Rubber is a Philadelphia based group consisting of Andrew Loper (singer/lyricist) John Della Franco (producer/instrumentalist), and their manager Drew Taft. After meeting & starting the group at Temple University, the R&B duo got signed to campus record label Bell Tower Records, released 2 EP’s, and have recently been focused on working on their debut album & growing together as a whole.
Can you introduce yourself — tell us more about who you are, where you’re from, and what you do creatively?
Andrew Loper: I’m the singer/lyricist of Rubber and co-owner of NoSpace Productions. I was born and raised in Delaware County, PA. I’m a Temple University grad Class of 2018; I studied economics and anthropology in school and my music career started when I was signed to our campus record label in 2017.
John Della Franco: I’m the producer/multi-instrumentalist for Rubber and also a co-owner of NoSpace. I’m from Montgomery County PA and I graduated from Temple University with a degree in Media Studies and Productions. Some of my skills include composition, sound design, song writing, and communication with artists.
Drew Taffe: I’m the founder of a Philly production startup called NoSpace Productions by day and Rubber’s manager by night. I’m from Delaware County, PA and I graduated from Temple University with a degree in audio production in 2018. I do everything from tracking vocals to making press releases to editing a video for socials.
Can you walk us through a typical day in the life?
Recently, we’ve been working a lot on our digital strategy, so it’s wake up, check our different data sources, plug ‘em into a spreadsheet, assess how our socials are doing, respond to emails, hop on calls, do some remote mixing and songwriting, and then we all have our day-jobs.
Working in music is both taxing & freeing. How do you balance being in control of creative freedom while staying focused on growth/business goals?
It’s definitely not easy, especially since COVID has robbed us of the most rewarding part of our job which is connecting with fans during our live show. The most we can do now is just try to make sure we all make time away from our music career to take care of ourselves and relax. We also try to keep it fun when we write and record. We recently did a little writing/recording trip to Maryland and made some great songs over some beers.
What are some current projects you’re working on?
We have a Remix of our song “Someone Else” coming out 9/17 featuring killer local acts 4VR & regothereshego and also coming up on a brand new single called ‘Little Sinews’ which will be out later this Fall, with Melvin Darrell and Kyle Sparkman. On top of all that, we’re beginning work on our debut album which is super exciting.
How has the closing of universities impacted you creatively?
The closing of universities has restricted us from being able to access the valuable resources that we have relied on since being signed to Bell Tower Music, Temple’s Campus Record Label, like the professional recording studio and the staff of talented students so now we’ve adapted to doing it all on our own.
How have you or how do you plan on taking advantage of having access to REC’s space?
We’re excited to use REC’s space as a place for collaboration. It’s so easy to get to, if there is anyone in Philly that we want to work with, it’s always the perfect neutral point. Also! Since the pandemic is still a major issue we all have to contend with, it’s really nice to know that there is a clean and CDC compliant space that we can go to, block out all the mess out there in the world, and simply create.
If you’re a student looking for a place to create while access to University resources are limited, apply for a chance to be selected for a FREE yearly membership at recphilly.com/backtoschool
