Conversations with Dylan Graff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Graff.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I was eight years old, I joined a music program called Rock University in Southern NJ, which is a place for children to get experience playing with other musicians. At age ten, I met a drummer named John who had just recently entered Rock University. We instantly had a strong musical connection and started a band that would cycle through countless members and band names. A few years later, brothers Nick and Daniel joined the program and naturally, we all became friends.

At the time, Nick and Daniel were in their own band as well. We would play shows together with our two groups all while attending Rock University. As we got a little older, we all eventually moved on from the music school and took our chances living a life of rock n roll. Fast forward to 2017 in Philadelphia, PA at Lincoln Financial Field. All four of us went to see Metallica and thought it was a good idea to put on our own show in the parking lot. This was the time that, John, Nick, and Daniel would perform together outside of the music school for the first time ever. It was a pivotal moment in all of our lives. People formed a crowd around us and began to cheer as we rocked out to songs we had never rehearsed. A feeling of power came over me as I saw the impact that our unorganized jam was having on these people that had no clue who we were.

The thought of organizing music and practicing it together became prominent. This was the first moment I realized what the future meant for me and the three dudes behind me. I realized what our music could mean to the world. It was bizarre. Right then and there in that parking lot, we started our band. When four corners connect and rise up together a “Pyramid” forms. That was what we originally named the band. By 2019, we realized there were countless bands with the name Pyramid and we were just another one that was hard to find online. Very quickly we put our heads together and tried to rename the band. Finding a new name for our band proved to be extremely difficult, stressful, and unmotivating. We could not settle on something. Every name someone came up with got bashed, beaten, and laughed at. We were on the brink of giving up.

Who needs a band name anyway? This was about the time we ordered a pizza and tried to relax. We began to laugh and reminisce on old times and memories we shared together. It’s almost like there was an aura that held together four dudes who were in their zen. A Zen Aura… Lightbulb. We smashed those two words together and boom, just like that, we had “Zenora”. Interestingly, one of the world’s rock legend heroes is Jimi Hendrix. Without even consciously knowing it, we named our band after a huge influence in Jimi’s life, his grandmother! From there we hyper-focused on how we could be different than every other band around us. All the bands we knew were playing cover songs in bars and they all looked the same. Sure, some were original bands, but no one knew their songs. We used inspiration from our favorite bands, styles of music, and our everyday lives and mixed them together to compose our own songs and create a sound that is unique to us.

It’s all Rock n Roll at the end of the day, but we aren’t like other rock bands. We didn’t want to be just another band stuck playing the same bars and singing to the same people every night. Hey Mom! We are loud. We are different. We are Zenora. Since 2019, we have released two four-song EPs, one full-length album, and a plethora of music videos. We opened for bands we never dreamed of seeing in concert let alone sharing a stage with (including Quiet Riot, Anvil, Autograph, Enuff Z’nuff, Steven Adler, and many more).

We’ve toured across the United States playing in major cities and legendary music venues including the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles California in early 2023. In Just four short years we have successfully accomplished things most bands never dream of. This is not a hobby. This is not a game. This is not a band that jams on the weekend. This is Rock n Roll, and we take that very seriously. This is just the beginning. We can only go up from here.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not everything is easy. When we drove across the country we had to live in the van. Day by day and night by night. Sleeping in a van packed with guitars, amps, drums, and stinky rockers is not comfortable or pleasant by any means. Fortunately, there are amazing humans that live in this world who offered to let us stay at their homes after some gigs. We are extremely appreciative of these folks for their hospitality, kindness, and trust. Would you let strangers sleep in your house? We were able to get a few hotel rooms along the way and I cannot begin to express how amazing it felt to take a shower and sleep in a bed.

It’s the little things that count. Also, forming a rock band today is like starting your own business. You have to be an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to take risks, and you have to be ok with failing. Success to me means learning from failures. Be willing to change and adapt and be ok with picking yourself up and brushing off the dirt to keep moving forward. The days of being a rock band that parties all night and trashes hotels are over. You need to be a focused rock band that parties all night and trashes hotel rooms because you are running and growing a business in a very crowded field that has the ability to reach a global audience with social media.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Where do I begin? I am someone who takes everyday feelings and emotions and turns them into art. No matter if I feel happy, sad, or I’m experiencing a new feeling… Music is always my go-to for expressing how I feel. I play drums, bass, guitar, and piano. I also take much pride in my ability to sing. For as long as I can remember, I have been building songs around my personal life events. I am not one to write about fantasy or tell stories that take the listener to “another place”. Nope, not me. When you listen to a song written by Dylan Graff, you get whatever I was feeling during that time in my life. Sometimes I feel two completely different ways about the same event. For example, I lost someone very close to me at one point in my life.

My grandfather, known to me as Pop-Pop, is the reason I play music. He was the first introduction I had to instruments and singing songs. He was the original rockstar in my life. Of course, losing someone that close to you is emotionally devastating which causes sad feelings and usually creates sad emotional songs. Hold on a second, that can’t be it. There can’t just be one reason to write a song. That’s boring if you ask me. All while experiencing these negative emotions, Pop-Pop gave me the gift of music and that has been the purpose of my life for as long as I can remember. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be a musician, and I don’t know what I would be doing right now. This is a positive outcome that came from a negative event.

My songs contain sad and happy thoughts/feelings at the same time. This is just one example of what you can find in my songs. I am so proud of the music I create. My songs are my therapy. Life is easier when I can sing about it. I’ve never been one to set myself apart from others. I attempt to connect with others and use music to bring people together and spread positivity between us all. As a child, I was an outsider. Growing up, being in a rock band was not normal for the kids at my school. Hip Hop and Rap were very popular and not one kid was creating any kind of music themselves. The two things I love the most are Rock n Roll and creating music. So not only was I listening to music none of the other kids at school listened to, I was choosing to live my life differently. I wasn’t on the monkey bars or playing kickball with the other kids. I was rocking out!

No one began to understand that different people have different interests until we grew a little older. I get it, when you are young and don’t understand yourself, the easiest thing to do is point out someone who you “think” is different. When everyone is doing it, you feel like you’re fitting in. I just so happened to be on the other side of that.

Hey, that’s a good inspiration for a song. I’ll be right back.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I packed my guitar, amp, and band into a van then proceeded to drive to states we have never been to before and play rock shows. We had no idea if anyone was going to show up. We didn’t know if we were going to make any money. If we didn’t make any money, how much are we going to lose?

We don’t know if we were going to run into bad weather. The only thing we knew was when we were supposed to be at the venue. I still don’t know if my band is going to be what I do for the rest of my life. If it doesn’t work out, at least I tried. That is enough for me. My entire life is a risk. Take what you love and believe in it and run with it. Stand for what you believe in and do whatever it takes until you succeed. Only you can stop yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: zenoramusic.com
• Other: https://zenoramusic.com/streaming-and-socials