Over 1,500 bands nationwide entered.
Zup and his band were one of 300 bands picked to compete, and Zup is the only contestant from Dayton.
Listen to Zup’s brand new song “Wired,” currently playing on Touchtones Jukeboxesat 60,000 venues nationwide:
We caught up with Zup, who told us everything about the competition, his love for music and his love for Dayton.
Describe the connection between you and your band members.
Zup:
My band is composed of three people including myself. I actually play with my roommate, who has been my engineer and one of my producers for about four years now. His name is Bobby Trick and he plays keys and synthesizes base. I also play with my drummer Sean McGrath, and we just call him Buddha. He’s been playing drums with me for about two years now.
How did the band get started producing music?
Zup:
I met Bobby when I was a student at UD. I was involved with the recording studio there. I was just working on a mixtape at that time. He was in the studio and came in. He was a senior when I was a freshman or sophomore. We just started working together. He’s an audio genius, so I was able to learn a lot from him. Then I met Sean because he was in a band with Bobby in high school.
When/why did the group decide to enter?
Zup:
I just came out with my first single. It’s called "Wired." It’s been up on
and it’s been up since Dec. 18
th
. We were just shopping it around sending it to different places and radio stations. I am originally from Cleveland, and I do a lot of marketing and stuff up there, and I live in Dayton now. We came across the competition and we actually submitted our song on the last day to submit. There were about 1,500 submissions, and they picked about 300 nationwide. I believe we are some of the only people from Ohio participating, if not the only.
Describe the feeling now that you've been selected to compete.
Zup: It was crazy. They picked us and now you can stream "Wired" on any TouchTunes across America. They are picking the top 10 people in February and then in March the winner will be announced, and it's been a really crazy opportunity. I've been hit up about it from a few people, so it's been really great for exposure and it's been great to see what kind of music is out there. It's been fun.
One minute you're a student at UD, the next you're performing in front of the world. How have you adjusted?
Zup: It has been crazy. I actually graduated from the University of Dayton in 2014, almost two years ago. I've just been down here working on my album. We've done some small tours before but nothing of the magnitude of nationwide. This was kind of crazy because the actual song in and of itself really only took us about 15 minutes to come up with in terms of the raw idea. We never necessarily thought it would be a bigger song. So, the timeline was crazy. Pretty much six months after we tracked it and did all the instrumentation and everything. You can now play it anywhere across the country. It just goes to show that you never know when things are going to pop off for you. It was interesting. It's been a pretty awesome ride.
How has Dayton supported you?
Zup: Dayton has been awesome. The thing about Dayton that I tell people all the time — people who are always like 'oh, why did you move to Dayton?' — is that it is a very collaborative city. That is because it's focused on self-growth and the people here really understand the importance of working with each other to make the environment and the city better. So whether that's in art or music or business or politics — whatever — there is a very strong sense of collaboration that permeates throughout the whole city. It's been awesome. We've played the song for a bunch of different people and some people more notable than others in the city — their responses have been awesome. I channeled a lot of funk in the song. There is a lot of inspiration that comes straight from Dayton. It was cool to pay homage to that a little bit. It's an awesome city with a lot of really great people who support.
How has Dayton inspired your music?
Zup: Dayton has a big city aesthetic in a very small town. You can go a lot of different places and to the naked eye, it might not look like there is a lot going on but there is such a rich cultural history — in Ohio in general. I've lived all around Ohio, and I get that a lot... You never necessarily feel like you are alone in Dayton. You can tell that there has been such a rich history here. I just try to pull from that. It's a very funky town and it has a lot of character and a lot of different things that make it unique, and that's funky to me.
What advice do you have young people in Dayton looking to break into the industry?
Zup: Never stop looking for a sound. Never settle. I am a hip-hop musician in the traditional sense, but "Wired" is more of a pop-funk song and it really just came from me being myself and throwing all of the conventional — "this is what hip-hop should sound like" — just throwing that out of the window and doing what I was raised on. My advice is to do what inspires you and never really lose your imagination.
**Dave and his band are currently working on his debut album with a label they own and operate in town, called Only WonderUs.
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