DiLisio is Mark Jeffries, a singer/songwriter creating explosive indie rock from his city corner in Pittsburgh, PA. The rawness and grit of his music, accentuated by the vulnerability, honesty and introspection of his lyrics, alchemize into a truly unique sound. Now DiLisio returns in 2021 with the new single ‘Has Anyone Seen Yori Dean?’, an alternative track that packs a punch with an eclectic mix of musical styles from rock, hip-hop, blues and indie, delivering a perfectly packaged genre-bending sound. Thematically the track was inspired by an encounter that DiLisio had in his day job as a public school teacher.
DiLisio on the story behind the track:
“This track was inspired by a true story. I’ve been a public school teacher for almost 12 years now, and on my second day of my first year teaching high school physics, a student tested my boundaries and asked, “What would you do if I just walked out of class right now? Didn’t come back. What would you do?” After I mumbled a school policy and consequence, he responded, “Hmm…okay. I’m gonna do it. I’m leaving now.” And he did. Walked right out of class, leaving his books on his desk. And I literally never saw the kid again. He dropped out of school the next day! That kid’s name was Yori Dean, and even to this day, I’m still not over it. So I wrote a diss track.”
When recording the new track DiLisio and drummer Garrett Grube began by tracking the bass line with the drums first, then adding in chorus-laden electric guitars, and lastly that bold synth line throughout the song. After going back and forth on how to begin the track, DiLisio felt it was important to kick it off with the song’s hook. “Every great hip-hop song has a great empowering starting hook, so we tried our damndest to replicate that here,” DiLisio adds.
Inspired initially in life by rock music, from bands like The Black Keys and The White Stripes, DiLisio now finds himself even more stimulated by pop acts like Dua Lipa and avant-garde artists like Bon Iver. Aside from musical inspirations, DiLisio is also influenced by those closest to him. His wife, having recently overcome an extremely difficult year of health problems due to a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, sparking back from near death, serves as DiLisio’s biggest inspiration in life.
DiLisio’s first album consisted of an 8-song LP ‘She Will Like the Science’, recorded in 2017 and released two years later, which kicked off an ongoing collaboration with drummer Garrett Grube and producer/engineer Matt Very. His second LP, ‘Nine To Three’, dropped in late 2020 and further galvanized his ability to create engaging indie rock. None more so than his song ‘Flower Bed’, a track that has helped launch him to critical acclaim among the Pittsburgh music scene and beyond, including a feature as 91.3 WYEP’s Local Artist of the Week in August ’20. Excited to be welcoming back live shows, DiLisio has announced a performance at Millvale Music Festival (in Pittsburgh, PA) on Saturday, August 7th.
‘Has Anyone Seen Yori Dean?’ is slated for release on July 9th 2021.
