The concept of success is often clouded by outsiders telling you who and what you should be. A paradox we have all been trapped within at some point in life; some are fortunate to have broken free to become who they want to be, like Des Rocs.
The vision of New York Musician Danny Rocco, Des Rocs is a culmination of his past, present, and future with only one goal in mind, making the most exciting Rock-n-Roll possible. Putting out the debut album A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place in 2021, in 2023 came the powerful Dream Machine, and what comes next has a growing following waiting with bated breath.
A passionate Modern Rock hybrid that unifies the glamorous aspects of classic bands from decades earlier with a raw, passionate delivery, matched with dynamic production, Des Rocs’s originality and freshness are impossible to ignore. Touring the world and recently announcing a list of North American headlining shows for early 2026, Des Rocs clearly are on the cusp of ascending into stardom at the top of the Rock world. Extremely passionate about it all, Danny Rocco took time to discuss Des Rocs, the work he has put into the project, plans for new music, and more.
Cryptic Rock – Music has been an intricate part of your life since you were very young. As a point of reference, before Des Rocs, you were part of Secret Weapons. How would you describe the trajectory of your journey to this point in music?
Des Rocs – It’s one long, constant arc of self-discovery and refinement, starting with a large block of granite and then trying to free whatever the sculpture is inside of it. That’s how classical artists thought of sculptures. They thought there was a man, a figure, or a scene trapped in this block of marble, and we need to free it up and let it out.
When you’re a 13 or 14-year-old boy in New York, you’re looking for anyone who can make music. Anybody who can play any instrument, you’ll just team up and start performing, regardless of whatever music you want to really make. My whole life has been gradually working towards all things Des Rocs.
Cryptic Rock – It is fascinating to look at what it has become. As you said, you have a passion for it, and it just builds from there. Were there ever points where you felt discouraged? Surely there are times when you feel dejected, but there is something inside you that makes you keep going.
Des Rocs – Yeah, I feel discouraged every single day that there is this massive pendulum of confidence, discouragement, and crippling self-doubt. You never know which side of that coin you’re going to be on at any given time.
I don’t think you can really have one without the other because so much of what I do is sitting around alone, trying to dream up a vision and then bring it into existence. It’s very romantic, very lonely, and a real labor of love. It can lead to many low moments, but the highs are so high. The lows, however, are so low.
Cryptic Rock – That certainly sums up creativity very well. You mentioned how you believe everything has been leading up to this point with Des Rocs. Even with Des Rocs, you are growing and changing. You could hear from 2021’s A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place, 2023’s Dream Machine, to the most recent single, 2025’s “The Juice.” How did you manifest what you are doing with the project now?
Des Rocs – Yeah, I think I’m growing and changing too. My records are always snapshots of where I am personally. My very early stuff is the sound of me trying to figure out what’s going on, playing most of the instruments myself. It’s done in a very self-contained way.
My COVID-era music is very experimental and weird because I was sitting alone for hours a day trying to dream up this whole album. In addition to that, my new music is really reflective of where we’re at now, which is we’re touring like crazy. We wanted to create an album that is big and live-sounding.
The music is always growing. I’m very much of the evolve or die mentality. I’m always trying to challenge myself artistically and get excited about new ideas and new directions. At the end of the day, they’re all very much Des Rocs that they all flow through my fingers, my voice, and my life’s experiences.
Cryptic Rock – Your sound is very unique. It seems to pay homage to Classic Rock. There is also something very modern about it. It is a hybrid of both. Is that important to you to have those mixtures in there in the music?
Des Rocs – Definitely. The Classic Rock influences, it’s this big room energy that I love that feels all-powerful and uniting. I love that energy, but I don’t want to always present that energy the same way it was presented 50 years ago. People forget that what we call Classic Rock today was anything but classic at the time. It was wildly experimental music. The godfathers of Classic Rock would feel weird having that label because the music was so ahead of its time.
In a similar way, I love standing on the shoulders of giants, but I love using modern tools, modernizing those sounds, and making it feel and hit in a way I think a Rock record should in a new millennium.
Cryptic Rock – It works well, and that is a good point you raise about feeling. You listen to the records being put out under Des Rocs, and there is feeling to it. Not to put down other artists, but it seems like many modern recordings are very cold, mathematical, and digital. Listening to your music, it feels like a human being made it, and that is exciting.
Des Rocs – Thank you. I appreciate that a lot. I do take what I do so personally. Anytime someone comments that it comes out through the other side into your ears, it means a lot to me because it’s very much the intent. It’s about being this larger-than-life person on stage, but it’s not a bit. It really is me up there.
Then there’s also this other part that’s a little bit of a wink. Then there’s this other part to it that’s really personal and real. I love that combination. It’s the sweet and the salty. It’s the way the best foods have these diametrically opposed taste sensations, but it makes for the best bite. I love having both of those things together. I love for the records to feel ultra personal, but at the same time, be larger than life. Yeah, music today is so polished and sterile. A lot of those artists are going to have an extinction-level event with AI, which does polish and sterilize really well.
Cryptic Rock – That is very true. To your point, you can tell it is really you. Singing the way you do on the records and live, that cannot be put together as a fabrication. It sounds like your real emotions are inside.
