A Conversation About the Power of Music With Des Rocs

“Does the sight of a grave make you feel all alone?
We’re all right, we're OK, face a fear, the unknown
What's it like to be brave when a tear starts to flow?”

From “This Is Our Life” by Des Rocs

What’s up Hardcore Humans! This week on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast we talked with Danny Rocco—otherwise known as singer, songwriter, and musician Des Rocs. Des was originally in the band Secret Weapons, which was signed to Epic Records. Secret Weapons put out an album in 2016 and toured with bands such as Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer. Des has now gone out on his own as a solo artist and has already toured with bands such as The Struts and Muse. And Des has a new EP out called This Is Our Life released on the 300 Entertainment record label.

Source: Nicole Hernandez, used with permission

One of the most prominent themes of the conversation with Des was the transformative power of music in people’s lives. Des talked about how important music has been to him both on a personal level throughout his life, and more recently on a professional level in his chosen career path. And it’s not just any music; Des unabashedly embraces the power of big stadium rock music to inspire and motivate people.

So Is Des right? Can big stadium rock change our lives for the better? Well for starters, Des describes how big rock star dreams have inspired him personally and professionally. For example, Des described how even when he was a new artist playing small venues, he approached the shows “thinking that I'm Bruce Springsteen playing to 80,000 people.” And that big stadium mentality seems to have paid off; none other than The Rolling Stones tapped Des to open for them at one of their shows on their stadium tour in 2019.

But it’s not just Des—the science suggests that listening to or playing music can improve people’s lives both emotionally and physically. For example, one meta-analytic review of 28 studies with 1,810 participants found that music therapy—whether listening or playing—significantly reduced depression as compared to control groups. Another meta-analytic review of 104 studies with 9,617 participants found that music interventions reduced the effects of stress physiologically, including a particularly large effect on reducing heart rate.

To be sure, the power of music seems to be that it can be appreciated across many genres and in different ways. You can connect with music by listening to it, playing it, dancing to it, even talking or writing about it. So, what value does big stadium music have to offer? One possible line of research that may help elucidate the answer to that question is research on “awe.” Awe has been defined as a feeling of reverence and respect, mixed with a feeling of wonder. Some people even experience a degree of fear. This concept is often used to describe the feeling of seeing something overwhelming in nature such as a view from the top of a mountain. Or a religious experience in which one feels connected to a higher force or power. Research is investigating whether awe suggests that it might improve one’s sense of well-being.

As stadiums are often described as “awe-inspiring,” we can begin to wonder whether the sense of awe that comes from large shows mimics the feeling that people have with experiences of nature and spirituality? Many people can recall the feelings of awe they had when seeing their favorite artist on the big stage. In fact, Des commented on the enduring power of music, and particularly rock stars who continue to play music in later life, saying, “It's like a childlike awe and wonder and enthusiasm for music in general that I think guides people into arenas in their 70s and 80s.”

Research on awe is relatively new, but I am looking forward to people scientifically investigating the awesome power of stadium rock.