INTERVIEW: Rooftop Park shares story behind latest single "Dannemora"
Photo by Andy Araya
“If there’s one thing that we all could have in common with the peril that these two prisoners did, is that desire, that fire to escape a situation despite what the unknown may be on the other side.”
On June 5, 2015, two inmates at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, ventured beyond the prison’s walls, making their great, meticulous escape. Many Upstate New Yorkers sat glued to their TVs, as coverage of the 22-day search cemented a moment in small town history.
Albany-based singer-songwriter Andy Araya, also known as Rooftop Park, found himself in a similar boat, even while he was downstate on Long Island in between his freshman and sophomore years at UAlbany.
“I remember working at my summer job and hearing on the television in the background all the updates as it was happening,” Araya said.
Recently, he revisited the tale, picking up a book about the escape that offered a perspective from an officer involved in the fiasco. As he learned new details about the case, he found himself becoming enamored by it all over again. So, what’s a singer-songwriter to do? Pick up the pen.
Araya’s song “Dannemora,” released just last month, is inspired by the prison escape. The single explores the one commonality between the escapees and a regular civilian on the outside.
“If there’s one thing that we all could have in common with the peril that these two prisoners caused, it’s that desire, that fire to escape a situation despite what the unknown may be on the other side,” he said.
While he emphasizes that by no means is he trying to glorify prisoners, the song carries a hopeful undertone as Rooftop Park takes us into the weeds of modern folklore. The stripped down, intimate instrumental Araya greets listeners with is pivotal to the storytelling in “Dannemora.” Straying slightly from his usual sound was both intentional and unintentional, he admitted.
Araya has been attending local open mics, where other artists have performed their own musical renditions of hyperlocal tales, or even songs that cast a spotlight on certain regions. He found himself inspired to craft something of the like.
“The theme of writing these folky songs that resonate with our local area, I wanted to have a song that claimed that stake, and I thought that “Dannemora” was perfect for it,” he added.
On the other hand, the twangy track transpired naturally, too, as Araya told me he recently bought a Telecaster and hasn’t been able to put it down. Without giving away too much, the ending of “Dannemora” does feature an impressive shred with this classic Fender guitar, closing out the song on a high note, but also one that keeps listeners wondering what the end result of the Dannemora escape was.
“I kind of want the listener to be like, ‘Wait a minute. That was it? I want to know more,’ and immerse themselves in either the story itself, or maybe just more Rooftop Park,” Araya explained.
Not only do the lyrics and sound plant the listener right in the middle of the story, the cover art does too. While I’ll never condone judging a book by its cover, I couldn’t not ask him about the scaling mountaintop view, feathered with splashes of autumn colors captured on the single’s cover. An avid hiker, it was a no-brainer for Araya to head to the peaks to garner the best visual representation of the story at hand. The photo was taken in the fire tower of Goodnow Mountain in the Adirondacks.
Venturing up Goodnow added another feather to the 29-year-old’s hiking cap, as was writing a song inspired by a local, real-life event that challenged his capabilities as an artist.
“I’m proud that I have a badge like that on my belt now.”
Listen to “Dannemora” by Rooftop Park on all major streaming platforms.
