Hello magical friends, and welcome to episode 140 of WZRD Radio. I’m your hostwitch Bess and I hope you find a cool bug or flower today. If you do, send me a picture!
This is a fun one, magical friends. Not only do we chat a little about Young Dumbledore, we get some Harry and the Potters tidbits!
Our music today begins with the Library Bards and “Accio.”
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That was “Accio” by the Library Bards [lyrics], “L’hymne de Beaubatons” from Marino [lyrics], and Veil Into Black with “Who will forgive our curses?”
And with that, here’s Drew from Young Dumbledore.
Welcome to the show, Drew of Young Dumbledore. How’s your day going?
Drew: Good.
Now, magical listeners, uh, know I always start with your history with wizard rock. So how did you get into it?
Drew: So I found Harry and the Potters on MySpace like in 2004, maybe 5. And I thought it was awesome and I was–sent them a copy of my CD that my first album, and we became friends. And I wasn’t doing wizard rock, but they kept like telling me like, “you gotta do a Young Dumbledore thing,” because I had a beard and like long hair and I was doing kind of like a folk thing and they just kept telling me I gotta do a wizard rock thing. And it was really Harry and the Potters.
That’s amazing that you got named by the originators of wizard rock.
Drew: Yeah, I mean, I, I was friends with them for a long time. Still am and I, more than anything it was like mentally trying to figure out how to do it. Like I knew how to write songs about like people I knew and myself and like the world at large, but to inhabit a character was… It was kind of difficult, especially with Dumbledore being so mysterious. um, When we were touring and playing shows together and, and like talking about it, the seventh book hadn’t even come out yet, so there wasn’t a lot of history about Dumbledore. No one really knew too much about him. I think it was the seventh book where all that stuff really becomes canon, right?
Yeah. That’s where you get Rita Skeeter’s book about him.
Drew: Yes, exactly. And then I think a little bit later Rowling confirmed that he was gay. Yeah, there’s just like a lot of stuff going on that like, you didn’t, you didn’t have the information and so like, it seemed fun and it seemed cool, but I didn’t even know who he was yet.
Did you consider any other perspectives or was it always Young Dumbledore?
Drew: Um, I guess, yeah, it was always just that I love Harry Potter and I like concept albums and I like, you know, inhabiting other characters, but for some reason I never considered other wizard rock ideas.
Did you listen to other wizard rock?
Drew: Not a whole lot. Um, mostly Harry and the Potters and I remember Paul telling me about Draco and the Malfoys’ “My Dad’s Rich, Your Dad’s Dead” and how clever it was. And it, it is, it’s great. A lot of our mutual friends, I think initially a lot of our mutual friends were recruited to join Harry and the Potters and I can’t remember who wasn’t interested or like, who didn’t want to do it, but initially it was kind of like a lot of those New England musicians were just like, “nah man, I’m an artist. I’m gonna do my own thing and sing about myself.” And they’re like, “this is a really cool idea and we really like, like this idea.” And it ended up just being, you know, Paul and Joe being the, the siblings, the brothers going out and doing it.
I had no idea there were attempts to make Harry and the Potters a larger band.
Drew: Oh yeah, no. Originally Paul wanted it to be, um, Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione, and he wanted it to be a three piece and I think he was trying to find people to play with him, but it was, right out the beginning it was just like kind of a silly idea and no one took it seriously. And so Joe, his little brother was like, “this sounds fun.” So they just did it together. And then when it really started picking up steam and it was like paying for itself, that’s when they started bringing in other people. But they were brought in as like hired guns, I think. Not like official band members. But yeah, initially Paul had the idea of it being a three piece with Harry Ron and Hermione.
That is really interesting. I’m excited to find out if we learn any more Harry and the Potter’s lore in the future in this episode.
Drew: Probably will <laugh>
My patrons had some questions for you.
Drew: Yeah, some of them were very funny.
Uh, including why the Young Dumbledore album cover shows Old Dumbledore.