Des Rocs – Yeah, it’s hard. I have this weird, and I wish I didn’t have this, way of writing where I always want to be pushing myself vocally to the brink so that you can feel the pain in the music. Hopefully, that comes across.
Cryptic Rock – It certainly does. Listening to your music, the records you put out, “In The Night,” really strikes you hard. It seems very personal, emotional, and spiritual. What is the story behind that song?
Des Rocs – Yeah. It’s about somebody with whom I was working closely at the time who had lost their significant other and talked about it a lot during the record-making process. I had a lot of the music for that song done, but I didn’t really know I was going to go with it lyrically yet. That just seemed like the natural place to go to talk about this person’s loss in the song because it really affected me so personally, the way they would speak about this person they lost. I put myself there mentally throughout the song.
Cryptic Rock – You can definitely feel it. It is interesting to hear the different mix with Underoath as well, because it gives the song a completely different vibe.
Des Rocs – Yeah. It was really fun to work with them because I don’t want any collaborations to ever be obvious. They’re not an obvious choice. Because of that, they’re able to present such an artistically interesting take on the song. I love that.
Cryptic Rock – Absolutely. They definitely sound different than the album track. You are currently working on new music. Is that right?
Des Rocs – I just finished a new album.
Cryptic Rock – Excellent. With the new single “The Juice” out now, what can you tell us about the record?
Des Rocs – It’s all recorded live, which I’ve never done before. No copying, pasting, editing, auto-tuning, nothing. It is very intense. It is very large in its scope, ambition, and intent behind it. I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.
Cryptic Rock – That is fantastic. Recording live is an exciting way to capture a song. You said you have never done that before. Being someone so emotional with your music, what was it like recording live for you?
Des Rocs – It was very challenging because I’m used to relying on this crutch of like, “Oh, that first chorus was great. Copy and paste it.” It’s really the sum of the parts. If I played you a totally digital guitar and a really well-recorded guitar, you wouldn’t really tell a difference. I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. When you do that with every single element in the song, and you strip away the artifice, the sum of that process is really exciting and moves you on a subtle psychological level that I find to be very important.
Cryptic Rock –Most certainly. As you said, on the surface, you probably cannot tell the difference, but overall, you can definitely feel it.
Des Rocs – Yeah. They’re just like an X factor. There are these great videos online of people like quantizing Bonham’s playing in Led Zeppelin. They’re like, “Here’s what it sounded like if they recorded this to a click track.” It sucks. It’s horrible. You wouldn’t have the greatest band of all time if they made their records like that. It was definitely a worthwhile endeavor for sure.
Cryptic Rock – Many artists play to a click. Nothing wrong with that if they want to. You alluded to how many things are very sterile. To your point, that is not even solely within music… it is movies, too. It’s frustrating. It feels almost like art is dying in a way. As an artist, what do you think of the direction we are going as a society?
Des Rocs – We’re definitely living through some sort of mass change, the likes of which we’ve never experienced before. Nobody can forecast what is to come. There’s nothing I can do about any of it. I need to be stoic. I need to focus on myself, my band, my family, and just make the best, truest art possible. I don’t know if I’m on a sinking Titanic or if I’m on a rocket ship heading to the moon. I have no idea. What I do know is that if I just make music that I’m really excited about, that’s all that matters.
Cryptic Rock – Right. That is a great outlook. You could get hung up on how things are going, or you could keep doing what you are doing. As you said, the reward is in the process.
Des Rocs – Thinking about AI and stuff, it’s just as sad to me to rob future generations and musicians of those incredible aha moments when you break through, and something from the divine just shoots into your brain and out comes this song idea. That’s such a special human thing.
I feel sorry that fewer people may have that going forward, as opposed to browsing things that are generated and doing prompts. Again, I have to be pretty stoic about it and just focus on what I can control. That’s making music that I love, believe in, and that I’m really passionate about.
Cryptic Rock – Also a great outlook. With the record complete, what is next?
Des Rocs – We have tour dates just announced for early 2026.
Cryptic Rock – Excellent. Clearly, Des Rocs is your baby. You played most of the instruments, but there are always a lot of people involved in making a record and making something happen. Would you consider it a band at this point? How would you look at this now?
Des Rocs – Yeah. It takes a village. It’s almost like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. There is no E Street Band without Bruce Springsteen and vice versa. I’m very lucky that I get to play and work with an extremely close, tight-knit family of long-term friends who help support my vision, incredible collaborators all across the board, and people whom I’ve known since high school.
Cryptic Rock – That is special to hear. We talk about the highs and lows. With that in mind, it must be redeeming to see Des Rocs blossoming at this point.
Des Rocs – Yeah, we’re incredibly excited about it. It’s been a long journey. I just love the lyric, “It’s a long way to the top if you want to Rock ‘n’ Roll,” because it’s from a party Rock band, but there’s a lot of truth in that. It has been a journey, to say the least.
Cryptic Rock – Well, the journey is the exciting part. If it were just one straight line, what would be the fun of it?
Des Rocs – For sure.
