Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessy Juliet Rodriguez, Luis Rivera, Pedro “Betty” Mejia, Edgar Barajas, Travis Villegas, and Raul Rivera.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Blue Velvet Drapes was formed out of a deep love for music and a strong desire to explore creativity. We all became close friends from being in our high school’s marching band and drumline. At first, making music was just a hobby. It was something we did after school in the afternoons for the pure enjoyment of it. We loved the process of collaborating and writing songs together. It was an escape from any stress or negativity. Never did we think in the band’s early life that we’d be playing shows or reach an audience, and in all honesty, it was just about making music for ourselves that we could enjoy. We owe a lot to the friends and family members who constantly showed us their support because had it not been for them, we might not have had the courage to post our demos online. Even though those demos were quite rough, they were well received and caught the attention of some people within the music scene. One thing led to another and before long we were playing shows all throughout the valley and LA.
Through this project, we’ve all been able to share some amazing experiences. We’ve been able to meet some really wonderful people, develop friendships with other artists, and to find a place for ourselves in the local music scene. It truly is an amazing feeling when someone comes up to you after a show and tells you that your music has helped them through a hard time or that they blast your songs in the car on their way to work. There are so many reasons why we keep doing this, and even years after we fell in love with making music, through all of the ups and downs, that drive is still with us and it continues to grow.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been some ups and downs throughout the band’s life. Looking back now, these instances are almost like old stories you might reminisce around a campfire or something. One of the biggest obstacles we faced was the loss of our first vocalist. It was about a year after we released our first EP. Things were going good for us. We were playing a lot of shows, practicing constantly, and some bigger opportunities were on the horizon. It was a busy time and it was challenging for all of us to balance everything going on in our individual lives as well. Slowly, there began to be more tension at rehearsals, lack of communication, and less of that productive feeling we had come to expect. It was at this point that our vocalist decided to leave the band. Of course, we respected her decision, but It was especially tough because we had become quite close as friends. Not only did we lose our vocalist, but at the time, it felt like we had lost a friend. It was disappointing to have to cancel shows and other events, but in hindsight, it was probably for the best. Since then, we have remained good friends and we often see her at our shows showing nothing but love and support.
For a few months after that, we were stuck. We decided to keep the band going but had a hard time finding a new lead vocalist. Luckily, through the power of social media, we got in contact with someone who would eventually assume the role. It was at this time that we all agreed that the band was something we wanted to take more seriously. We didn’t want it to only remain a hobby. We were convinced that success meant touring, playing any show that came our way, treating it like a business, and most of all, getting signed to a label. We were all on the same page, but we found out just how hard it was to balance school, full-time jobs, the band, and still have our lives outside of the band for relationships, family, or even just time to exist in the moment. It wasn’t until later that we realized that we could define what success meant to us and that it was not a comparison to what others have already accomplished. This was probably the most stressful time in all of the band’s life. Rehearsals were cut short due to arguments, schedules were not aligned so meeting up was a challenge in itself, writing new material was going nowhere, and we stopped hanging out as friends. The band eventually started to feel like a chore to us and a stressor for our vocalist. She had a lot to balance in her life and it was clear that her heart was in the right place. She loved music, and it felt like the band was taking the joy out of it for her. To be honest, it was taking the joy out of music for all of us. Eventually, we made the very hard decision of parting ways with her. We are very grateful for the opportunities that came about while she was fronting the band, but at that point in time, the band just required a ridiculous amount of effort from everyone just to stay afloat. Since then, we’ve heard from friends that she’s been keeping busy and working on her own music, and that truly makes us happy.
At that point, we were on the verge of going our separate ways. We all had so much going on, that the band fell behind on the list of priorities for a lot of us. We became more focused on school and side projects until a long-time friend of ours agreed to come to a rehearsal and play a few songs with us. We’d known Jessy since high school although she had her own band at the time. As it turns out, she was our first vocalist’s sister so we were used to her being around at rehearsals or shows. After a month of practicing together, Jessy decided to officially join the band and it felt like we had been revived. Everyone was eager to practice again, to perform and to finally record our next project. The tension was completely gone. She had the same drive in her that we all felt when we first started the band. That drive spread among the group, and things are looking up once more. For the first time in a long time, we feel excited about our music again. We are all just in a much better frame of mind that has carried over into all aspects of our lives as well as the band.
In a way, we are grateful for these struggles. They’ve pushed us to grow and overcome as a team. We’ve learned from these hard times and even though there will always be times that will challenge us, we can overcome them together. For us, we had lost our way. We forgot why we were in the band in the first place. We became so concerned with things that didn’t even matter, and it got in the way of the music. Since then, we have grown closer as a group, and are excited for what the future holds.
Blue Velvet Drapes – what else should we know?
We are an Indie/Alternative band from the San Fernando Valley. We are made of six members: Jessy Juliet Rodriguez on vocals, Luis Rivera on guitar/keyboard, Pedro Mejia on guitar, Edgar Barajas on drums/keyboard, Travis Villegas on bass, and finally, Raul Rivera on drums/keyboard. The band is a full collaborative effort with everyone contributing to the songwriting process. In our opinion, that is what gives each song its own personality and makes them unique in their own way.
With our first album, we explored stories from an individual’s point of view. There were themes of self-reflection, love, sadness, loneliness, and fear, just to name a few. From the beginning, we always wanted to make music that we cared about, and that was honest to who we were. We love that people have been able to connect with these songs and develop their own interpretations.
With our upcoming release, we do a lot of introspection. For one, mental health is something that is very close to home for a lot of us, and we didn’t want to shy away from topics like anxiety or depression. Our hope is that people may find comfort in these songs and feel that they aren’t alone. We’ve seen a little bit of this in people’s reactions back in April of 2019 when we released a single off of the album. We released a song called “Still,” and everyone was so supportive. The most common response was that this song made people feel like “everything is going to be okay.” That meant everything to us.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are so many moments we’ve shared as a band that have all felt like amazing accomplishments. If we had to pick one, it’d be a moment that still makes us smile to this day.
Back in January of 2017, we were asked to perform at a community event hosted by Collective Avenue Coffee in Lynwood, CA. We had played there once before, and they were so kind and so welcoming, so we were very excited to return. We were the last ones up that night, but to our surprise, there was still a big crowd of people showing support. As the night went on, more and more people joined in moving along to the music and the energy was full of warmth and good vibes. There was a strong feeling of not wanting any of it to end. As we started playing our final song of the night, we noticed the crowd was closer to us and more engaged. Halfway through the song, we noticed a few people taking out their phones and start waving them in the air with the flashlight on. Pretty soon, everyone was doing it, and it was so amazing to receive that. The real cherry on top was when the owners shut off the main lights of the building so all we had was the wall of lights facing us. It is an image that will forever be painted in our memories. It’s such great moment to revisit and the proudest moment of our career so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bluevelvetdrapes.bandcamp.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluevelvetdrapes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluevelvetdrapes/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluevlvtdrapes?lang=en
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/0e2YMRzCJN6TbCCVuU9H0f?si=Gq_5pJanT1Wpj1LGtyUx-A
Image Credit:
Jean Castro, Daniel Dvorak, Darylann Elmi, Angel Gonzalez
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