a long way in those eight years. In reference to that growth and what might surprise 2018 Des Rocs with To Hell and Back, he said he’d be surprised by “how fantastical some of the records have gotten, how larger than life some of them are, because I’ve always wanted to make humongous rock music that’s really ambitious in its scope and its artistic sentiment. I think I’d be very pleased and satisfied with how expanded I’ve gotten.” A true testament to all the years grinding away as an artist in New York, with a sense of contentment with how his art has progressed, one couldn’t ask for more. All of this hard work shows what Rocco’s ethos and mindset embody: a fighter, a dreamer, and a survivor, which he also says the record is for. But if he had to pick one group for the record to be heard by, it would be the survivors. He says, “So much of what I do is just about surviving and creating something that I love and believe in.” Isn’t that something that we can all latch on to.