Melodic alt-pop singer-songwriter Draz (Andrew Drazic) writes songs that feature quirky, lyrical melodies; intelligent lyrics and compelling arrangements. Draz--who records all of his material himself--creates tracks with first-class production: every instrument is perfectly-balanced; each note of his wide-ranging voice is crystal clear. As a result, Draz is fast becoming known as a singer-songwriter, producer and collaborator--receiving tremendous internet buzz and featured on a recent movie soundtrack.

Musically, Draz draws on a wide range of sounds and textures. His melodies grab you at first listen. But there is always something--whether an unexpected synth counterpoint, chromatic chord progressions, or some slide guitar--that invites repeated listening. However, nothing is done for effect, each layer only adds to the song. Underlying all of these songs is Draz's voice, which runs from hauntingly beautiful to gritty and driving. Overall, the vibe is Smashing Pumpkins and The Smiths meet The Beatles--updated for today.

Lyrically, Draz's songs can be highly visual, or just poignant, as in "With You": "it took me a while to realize that heaven... that heaven's a place, you never reach; but I'd love to try with you." In his words, his songs are "a little bit of optimistic truth with a lot of melody." Equally impressive as his lyrics are his musical chops; he has done guitar session work for Sammy Hagar, producer Larry Dvoskin, and Simon Bye. Draz cut his teeth fronting well-known downtown NYC bands Euphoria and Benzina.

Draz, who sings, as well as handles all guitars, production, arrangements and programming on his songs, puts out an incredibly strong product both in it's artistic and technical senses. Which should be no surprise - he graduated with a degree in Electric Power Engineering and Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

This Queens, NY native's career is beginning to take off. He has been ranked #1 on Garageband.com (in the "alt-pop" category) since 2006; for the honor, his music was forwarded to 600+ Clear Channel websites for airplay. His track "Sunday Rain" is featured in the multi-award-winning documentary A Lawyer Walks into A Bar..., directed and produced by the Emmy-nominated Eric Chaikin.

Draz is excited about music's future, particularly because of technology's boost to the industry. "I love the new indie DIY attitude and freedom, the wealth of musical choices and web-based marketing." For the future--whether, it's writing for TV or film, collaborating with/producing other artists, or creating his own songs--although heaven's a place he'll never reach, there are a lot of people glad Draz is trying.

Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Artist biography from last.fm