Soulful Pop Punk Artist DAVID POLLACK Discusses His Summer Single Series, Favorite Artists and More!

Soulful pop punk, and melodically addicting. That’s the best way to describe the music of Portland, OR-based singer/songwriter David Pollack. Inspired from an early age by the music of Paul Simon, The Beatles and Weezer, David has spent his entire teen and adult life making music and performing at many venues in the New York City rock club scene.

In the middle of his college career, David recorded and releasde an EP of lo-fi tracks titled Out the Other Side. David spent several months touring in support of the album before resuming his studies at Fordham University in New York. He went on to play in several indie, pop and rock bands before heading back to the studio to record his debut full-length solo record, Put It Into Words. The album was mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Jon D’Uva (Louis CK, Breaking Benjamin, Paramore) and released in January of 2014.

In 2015, David released his second EP, titled When the Lights Turn Blue, an insightful and moving collection of songs about dealing with depression. The EP went on to receive fantastic review from Elmore Magazine and others. In 2016, David released the single “Crashing Through a Loss of Sound,” a hard and heavier look at dealing with the loss and pain that comes with losing something beautiful. David welcomed 2017 with a big move across the country to beautiful and vibrant Portland, OR. More new music, and West Coast tour dates to come! Be sure to sign up for David’s Email List here.

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Learn more about David Pollack in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! How has 2017 been treating you? Musically, did you approach this year any differently then you did last year? 

Hello! Thanks so much for having me. Yes 2017 has been very different than past years. This year I moved to Portland OR from New York City and kind of changed my life style and I feel my music has changed a bit as well. I’m not staying out as late as I was, I’m eating relatively healthy, actually cooking and biking everywhere. It’s been nice living in Portland and getting a change from my hometown of New York City. I’ve gotten the chance to work with my good friend, who I met in college, producer/engineer Jon Henshaw from Moon Rock Sound up in Seattle.  He has pushed me to change up my sound from what he calls a less “dad rock” perspective into a more modern sound. With this new record I’ve been experimenting with more synths and pads turning my songs into more of an atmosphere than what I am used to with my past records. He’s really taken me out of my comfort zone and the finished product has been something I’m really proud of.

Where does this interview find you today? Is there music playing in the background? If so, what is it? What kind of music do you listen to when you are working? What music gets you instantly out of a bad mood?

I’ve been listening to the record Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon by James Taylor on repeat lately. Also the new Charly Bliss record Guppy is so fun and Is The Meat That Fell Out by Stove a band from Brooklyn NY. The record that instantly gets me out of a bad mood has to be Feels Like Home by Norah Jones.

Growing up, have you always wanted to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?

Yes! My parents got me this tape player with a microphone attached and I would tape songs off the radio and then record myself singing along to them and also singing the power rangers theme song over and over. I would call these tapes “David’s Greatest Hits.” I think I had like 12 volumes. I know I called the last one “David’s Greatest Hits, The Last Hit.” These tapes have to still be at my parents house somewhere. Keep in mind I was like 6 years old.

If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing?

I would love to be a baseball play by play announcer or do voice over work. I could also be a travel agent.

I always like to ask artists about where they came from and how that city or town has influenced them as an artist now. So how do you think growing up in your home of Portland who you are as a musician and the art that you create? How did moving there at the beginning of this year affect your music?

Well I grew up in New York City and moved to Portland OR at the beginning of the year. I think growing up in New York exposed me to a lot of diversity. I got to meet a lot of different people from all over the world and meeting these people and having these experiences has definitely influenced my music. I’ve been busking (playing music in the streets and subways for tips) for the past 10 years and I feel that has really influenced my music the most. I’ve gotten to meet so many different street musicians this way as well as get my hours in. Through busking I’ve really been able to get my Malcolm Gladwell “10,000 hours” in and “make the world a stage.” I’ve busked mostly in New York City in front the MET, in Central Park and in the subways. However, I’ve also gotten a chance to busk all over the world. Now living in Portland I’ve started to busk in downtown Portland as well as in Seattle at the Pike Place Market so that’s been really nice and rewarding. You get to meet a lot of interesting people this way.

Let’s talk about your Summer Single Series with AXS. How did this collection come together?  What was the inspiration for these songs? Specifically, how did “Windy City” come to be?

So the Summer Single Series is a Series of Singles being released leading up to the release of my new EP in the Fall. I am releasing a new single every month this summer. All of these songs have been written within the last couple years and were produced by Jon Henshaw up in Seattle.  I wrote Windy City a couple years ago when I was in Chicago stuck in a friends Air BnB while it was pouring rain outside. I was feeling restless so this song came out of it. This song wrote itself really quickly and I had been playing it live for the past two years before finally recording it!

How do you think you have grown on a musician on your newest music? Has what drives you to make music changed at all since you first started making it?

My music has definitely changed with this newest project. As I have progressed into my late 20’s I feel my songs still have that catchy element to them but there is also a deeper undertone, a complexity underneath the simplicity. However, I don’t think the drive to make music has changed at all. I make music because I have to. It’s my best and easiest way of communicating and it’s what I was put on this earth to do.

What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Do you have any tour dates currently lined up?

This summer I am working at a rock camp for pre-teens called Sound Roots in Portland and working for a festival called PDX Pop Now. I’ve also been playing a lot of shows in the Portland and Seattle area. I’m currently working on booking and finalizing a tour for the Fall with West Coast and East Coast dates. You can go to my website: Davidpollackmusic.com to see all my tour dates.

Who are some of your very favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?

My favorite band is Weezer. I also love Jimmy Eat World, Pinegrove, Death Cab For Cutie, Jenny Lewis, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Alicia Keys, Tom Petty. These are my favorites. I’d love to work with Jenny Lewis or Alicia Keys. I feel like we could make some good stuff no doubt. I love working with other artists. Doing co writes and even producing. Great art can be a team effort for sure.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

I am not sure. I’m still figuring that out. It’s up to interpretation.

What advice would you give to someone just getting started on this music path? Or even to someone young that is thinking of becoming a musician one day?

If you really wanna do this you have to be ALL IN.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

Thanks so much for having me for the interview. You can check out my music, tour dates and everything else at http://davidpollackmusic.com/. You can check out all the singles I’m releasing throughout the summer athttps://davidpollack.bandcamp.com/. You can also sign up for my mailing list where I send an update out once a month here: http://eepurl.com/cHl8PL.  If you believe in your future your future will believe in you.