New Song, New Direction, New Band to Watch: Driveaway Releases “Sitcom”

If you’re ever looking to start a heated debate among band members, asking them to pick their favorite fictional couples from sitcoms will absolutely do the trick. The Gainesville-based indie band Driveaway has debuted their latest single “Sitcom,” and the title of the song was practically begging me to ask. Cece and Schmidt from “New Girl”, Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt from “Parks and Recreation”, and even Victor and Tanya Baxter from “That’s So Raven” all came up.

After a period of reconfiguring their sound and even the members of the band, Driveaway has landed on a style that they are ready to run with. “Sitcom,” the band’s newest single, pays homage to the desirable stylings of 80s music with a fresh indie-pop perspective. Trenton Ropp, Tanner Ropp, Andrew Mankin and Kyle Tapley all sat down with me—over coffee of course—to make their media debut in Gainesville.

The band shared that this song, from conception to final form, was about a 14-month process. Their writing never happens in one sitting. It comes in waves of inspiration that lead to full days of focus and then the eventual return to their favorite Netflix shows (“Queer Eye” at the moment).

Photo by Jacob McKay

The Ropp brothers tag-team answered my questions about the story behind “Sitcom.” Essentially, it is a fictionalized version of a lived experience about a relationship born in a toxic environment. The four members of the band don’t seem to fear the vulnerability of sharing their stories through music because the chance of relating to a listener personally is far outweighs the fear of judgement.

“I just feel like in the past, we haven’t been able to be incredibly vulnerable with our songs and I think this new stuff will allow people to connect with us and our message a lot more,” Tanner said.

Driveaway’s core mission is to write music about the topics that people don’t easily discuss so that they can let listeners know that they are never alone in their internal struggles. As musicians and as individuals, the four guys have already shown me how embracing their personalities are and how close they truly are with one another.

Getting to know the bandmates a little better, Tanner and Trenton were voted most likely to be late to practice, and Andrew was voted most likely to be eating Moes. Kyle shared that their practices are a collaborative time where they are all able to bounce ideas off of each other and build out a concept into a full-formed song.

Over the coming months, the band is looking to start doing weekend trips gigging throughout the state of Florida. They have a show on March 31 at High Dive with Cannibal Kids, The Forum and Aster and Ivy. Tickets are available here.

I just feel like in the past, we haven’t been able to be incredibly vulnerable with our songs and I think this new stuff will allow people to connect with us and our message a lot more.

The band will be spending some time in the studio in early April in hopes of being able to release singles every few months. They hinted that there are a few other shows that will be announced soon to keep your eye out for.

Keep up with Driveaway on Instagram and Facebook. “Sitcom” is out now and available for streaming on Spotify and below.