Local Band Drauve Hits the Pittsburgh Music Scene

The past four months have been a whirlwind for Drauve, a Southwestern Pennsylvania band. Drauve features Victoria Draovitch on vocals and rhythm guitar, Stephen Grzenda on guitar, Nick Linder on bass, and Evan Yester on drums.

The band has been working together since July, and they have already made their impression on the Pittsburgh music scene. They’ve been the opening act for artists such as Rosie Tucker and Remo Drive at venues such as Mr. Smalls Fun House and Mr. Roboto Project.  

Drauve currently has two songs that are officially released. “Haunted” captures an ethereal feeling with spacey-sounding vocals and a driving guitar sound that picks up about two-thirds of the way through the song.  

According to Draovitch, the lyrics and theme of “Haunted” were intended to portray her own struggles with mental illness.   

The band’s second song, “Out of It,” features a driving force from Yester’s drumset and meticulous guitar work from Grzenda. The dreamlike quality of Draovitch’s vocals creates an eerie and surreal mood.   

Drauve members first met at a show in December 2017. Greensburg-based Victoria Draovitch had been pursuing a solo career at the time, whereas Grzenda, Linder, and Yester had been performing in their own band.   

“We just happened to play a gig together,” Draovitch explained. “We started jamming together, I showed them some songs I had written, and it became pretty obvious that, ‘Okay, I don’t want to be a solo project anymore, we should do this together.’”   

Each band member has a specific role when creating music. Draovitch starts by creating the lyrics and laying down some rough guitar chords. Then Grzenda adds his guitar parts. Finally, Yester adds in the driving drums and Linder lays down a bassline.   

“It always works that way, and it works really well,” Draovitch says.  

Drauve has big aspirations for the future. Draovitch says she’d like to see the band open on bigger tours. Eventually, she wants to see the band  establish themselves as a headliner, rather than just an opening act. 

Draovitch would also like to play at some bigger venues.   

“We’ve only been a band since July,” she said. “I’d like to put out a full-length album. From there, we can tour the world, see where it goes.”  

Drauve has plenty of content planned for the future. The band plans to release a new single in November and December, as well as a potential new music video. They also have an upcoming gig on Nov. 13, opening for Palehound at Club Cafe.  

Drauve can be found on Instagram at @DrauvetheBand, and their music is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, or Amazon Music.