Today we’d like to introduce you to Scro.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I guess I started really getting into music in 6th grade when I picked up the cello, but I grew up with a drumset in the house because my dad was a drummer, so I was kind of messing around on that every once in a while too. I started taking guitar lessons in 7th grade and my life revolved around that for a few years. I’d practice 3 or 4 hours a day. My friends would text me “whatsup” and I’d always have the exact same response: “playing guitar, wbu.” I got really serious about drums around 9th grade and joined the drumline in my high school, eventually taking that passion on into college and marching with the Florida State University’s ‘Big 8’ for my first two years there. It was awesome. I learned way more than I ever thought I could through all my education, as well as from my community of musician friends. I was lucky to be put in an atmosphere where you were always pushed to do better, but also always rewarded for any strides and goals you did complete.
Pretty quickly after I picked up any instrument I started to only care about writing my own music, rather than learning others, so I started a band with my friend Devin. Our band “THUG” was a phenomenal ride. The project soon became something I took over myself and ended up with a total of 27 songs, grouped as two full-length albums and a single that dictated it’s indefinite hiatus. The genre we played was “Instrumental Progressive Metalcore”, something that might be a little too niche for some people, but there was definitely room for it in the metal scene of Tampa from 2008-2013 while we were together. I actually thought that THUG was going to get somewhere, and I tried to setup a tour, hoping that it would push my life into music as a full-time career. It didn’t. Oh well. One of my shows I remember actually tearing up on stage because of how awesome it was that strangers were moshing and tearing each other apart to music that I wrote. Different strokes, I guess. Link to that stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPrCp67NhV4
My degree is a focus on commercial music, which means I was in the studio a lot, engineering and producing for myself and others, on top of taking my normal theory and history classes. Toward the end of my degree, I started getting really into pop and electronic music, which 14 years old me would have scoffed at, as I was a relentless counter-culture punk and would refuse to listen to music that I didn’t seek out myself (standard metal-head stuff I suppose). As someone who took great pride in his avantgarde musicality and deep understanding of harmony and timing, it was interesting that I took notice in production, songwriting, and sound design, rather than how many time signatures someone could throw into a song, or how harmonically complex something could be.
I started producing tracks under the name “Scro” as that was my nickname in marching band. Most people actually forgot my real name so it wasn’t that far-out for people to see me now officially identify as this moniker. I threw a huge party and filmed it for my first music video. It was a pudding party. I spent a dumb amount of money on pudding and just gave it away for a whole night. My place was packed and it was definitely one of the highlights of college for me, as well as my first symbolic ownership of this alias, Scro. Anyway, I could go on about my four years at Florida State, but needless to say it sculpted who I am as a musician and a human being.
After being in LA for only a few months, I realized I didn’t want to be an audio engineer or a film composer or any of those things I once set out to do. I actually just wanted to make music for myself and continue producing and playing shows as “Scro.” Every free hour I have, I put it towards that. Whether it’s producing music, making music videos, doing PR for myself, anything to push myself in the right direction. It’s really fun and I always wake up excited to finish the next song. Things have been really exciting for me and it’s been picking up a lot of traction these past few months actually. It feels good to be recognized for my musicality and have my tracks shared around, and for absolute strangers to message me saying how much they dig my stuff. That’s what makes it worth it honestly. My style falls into the EDM realm of “Future Bass”, which is basically trap music but with big, lush chords and other cool production techniques. It definitely resonates with me, being a theory nerd and all, as the whole genre revolves around weird dissonances and other creative production techniques.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, but I’ve been really lucky and fortunate too. The music that I put out is always well accepted, but it’s a real downer to work on a project for months, making sure the mix is just right, putting weeks into PR and marketing, and then it just not performing how you anticipated. I’ve been trying to get my head out of the numbers game and focus on just enjoying the product I put out and hope people vibe with it the same way I do in the studio producing it. If you put your value in a certain amount of plays or views and it’s not reached, it feels like your time is a waste. It’s a pretty vain thing to do also, using these numbers to compare yourself to others and try and validate your art. At the end of the day, if you’re fully committed to your music, stoked about a new release, and proud of your end product, then nothing else matters.
What are you known for?
I think what my music is known for the best is just being a little bit too different but in a good way. Some of my tracks are really eclectic and come full with melodica solos and tempo changes, flutes, genre changes, weird stuff like that. I like to think I’m really good at keeping it all coherent and accessible though. I think what sets me apart is that I play so many instruments. A lot of producers might not have that experience of playing in a band or playing in so many different styles, but I think all that experience of playing live music with so many other players really gives me a skill set that others in the electronic scene might not have.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I like to think not a lot, and that it all stems from my prophetic musical genius and never-ending spout of awe-inspiring creativity that has no other choice than to become painfully successful (read with heavy sarcasm), but I have to be honest, I have a lot of good luck, and not that much bad luck. I was born into an extremely supporting and caring family, and I’m starting to realize that how you were raised has much more to do with your life results than you think. So mom and dad, if you’re reading this, thanks for being awesome. I’m beyond lucky to have you. I also have a really awesome girlfriend that’s always pushing me to be my best self, make the best music possible, and to reach a wider audience than just my friends shouting me out on the gram, so I’m pretty lucky to have her too.
Contact Info:
- Website: scromusic.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scro__/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/scrobaby
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SCRObaby
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXqHY1iH2-fOLACyQf6S8zA
Image Credit:
@dollyave / www.dollyave.com
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