Drew: Right. So Dan Blakeslee another New England musician and artist, I commissioned him to do the art for the album and I basically just said “it’s Godric’s Hollow, Young Dumbledore, it’s a Harry Potter thing.” And I’d always wanted him to do art for an album. He’s, similarly, like when I first was touring through New England, I think Harry and the Potters were on the road at the time, so I didn’t hook up with them there. But a lot of our mutual friends like Jason Anderson, Dan Blakeslee, Nikole Beckwith, there’s a lot of people in that was in that New England music scene that I just adore and love. And Dylan Metrano, man, I could, I could go on forever, I’ll stop there. Um, basically I’d wanted to hire Dan Blakeslee to do art for a long time and when the Young Dumbledore thing happened, I commissioned him. The short answer is I just let artists do what they feel like doing. I don’t really… I didn’t question it, I was just like, whatever, cool. I, it looks pretty, I like it and I let him do what he wants to do. I generally let artists do that. I try and give artists free reign to have their creative expression, even if it’s, you know, young Dumbledore and he’s old <laugh>. I’m sure there’s some, there’s some metaphorical thing I could come up with, but…
Artistic license is a completely reasonable response.
Drew: Yeah.
So you’ve mentioned the New England music scene. Were you living there at the time?
Drew: No, I actually grew up in California and I was living in Utah. I was raised Mormon and I’m Mormon no longer, but I was raised in California, living in Utah. And because I was touring constantly just, you know, seven months out of a year, outta the year and just living outta my car and playing my acoustic guitar or wherever I could go doing kind of like a indie singer-songwriter folk thing, just playing my songs for anybody who’d listen. I just got to know a lot of people around the country. So that’s, once you start touring regularly, you find out how small of a world it really is. Everybody knows everybody.
My patrons’ other question–
Drew: Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Um, I sent you the direct wording, but for the sake of the show, although I do have an explicit rating on it, uh, I may say it more like, uh, what are your thoughts on Dumbledore’s love life?
Drew: Right. Um, I mean far be it from me to dictate what his love life is like, especially in a modern lens of sexuality. I imagine… He was definitely in love with Grindelwald. So in response to the question of ‘does Dumbledore make love?’ Well I don’t know if he ever consummated the act, but he was definitely in love with Grindelwald and um, apparently Rowling confirmed that he had a romantic relationship with Grindelwald. And um, so I, according to JK Rowling, which I think is the source, it was intense and passionate and that they definitely had a romantic relationship. Um, I don’t know if he ever fell in love again after that. I don’t know if his life was, um… I don’t know what he did after, but he definitely was queer early on and good on him.
I think this question was sparked because last year we ran a program we called, uh, Summer of Fun.
Drew: Okay.
Which included a zine, uh, which contained some, uh, explicit fan fiction of Dumbledore and Slughorn in their later years.
Drew: Oh, I don’t think Dumbledore would have sex with Slughorn, but um, maybe I missed something. He just doesn’t seem like the kind of character Dumbledore would be into. Maybe, maybe I’m not, I need to reread, I’m not reading between the lines.
You think he’s more of a, a one great romance and done kind of person?
Drew: Uh, that’s a great question. I, I don’t know. As I get older, humanity becomes more, I guess understandable. I, if I were younger, I would say he was a one and done romantic and never again. But I think he probably had some dalliances on the side. That’s my take.
I like it. It leaves him with the mystery.
Drew: He’s an extremely mysterious person. Plenty of secrets. Secrets upon secrets.
Let’s pause here for some more music. First up is “Magic Wizard Ninja” by Striking Down Diggory.
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We just listened to “Magic Wizard Ninja” from Striking Down Diggory and featuring DQ [lyrics], Dumbledork and “Life Beyond the Veil,” and “Harry We Will Walk With You” by the Hungry Hungry Hippogriffs [lyrics].
Let’s get back to that chat with Drew!
So you, I think, toured with Harry and the Potters.
Drew: Yes.
In addition to your own folk jobbing around the country.
Drew: Yeah, so I can’t remember if it was 2004, 2005 when we connected and became friends and like sent each other CDs. But um, it wasn’t till 2006 and it was probably, it was April 2006 and I can’t remember… It was, yes! Okay. Basically April 4th, 5th and definitely the 7th of 2006 we played shows together and we played in St. Louis on the 4th with, uh, someone Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. And that kind of sparked a friendship between all three of us for a really long time. They’re on Polyvinyl Records and so I know that Harry and the Potters toured with them and then I toured with them later. But I definitely played like three shows with them. And like I said earlier, like the seventh book hadn’t even come out till 2007, so there was kind of a, a gap. It was a lot later when I finally released Godric’s Hollow like a lot later, like 2016.
So do you have any fun stories from your time wizard rocking?
Drew: Mostly I was doing my Drew Danburry project and just playing my songs and connecting with audiences that way. I didn’t ever play any shows as Young Dumbledore. I’m not young enough anymore unfortunately. And it was such a cool project to be able to do and I’m really, really grateful that they gave me that kind of idea, like planted that seed. It was really fun to play shows with them and their fans are pretty freaking cool.
