Nick Dragisic

He’s performed live with different bands at various venues nationwide, recorded for several artists, and written countless songs. Now, after years honing his craft, Nick Dragisic is ready.

The release of his solo debut, the EP Staring at Sound, marks both a culmination of past efforts and a starting point for great things to come for Dragisic.

“It took me a long time writing, recording, and trying different styles in order to find my musical voice. I’m interested in so many different sounds that it was hard to create music that fully expressed me,” Nick says.

Those who are close to him can attest to the extensive hours Nick has spent with his music. And after pouring himself into long days and late nights recording, even fans who have never met Nick will be able to feel the personal connection in his songs.

“At times it was a little bit of a painful struggle” says Nick. “I can remember working on ‘Last Dance’ for 10 or 12 hours in the studio feeling like I was banging my head against a wall until finally at 3am the song clicked and all fell into place. But it’s that painstaking attention to detail and hard work that I feel makes the music what it is.”

All the hard work has paid off. From the moment the punctuated strings open the rock anthem “Air Strike,” all the way until Nick closes out the album crooning “This is our last dance tonight,” on “Last Dance,” the record is all heart, from start to finish.

In between, Dragisic offers up one polished effort after another, with songs spanning a wide musical spectrum. He shows his softer side on the heartfelt power ballad “Inside Out,” only to shift gears on the very next track, with the upbeat “Tearing Me Down.” The driving beat and irresistible groove on this one seemed destined to keep a late night party going until dawn.

This diversity of sound is not surprising, considering Dragisic’s musical background. Classically-trained as a violinist beginning at age four, Nick has also provided back-up strings for live hip hop acts in New York City, and recorded on several indie pop records. His songwriting, however, has been mainly centered on pop/rock. In recent years he has dedicated himself to the craft of guitar, after first picking it up at age 10.

Dragisic’s producers on the album, Ben and Brian Taylor, add even more depth to an already-deep pool of influences. Together with Dragisic, their talents run the musical gamut. Ben has studied classical and jazz piano, composition, and arranging, and has worked on the scores for numerous film and TV projects such as “Drop Dead Diva” and “Supernatural.” Brian is primarily a top 40 producer/mixer/engineer who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, The-Dream, and The Low Anthem.

Both are accomplished producers in their own right, which makes it all the more incredible that Staring at Sound marks the brothers’ collaborative debut. The three-headed monster of Dragisic, Taylor, and Taylor is a musical force to be reckoned with, and each of the individual parts gelled on this album.

“We all worked really great together and we all had the same understandings and ambitions for each track, but each brought something different to the table. It was great to have such dedicated and diversely talented people with me,” Nick said.

Though Dragisic has written and recorded on various projects in the past, Staring at Sound represents a departure of sorts. For starters he’s gone solo, taking complete control over the direction of this project. Secondly, he’s dropped the pseudonym “Nick Joseph” and decided to put his real last name on it, critics-be-damned if they can’t pronounce it (it’s “drag-ih-sick,” for the record).

“Basically I decided that I needed to take my music to the next level and put myself out there. That I could either never try and never know whether I could do it, or go for it and see what happens,” Nick said. “I want to stand in fire and not shrink back.”