Dragged Under Is "Doing Music Their Way": A Conversation With Vocalist Tony Cappocchi
It had already been a long 3-hour drive through mother nature’s iciest of nightmares, but being the guy that Tony Cappocchi is, he was sure to follow-up on our scheduled interview time. Being such a fan of this band’s work, it’s easy to get lost in the glitz and glam of talking with someone that, in many ways, is the reason why you continue to do this job in the first place. But once the lights are down and the band isn't performing in front of hundreds to thousands of people almost every night, you get a glimpse into who these people really are. Rest assured, Tony is every bit as pleasant off stage as he is energetic on stage.
Formed in 2019 by former Rest, Repose members, Ryan "Fluff" Bruce on lead guitar, Anthony Cappocchi on vocals, and Josh Wildhorn on rhythm guitar, the ending of one band and the start of another was a rather rocky one.
“So we had initially met playing music together you know.” Tony affirms, “ Me and Josh were in another band together and it was just falling apart, we weren’t getting the traction we wanted. No one was really involved and we just figured we were not going to push this thing to death if no one really cared. We weren’t getting tour offers, labels were not interested, and we didn’t even have a manager. It was all just completely D.I.Y. Not that we didn’t like that, It just would have functioned a lot better if we had some help.”
As the prior band was starting to have its problems, something magical started to happen in the studio. When the band started writing and recording new music, they eventually abandoned all plans to continue with Rest, Repose. Instead, they formed Dragged Under. Rest, Repose's third album would be scrapped and instead become Dragged Under's debut album, The World Is In Your Way.
“We started writing and recording and the sound just sounded so different,” Tony says. “ I didn’t want to put it under the Rest, Repose name. It didn’t make any sense to. The music we were writing was just so different and better. It had so much more energy than our previous works, so I said let's start fresh. It was nice to take a risk and have it pay off.”
When listening to The World Is In Your Way, it’s rather simple to deduce why Tony wanted to release this a heavy masterpiece under a new name. From start to finish the record is pulsating with relentless, in-your-face pop-punk energy, vocally and instrumentally. With massive melodic riffs, diversified with deep punk percussive resonance and brilliantly written choruses, this record delivers in leaps and bounds. From the ashes of a hard time, a new band and a new sound was born and it seems like many are on board with what Dragged Under has to offer.
“We tried really hard on this album. We wrote like 15 songs for the album and only 9 made the cut.“ Tony continues, “I wasn’t really heavily involved in Rest, Repose’s song writing. I just played guitar. With Dragged Under, I’m involved from cover to cover. I write the lyrics, most of the vocal melodies with Hiriam, and a lot of the guitar parts. This was way more up my alley, and something I wanted to do.”
Now, a month removed from the release and the band being on tour with one of the biggest names in the scene, The Used, the band had a lot they would learn from this release. Besides having to proven to the world why people should be on board with a new band, Tony Cappocchi also had some other key things that resonated with him during the making of this album and also some favorites that stuck with him throughout the tour.
“I learned a lot from this release,” Tony says. “We did a lot of different things, such as hiring a producer and a co-writer. Hiriam Hernandez really elevated this album, especially musically, in a way we really needed at the time. He really pushed us and challenged us. We didn’t want to bring anyone into our creative process before, it was something we hadn’t done. So I would say working collaboratively and having another ear in the room with so much music experience was different, but a great experience / as far as the songs, all of them are pretty rad. I like the “The Hardest Drug ” a lot, but we currently aren’t playing that song on this tour. But this was something we learned through playing these live. The crowds seem to be responding to the heavier and faster songs, so that is a song I wish we would have added to the tour. Another favorite of mine is “Chelsea” because it’s very crowd-oriented.”
The World Is In Your Way is truly a new experience, as well as an evolved one. When going to the studio with Hiriam Hernandez, what only started as a couple of riffs, resulted in quite possibly one of the best genre-bending records this band will ever make. But with this new chapter in the life of Dragged Under, it wasn’t without it’s share of small challenges.
“We like the intimacy of writing on the spot in the studio a lot more, then going home writing our own stuff and coming back with all these different sounds,” Tony responds. “So writing the songs in the moment sort of gives them a cohesion that I don’t think any of our previous records have had. I think the challenges we faced coming into this was having a strategy. Which track would be the single, marketing, and making the music move on the internet. I think that was the mistake we made with single “Riot”. We pushed the track into the world and didn’t give it time to breath. I don’t think it got the love it deserved. Looking back on it, it shouldn't have been a single. We weren’t selecting songs that we thought would be the best, just going from the first five songs we had written. You never know what’s going to stick with listeners. Learning your audience is one of the biggest challenges, but we always try to stay solution-oriented.”
Dragged Under’s new album has not only shown that they can change their colors musically to produce something that will stick with it’s listeners, but every track is it’s own identity. Each track can survive on its own as a solo experience. This creates a sort of intimate experience, as every track is different and is a peek into the vocalist's life. It’s not meant to be over-analyzed, as none it is necessarily metaphorical. It can be said the Cappocchi is very literal in terms of songwriting on this release, each being honest, true, and full of intent. It’s a personal musical journal that he has invited us to thumb through or actively engage in, while at the same time giving us an enjoyable instrumental soundscape experience with every track.
“I’m not necessarily trying to be relatable, I think they are just relatable topics,” he affirms. “We are a very flawed generation, and I don’t really know why, it seems like there is a higher concentration on mental issues than there has been in the past. Social media, peer, pressure, things like that. Lack of social interaction. I think that’s all I want people to do is to understand the content and understand what I am trying to say.”
The intermingling of such heavy subjects while still trying to make an instrumentally and vocally attractive record is almost like digesting a brick. It’s never an easy task for any band. But this is the very essence of what makes a punk record. Taking topics that are very hard to deal with, and making them musically interesting and digestible to an audience. In many ways Dragged Under has taken this concept and aced it. Taking these personal experiences from album to tour has also been very eventful for the vocalist as well, ultimately considering it one of his “dream tours”, Cappocchi seemed very happy and content with his experience thus far, but has higher hopes in touring with another punk heavy hitter in the future.
“I discovered The Used in the 6th grade, I’m still blown away that I get to play with them every single night and see all the people come out to the shows.” he laughs. “There’s people that are sitting in the back and it’s like I get to sit on the other side of the rail or in the VIP section. I’m very lucky. The Used has been very cool. I get this fear that if I meet other bands I love, they will not be who I pictured them to be. We always try to be so cool to our fans. We hang out at the merch booth after every single show and we really try to engage with people that care about us. I think I would love to tour Green Day, as they have been one of the most important bands for me musically. I don’t think I would like punk rock music if it wasn’t for them.”
Rest assured, Tony Cappocchi is more than just a vocalist and musician that wants to convey a real message. He’s a guy that is well in tune with his imperfections and is not afraid of hiding them. He’s someone that wants to leave a positive impression on his fans no matter where they are in the world. Above all, he’s all about “doing music his way” now. Not really concerned about how people will perceive the band’s work , this time around he just wants to be happy creating it. You can see Dragged Under all throughout February supporting The Used on their North American Tour!