Why was there such a gap between touring with them, uh, and Young Dumbledore?
Drew: For a long time I just did not know how to write the project. That’s it. Simply that like I remember sitting down and trying to write and it just not working and not feeling right. That’s kind of the hard thing with music and writing in general is that concept of like… I don’t ever sit down and make something. It’s more like you document things as they come to you and let them happen. And I don’t know how else to describe it other than that. You have the privilege to write songs and you can tweak things and put your own personality on it, but it, to sit down and actually just hammer out a song and make something is not really how I do it. Some people are really good at that. I’m not, I can’t do that. So I had to just wait til the time was right.
I often hear from wizard rockers that they got into wizard rock ’cause they didn’t feel comfortable or capable of writing music about themselves and felt safer expressing themselves through the lens of a Harry Potter event or character. You said, I think you write your Dan Drewburry music, your Drew Danburry music.
Drew: Yeah.
Uh, maybe it’s because you are so very comfortable in your skin musically?
Drew: Yeah, I think so. It–very much so. I have a hard time writing anything that isn’t authentic or real to me. And whether people like it or not is irrelevant. It’s more just a matter of writing something that yeah, is genuine and authentic in that moment. And there’s certainly songs that I wrote 20 years ago that maybe I don’t connect to like I did then, or I don’t feel the same way as I did when I wrote it and that changes. But to actually like inhabit another character and pretend to not be yourself, I totally get that. I just didn’t… I just had a hard time stepping outside of myself for a while.
So how did you find your way in?
Drew: I don’t know. I have no answer for that. I just sat with it for a long time and I, I think that’s kinda why we only have three songs. <laugh>,
I’m pretty sure you have some direct book quotes in your lyrics.
Drew: Yes.
So you must have done research.
Drew: Oh yeah. I mean I love Harry Potter and I love the books and I love… I love reading books. Um, I mean, I definitely put quotes into my own music that aren’t Harry Potter. Like I certainly like am inspired from all sources. I definitely did the research with Young Dumbledore. I I think I just had a hard time getting into the character. I don’t know. These are great questions and I wish I had answers to them. I’m sorry.
No worries. I’m here to provoke thought and and confuse.
Drew: I love it.
Uh, if you were gonna do it again, is there a character you would try getting into the head of,
Drew: Um,
Beard not required.
Drew: Yeah. Great. That’s a great, um, thank you for that. I feel like the beard is such a huge part of who I am for so long now. It’s weird. Honestly, I never considered any other character. Only Young Dumbledore now that I’ve been writing songs for as long as I have. It seems like a really smart play financially. I don’t think that this was the inspiration for Harry and the Potters at all. Um, but I think they may have inspired a lot of bands to be like, “oh, everyone likes this book series or this TV show, let’s sing songs about it” and then they’ll make a career off of the success of something else. I don’t think that that’s what Paul and Joe were doing. I think they legitimately just loved Harry Potter and were like, “dude, we have this really funny idea, let’s do this.” And then I think they were more shocked than anything that it became what it became that it was as big as it was. But I think there are a lot of, now that I’m looking back on it, there’s been so many times where something gets really famous and somebody jumps on the bandwagon or catches that wave to try and like make a dollar here or there. And so I think that might have been like what initially stifled me. Um, and I don’t know, um, I don’t know. I don’t even, I don’t even know if I just answered your question <laugh>. Sorry.
No worries. I, um, in one of my recent interviews, the musician, uh, Amy Snow said that she liked to feel things that weren’t expressed as being felt in the book. So she has a really interesting song for the house elves right before the final battle.
Drew: Yeah.
I think at least in wizard rock, there’s a lot of digging in to, to characters that no one really thinks about.
Drew: Right, right. Which is beautiful because I think that that… Songwriting doesn’t, isn’t always an empathy building exercise, but I feel like wizard rock especially is a fantastic avenue to build and foster empathy for other people, for other things to think about, other perspectives. And I think it’s gorgeous that people are fostering that. I try and write songs where people feel less alone and I generally channel things through my own experiences. With Young Dumbledore it was like a really fun and interesting exercise to write from his perspective. And I’m sure that who knows, maybe, maybe I’ll, I’ll feel like writing more when more stuff comes out, more books and more information and stuff like that. But,
Well, speaking of fostering the wizard rock environment, what kind of advice might you have for people who are interested in getting started?
