Nick Drouin

"I don't set out writing songs with an agenda. I just write what I feel and about what's been real in my life." - Nick Drouin

Music surrounded Nick and his family since his days as a kid growing up in the country. His dad was in several local bands and his older sisters were either playing the piano or being recognized for their vocal abilities. “Because the rest of us were always into music, my mom always joked that her talent was playing the radio,” he laughs. Multi-talented, Nick grew up playing drums, guitar, and piano, and all the while writing songs with his friends and bandmates.

“You know, growing up I was mostly a drummer in the bands I played with because there were already so many good guitarists and bassists in the area. Not a lot of drummers. I'd get criticized constantly by my friends and bandmates when I’d just start singing the songs we were playing. I couldn't help it. I'd just want to be the singer but I got the “Dude shut up. You’re a drummer. Stop singing…’ often. That kind of stuff…so I grew up thinking that I didn’t have a good voice and people didn’t like it when I would sing. For years I was too scared to step out from behind the the drum set. It was kind of tragic and it messed me up for a long time until one day I decided to just start writing and see what came out. Screw what anyone else thought,” he laughs "Sometimes you just have to be true to you."

Being true to himself is all what his fist album, Crossroads EP, is about. Drouin is coming out swinging, combining rock, pop, R&B elements that push forward today’s country music. A unique voice mixed with and array of emotions and insights, “Crossroads EP” combines fiery party-starters, crushing heartbreaks, and small towns.

For Drouin, one key ingredient for the his music is making sure that he stays rooted to where he came from. “I’m super-proud of all my songs and writing for myself has been so different than writing for other artists and projects“ he says. “When it comes to writing, I start with one instrument and strum a note or a chord, or jam on a beat and see what that melody or rhythm makes me feel and remember. Then the song develops from there. I try not to censor myself of second guess what comes up naturally."

One notable discovery was the album’s party anthem, “Mr. Friday Night,” which started as a joke. “Each of us is crazy in some way. People are strange. Hell, I’m strange…but sometimes you have a friend and they’re just always looking for love in the wrong places...Especially when they’ve been drinking…” he laughs “You know the type. They're on again off again in relationships and when they're single they're hoping that the next person they meet is ’the one." He rolls his eyes. "They go through people so quickly that you’re sitting there listening to them like ‘yeah right…whoever you meet next is probably just your Friday night.’ So when I started jamming on the music in that song, the concept just showed because my friend who does this called me out of the blue while I was writing it. I combined the concept and the music and it all came together…"

Other tracks on Crossroads EP tell more of a haunted story; Drouin points out such details about the song “Lonely,” in which he explains about the times that "You've got that someone on your mind and they're gone not because of anything you did to them, but because their dreams were different than yours and it drove you apart. Sometimes the only thing you can do is take a shot of whisky and move forward. Once your decide to move forward, that’s the sweet spot."

Nick Drouin’s life has definitely led him to some pretty sweet spots, including sharing a stage with legends like 3 Doors Down and Gym Class Heroes, and recording with the ‘3 Kings’ [Jason Aldeans hit rhythm section] in Nashville, TN. “There is no other feeling like being on stage and having people sing along with your music,” he says. “There’s an unexplainable connection. You connect with them like nothing else. It’s like one giant party.”

With the Crossroads EP, Drouin is definitely getting the party started and bringing new energy and a fresh face to country music. “I just write what I think I’d want to listen to,” says Drouin. “I don’t write music just to please people. It’s got to feel right and if people like what I’ve got, I hope to be making for many years down the road. It’s that or go back to behind the drum set."