About Foam Ropes

When acclaimed singer-songwriter Derek Nicoletto found himself at an impasse in his personal life, he decided to walk away from music to pursue a lifelong dream of studying acting. What he didn’t know is that his various character explorations as an actor in an exclusive theater program would prepare him for his most profound role: Exploring the stylistic diversity and emotional scope of his authentic artistic self. Now, he ushers in a new era of expressiveness with his project Foam Ropes and its self-titled debut, out April 29th on 7 Trick Pony records.

“During my studies, I had been opened, stretched and peeled,” Derek confides. “Truths had emerged from my life that I previously really didn’t desire to explore. I knew that with this openness - and the relief that I got from channeling myself through the characters on stage - I could attack a band, a new musical project - a record, in an entirely new way. I chose the name Foam Ropes versus making this a solo album because I wanted it to stand alone. This work is coming from a new and vulnerable spot.”

Derek’s music has reached millions of people through charting on hundreds of FM and college stations and being performed live on Sirius radio as a solo artist and as part of rising star rock band, Telling Trixie. His highly promising rock band Telling Trixie disbanded when its guitarist was tapped for a lifetime gig joining Blondie and other members were asked to join the mega successful musical Rock Of Ages. Derek’s songwriting has also garnered prime exposure through the world of synch licensing, being featured in the campaigns and in the shows of such established commercial entities as MTV (several shows), VH1, NBC, CBS, NBC Dateline, FuseTV, E!, A&E, Sports NY, Spike TV, LOGO, Lifetime, OWN. Comm: KMart, Levi's, Radio Shack, Hyundai, State Farm, PGA Tour, among others. In addition, Derek has received critical accolades from Billboard, Time Out New York, Indie Round Up, Infuze, and MTV News. Currently, he’s a label owner and a voting member of the Grammy Awards.

The journey to Foam Ropes began twenty years ago when Derek set aside his interest in acting to embark on what became a successful career in music. However, in 2014, seeking change in the wake of personal upheaval, he enrolled in the Matthew Corozine Studio to study an intensive Meisner-based acting philosophy. “As the year progressed, I became close to my community there, who began to know me better than my family and friends on the ‘outside,’” Derek explains. One day a classmate who became a close friend witnessed a particularly stirring performance from Derek and charged him with writing new music built for his voice and the soul he had just revealed. The seed had been planted, and within days Derek was putting into motion the making of a new music project.

Foam Ropes’ nine-song debut is the work of a prodigious musical talent liberated and smashing boundaries through exploring every facet of his creativity and his soul. Stylistically, the album is panoramic, encompassing burly modern-rock (“Potion Me Well” and “On Celery Road”), moony soul balladry (“Bad Apples”), and elegantly sparse singer-songwriter territory (“Telescope (Reprise)” and “Birches”). Lyrically, the album spans the boldly vulnerable, like grappling with accepting love on “Truth In Fables,” and cloaked confessionality, like in the darkly intriguing “Potion Me Well.” “That comes from the vantage point of a serial killer on the chair, happily waiting for his lethal injection while he seduces the witnesses in the box,” Derek divulges. “He fully expects that God is waiting for him in Heaven with a cocktail and ready to make out, before sending him back to do more work.” One of the most revelatory tracks is “Telescope,” a composition Derek performs powerfully as an anthemic modern rock tune and also revisits in an intimate vocal and keys reprise performance.

Derek’s artistic goal for the album was for it to be real in every sense, from richly expressive emotionality to lavish organic instrumentation. His vision came true through the help of longtime producer Jamie Siegel (who has worked on albums by such artists as Taking Back Sunday, Smashing Pumpkins, and Whitney Houston). “In editing, he kept my most emotional deliveries in favor of those that might have sounded better. You can hear me lose my voice while I’m getting choked up crying on the first line of ‘Telescope,’” Derek says candidly.

Up next, Derek plans to bring this music to stage through performing it with different musicians and in a myriad of stylistic contexts. Taking the many changes in, Derek says: “There have been so many new beginnings for me that have allowed me to be bravely explore parts of me that I never knew were there. I’m so excited to share these emotions and this music with other people. I hope this record will inspire others - and my fellow artists – to learn from my journey and be courageous enough to live their truths.”

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