Cryptic Rock – Seeing that your music is a mix of Modern and Classic Rock, what are some of your personal influences?
Des Rocs – I’m influenced by a tremendous amount of things, both musical and non-musical. Musically, I’m very inspired by Queen, Elvis, Prince, Roy Orbison, Led Zeppelin, and a tremendous amount of Classic Rock and Roll music. It’s not really just Classic Rock. In addition to that, it’s not really just Rock or music at all. I’m very inspired by the hum of New York.
We have a studio right in Long Island City, Queens. As I’m creating music and as we’re rehearsing, I’m looking at the Manhattan skyline 100% of the time. It’s very inspirational for me because the city, and everything New York, is so seeped into all of our DNAs that it really pours through and just who we are on the road and on stage.
Cryptic Rock – It shows. There is something unique about New Yorkers: they are very headstrong. Do you think the New York attitude has made you more resilient and helped you push forward?
Des Rocs – For sure. I don’t know what I’d be like if I were born in Helena, Montana. I’m always a very active person, moving forward, thinking about what’s next. I’m fortunate enough to live in a place that’s conducive to that mindset.
Cryptic Rock – That bleeds through; it is a Never-say-die attitude, and keep going forward.
Des Rocs – Yeah. Also, to really pursue a Rock band in 2025, you have to be a total cockroach, down for 99 failures and letdowns before you have one iota of success.
Cryptic Rock – Exactly. You have vast experience in performance for many years. That being said, what is it like getting on stage at this point? You can’t always be amped up and ready to go, can you? How does that work?
Des Rocs – I’m always amped up and ready to go. I really am. I get so much what you could call anticipatory anxiety, where I just want to go on. I’m often backstage pacing in a line back and forth with no music, no anything. I’m doing that for an hour or two before I go on stage, straight. It gives my band a tremendous amount of anxiety when I do that. I am so laser-focused. Then I’ll charge out there, and it’ll be like 14 kids in a basement in Providence, Rhode Island. I’ll put on a two-hour show no matter what. To do that after playing to 40,000 people, 80,000 people; those are some of those highs and lows that we’re talking about. It doesn’t matter. A show is a show.
When I’m in that mindset of getting to perform songs I’ve written for people and give people this escapist Rock and Roll experience, the sense of community through music, I will be 100%, even if I have the worst flu you’ve ever seen in your life.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds like there is a lot of passion and fire inside.
Des Rocs – Yeah. I don’t think you could ride all the lows if you didn’t have that level of passion. It’s equal parts passion and delusion, to be honest. You’ve got to keep moving forward.
Cryptic Rock – Right. Sometimes we need to delude ourselves to keep moving forward.
Des Rocs – Yeah. We have to be a dreamer. I take a shower in the morning and daydream about what shows could look like, what songs could sound like. I’m always daydreaming. That’s such an important part of the process. Once you lose that as an artist, you’re in a rough place creatively.
Cryptic Rock – Good point. At this stage, are you still based in New York?
Des Rocs – I have never left the New York, Tri-State area. I’ve only lived in Long Island, Brooklyn, or Manhattan my entire life, and that’s it.
Cryptic Rock – That is cool to hear. As a musician, you have toured and been around the world. When we grow up in a place, we do not really think about what is outside it. You go to other areas, see different cultures, and perspectives change. What have you learned from your travels?
Des Rocs – I’ve learned that Europe is amazing and has a certain appreciation of music, and Rock specifically, that is harder to find in the US these days. I’ve learned that I love where I’m from and my people so much. I love getting to explore other places, visit them, and be a guest there. I don’t have the fantasy of, “Oh, if I could just live in Paris for the rest of my life, I’d be so happy.” I love going to Paris. I love visiting Paris. I love Paris shows. I love Parisian people. I live here.
Cryptic Rock – Absolutely. It gives you the ability to understand other places, to have a broader perspective on things, and to be proud of and appreciate where you’re from.
Des Rocs – For sure. It makes you sometimes more appreciative when you get to travel to where you’re from. When you come home, and you have that feeling of, “Ah, I’m home. I recognize these landscapes.” It’s special.
Cryptic Rock – Right. So, what would you say is one of the most interesting places you visited in your touring around Europe?
Des Rocs – Poland was really interesting just because I had no expectation of what it would be like. The show was really incredible. The people and the food were absolutely amazing. I love Poland for sure.
Cryptic Rock – Yeah, Poland is one of those European countries that people don’t talk about much. It’s really a beautiful country with a lot to offer. Last question. Are you a fan of film, and if so, what are some of your favorites?
Des Rocs – I’m a huge film fan. I’d say my love of film is second only to music. I love Terrence Malick films. I love a film by Terrence Malick from 2005 called The New World. I love a lot of Martin Scorsese films, the late ’70s ones. I have a humongous list of notes on films to watch that I haven’t seen yet.
Cryptic Rock – Cool. Obviously, a lot of those ’70s films, as Scorsese made, have a grit to them, especially those films filmed in New York City. It definitely captures New York during that period.
Des Rocs – Oh, yeah. A lot of those movies, they’re personalities in and of themselves in a way that I’m obsessed with. I love living in that world, and I love the escapism of it all.
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