Drew: You know, I have a lot of people, my niece actually just asked me how to get started writing songs and it’s really as simple as writing a song and then writing another song. And I don’t really know how else to do it, how else to tell people how to do it. You’re gonna write a song and it’s gonna be bad and then just write more songs. The first song I ever wrote, I had a poem that I set to three chords and I didn’t even think to change the chords up throughout the song. I knew enough to be like, oh, this is the verse and this is the chorus. I’ll sing differently here. But I didn’t even, it’s like literally three chords for like five or six minutes and it’s awful. But it was a really fun way to like come up with something and, and write something. And I think if people… Can just write a song and not be too precious about it and just keep writing songs, it’s a muscle that you exercise and you just get better and better all the time. And I mean, I’ve been doing it for over 20 years and I don’t think it matters if people care or not, it just matters if you’re helping yourself process things.
I always like to get a bit of solid concrete advice.
Drew: Yeah.
Like your favorite button in recording software or here’s a good way to, I don’t know, reach another level in guitar practice or vocal warmups.
Drew: Okay. I guess the advice that I have for anyone writing music is similar. I, I found a lot of this advice later, but learn as little as you can and be as creative as possible. That’s my advice. Um, I came across a video of Kurt Cobain talking about music theory and it’s similar advice I’ve experienced multiple times where I get too comfortable with an instrument and I, I get into a rut so then I start writing on different instruments to try and get out of the rut. Because the more you know about the instrument, the more you just start digging into a routine. And to me it’s more about creativity and less about technical ability.
So just get wild and experimental.
Drew: To me, that’s, that’s what the point is, just make something that’s authentic, authentically you. To make something that’s authentically you is always the goal. And that’s, that’s all I have to say about that <laugh>.
It sounds perfect to me.
Drew: Alright.
Uh, what are you working on these days? I see some upcoming shows.
Drew: Oh, yeah. Um, mostly for the last few years my focus has been on a project called Icarus Phoenix, kind of like the phoenix bird in Harry Potter. Um, I went through a really, really difficult time, probably like 2017 or 18. And, um, I’m grateful to be alive and okay. And this project kind of helped me dig myself out of some pretty tough stuff and I’ve really, really found, um… I don’t know, uh, Icarus Phoenix is what I’ve been working on and it means a lot to me. It may not mean much to anybody else, but it’s, it really helped.
Are there, um, albums coming out for that or…?
Drew: Oh, um, thank you. Thank you for being so good at follow up questions and um, helping me focus my rambling thoughts. Yes, so I think we have four albums now and we’re gonna release an EP this year and an album next year. And then two more EPs. Usually what happens is I’ll write 20 or 30 songs and then we’ll go into the studio and knock ’em all out. And then I’ll release a single every month for years and release EPs and have plenty to put out. And then in that span of releasing all that stuff, I’ll write, you know, 20, 30, 50, 70 songs and then the band will kind of work through what we wanna record. And so yeah, plenty–constantly releasing music and plenty of new stuff on the horizon, pretty much always.
You know, I think it’s time for another music break. Here’s Tonks & the Aurors’ “Aurors For The Win.”
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That was “Aurors For The Win” from Tonks & the Aurors, Sane as Luna and “Magic Lives On,” and “House Elf Slave” from The House of Black.
Here’s the last bit of my chat with Drew of Young Dumbledore.
Thank you so much for talking with me today. Uh, it’s been really fun getting some stuff I didn’t know about other bands in addition to Young Dumbledore.
Drew: Yeah.
Where can WZRD listeners find you and your music online?
Drew: Um, so if you search the name Icarus Phoenix, uh, it should be everywhere. And then also Drew Danburry with two Rs in the Danburry, like Danburry, Connecticut, but with two Rs, either of those names work. Um, I do like BandCamp, uh, so DrewDanburry.BandCamp.com is a great spot. A lot of people stream stuff on Spotify, but basically all the music is everywhere and if you search Icarus Phoenix or Drew Danburry, hopefully you’ll find it. Hopefully it’ll be found.
We are big BandCamp fans around here.
Drew: Good. Yeah. DrewDanburry.Bandcamp, there’s so much stuff, it’s ridiculous. Plenty to dig into. And I think I even have like the full discography at a, at the cheapest price. I think it’s 80% off. It’s like at the cheapest price possible.
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And now, magical friends, here’s Young Dumbledore!
Drew: All right, so here’s the song “Charm and Hubris,” and I hope you like it. It’s a little love ditty about two beautiful men.
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