Billy Joe Marrero and Nick Young of Epoch Failure are the voices of the Fox Sports Network. Their new song “Champion” is your game day theme song. I met up with Billy (who was my partner from the Creative Arts School concert choir) and Nick Young. The two pioneers knew they had a special voice and wanted to make their dream come true. With persistence, sweat and tears, their dreams began to come to fruition.
Jocelyn: Epoch Failure’s “Champion” Is Your New Game Day Theme Song How did all this occur? I followed you from the start. I watched Billy graduate and begin playing on his Mac Book. I told him “Dude, keep up the creativity! I can see this being the right direction for you.
Nick: “We applied through Reverb Nation – John A. Sepetys found us out of 5,000 submissions for a chance with Reverb Nation. They are searching for tracks to license. He heard 5 seconds of “Where I Should Be” and he knew it was a hit. We received 18 emails about his blog post. Then I contacted Bill and we had no idea who he was so I did some research. Then I found out they were legit and they flew us to Detroit. They told us their goals and we agreed. We did not miss or deviate from the plan.”
Jocelyn: You guys are a mixture of North Jersey and South Jersey – Hip-hop and pop. Tell us what inspired your sound?
Nick & Billy: “We both came from very low beginnings and very hard working parents. Like the “Champion” theme, you must go after what you want and once you get it, find something to move it forward.
When we got together, our peers disapproved of us, the hip-hop community in Trenton and Camden thought we did not sound good. It’s not hard enough. We are doing what has never been done before. We are men (meaning we have a little bit of a suburban flair). We do not care. We will do what we want and how we feel. Reject conventions, keep away from norms. Spread your wings and create. Accept yourself as you are.
Jocelyn: What inspires champions? It’s deep. I feel the passion and motivation in the lyrics and sound.
Nick & Billy: John A. Sepetys from our North Stars team, David Brisbois and guys give us different ideas for various placements etc. This one is sports placement. We were inspired by our performance at Mill Hill Basement in Trenton. Our energy and tireless efforts to create it inspired Epoch Failure to write Champion. I (Billy) created the beats and the sounds and came up with the idea, “It doesn’t matter what you have to fight for what you got” and the lyrics just kept flowing from Nick Young’s sick hip-hop skills.
Jocelyn: All beats are made by Billy Joe and he holds 100% creative rights, kudos to you! Very rare to see that. Usually you see quite a lot of collaborations with producers etc. It was astonishing to see Nick’s lyrical genius play out. I used to sing with you (Billy) classically. I remember working on arias with you. Crazy that was 10 years ago! What do you need to go from opera/classic to pop?
Billy: As a classical singer I’m a baritone. I did not have the money to take vocal lessons after CAHS (Now Morgan Village Academy of Creative Arts). I taught myself to sing pop. Thank you, Justin Timberlake! I transitioned to using the “Future Sex Love Song” album. Her range has really helped me grow mine.
Jocelyn: I saw your Fox Sports Detroit placement and thought it was great. What’s next?
Nick and Billy: “Where I’m Sposed To Be” and “A New Day” were two songs placed on Bad Girls Club. In the film “Barely Lethal”, our song “Where I’m Sposed To Be” was placed.
Jocelyn: How did it feel to transition from a local platform to a national platform?
Nick: It is this transition that we have been waiting for. When Bill and that I started working together, we literally celebrated that we had just finished recording “Where Should I Be” and were standing in the kitchen. I turned to Billy and said, “I like what we got. It sounds different than anything we have done, and we’re going to ride this until the wheels come off. And we hug one another and rejoice.
Billy: Scary and thrilling all our lives, we want to be people who succeed and be examples of dreams come true, and in some ways they’re. While we felt the weight of the idea that Peter Parker/Spider-Man with great powers comes with great responsibility, we wanted to represent that beacon of hope well and inventively. But we also felt like if anyone was working for the shot on the big stage it would be us, when the doors closed we kicked them out, when people instantly said “You suck” we laughed and had a drink. So the transition from the world!!!!! Laugh out loud
Upcoming Epoch Failure Show:
8th Toshi Parlor – Flat Iron NYC 7pm-11pm
16th Championship Bar and Grill Trenton 18:00
