Tarrytown's Drew Bordeaux Let’s his Musical Impulse/Instinct Lead the Way

Drew Bordeaux of Tarrytown recently released a new CD called Impulse/Instinct, and of course, he’s got the songs cued up on Spotify. However, the Fox Lane graduate is pretty succinct in regards to whether the platform can yield any real returns. “No,” Bordeaux assured, but the multitalented artist has so much going for him that it’s not surprising how easily he rolls with the reality.

Graduating from Harvard in 2005 with a psychology degree, the Mt Kisco native was previously the COO of Internet marketing company, has had his blogging appear in Sports Illustrated, College Humor and Maxim, owns a digital marketing company himself and last year Vogue featured one of his photo shoots.

A well roundedness that began at Mt Kisco Elementary School. “Part of life was you practice your violin everyday, and you do your homework everyday,” said Bordeaux.

Thus, the soft strings put him in the orchestra at Fox Lane Middle School and while his father always had BB King playing in the car, the younger Bordeaux eventually went round his own bend musically. “It was sixth grade when I discovered Green Day. So I was all about Alt-Rock, Grunge Rock,” he said. “That’s all I wanted to play.”

The school then provided ample opportunities to play out at venues like barbecues and park events. “So I always had a group of musicians that I was playing with,” said Bordeaux.

But aging out, he got down to more serious stuff at Harvard - or not. “I was smart enough to get in, but not smart enough to pick a lucrative major,” Bordeaux joked.

Still, the Ivy Leaguer put his education to pragmatic good use. Though lab work and research, Bordeaux elevated his understanding of human nature, and that would certainly help all his future endeavors.

Of course, his academics included music education, and the added knowledge allowed him to continue turning theory into practice. He was in several bands and occupied the same nook Tracy Chapman occupied as a street performer. “Harvard Square, I was there,” Bordeaux revealed.

Graduation brought him back to Mt Kisco and into few new bands. But the grad soon opted for the real world in internet marketing and writing music articles was his first position. He eventually got into a management and his planning duties led to becoming COO.

Even so, he kept performing, and credits his father’s work ethic for the unyielding drive. “Keep working, don’t stop and then work some more,” Bordeaux convoyed his father’s motto.

However in 2016, the right brain took over, and the executive quit the day job to focus on composing music. All good except the writing part, Bordeaux supplanted the creative block by helping musicians build their websites, and among their needs, was developing branding imagery.

So Bordeaux dove in and began a photography business. He’s done spreads with supermodels like Danielle Zinaich, actors such as Kiefer Sutherland and musicians who include Grace Potter, Ani DiFranco, and Steve Earle.

That said, music had enough room to ping pong in between all his interests, but Covid-19 paddled him down. “There’s only so much energy you can put through your iPhone,” Bordeaux lamented.

As a result, Bordeaux informed his wife that he wasn’t coming out to the basement until he had an album. “For a month,” he said, “she barely saw me.”

A rock album for sure, the main theme comes across in the title track. Impulse or instinct, he said, “I’m fascinated by the way we make decisions.”

Some working out better than others, judgment should be reserved. “We’re all trying the best we can,” Bordeaux conveyed the song’s sentiment.

On the other hand, Lost asks more from society. the song examines what it means to be Black in America, and with all the hurdles to happiness, how do we make that happen when everything is so divided.

As for the divvy up that limits online money streams, Bordeaux won’t fret and sees the positives of the Spotify’s. Like a business card, it’s an artistic expression he gives to his fans and hopes they will pass it along.

His name hopefully getting more play, monetization must come on the heals of live music, and he has no problem returning to his roots to do so. “Westchester gave me the opportunity to sharpen my teeth,” said Bordeaux, and August 6 will see him in the Ossining Summer Concert Series at in Louis Engel Park.

But at this point he’s letting impulse decide the way forward. “Now, that I put out an original album, I have the writing bug,” he concluded.

http://www.drewbordeaux.com