Secret American, the studio duo project of new California native Derek Krzywicki and Todd Mecaughey, delves into what it means to live bi-coastal and explores two types of deeply-rooted sounds. Inspired by the fresh landscapes of his new home and the down-and-dirty feel of his favorite Philadelphia haunts, Secret American is filled with shimmery guitars and vocals that pack the toughest of punches. Since his departure from the group Cheers Elephant, Krzywicki has recruited his longtime friend Mecaughey, producer and engineer at Philly’s Cambridge Sound Studios to help turn the now seven-piece into the twangy eclectic outfit that it is today.

Where do you stand on the Sandwich Theory? Can all foods be classified as a soup, salad, sandwich, or individual ingredient?

Derek: “The problem with thinking you can classify anything as a soup, salad, or sandwich is unfortunately the hot dog.”

Emily: “You’d think.” [if only he knew how wrong he already was]

Derek: “Also tacos.”

Emily: “Both are sandwiches. Arjun in Trap Rabbit argued passionately on behalf of the ‘tubular sandwich’ that is a hot dog. I wish I was kidding.”

Derek: “My mom was eating a taco once and she said, ‘this is a really messy sandwich.’ And the next thing I know it was just facepalmed, because there’s no way.”

Bre: “No, I’d count it. Pizza is a sandwich, a pop-tart is a sandwich - “

Derek: “And this interview is over.” [Bre lives for dividing a room over this question]

Bre: “Pizza falls under the ‘open-face’ category.”

Derek: “Then how do you explain a hot dog?”

Emily: “Tubular.” [Thank you Arjun. I’ll never ever forget this]

Rory: “A hot dog is totally a sandwich, it’s a piece of meat between two slices of bread if you just think about it.”

Bre: “Salads also don’t always equate to lettuce. There’s macaroni salad. Mac and cheese is definitely a salad, but Dominy argued that it’s a ‘dry soup’ which is just - “

Emily: “Disgusting.”

Alex: “Lasagna - pasta sandwich?”

Bre: “I was thinking saaaalad…?”

Emily: “It’s ingredients mixed together, but it’s also layered…”

Derek: “Those are fighting words.” [we know these are fighting words, why else do you think we keep including it?]

Todd: “We should ask Webster and have these definitions open for us so we can actually just settle on what a sandwich is.”

Derek: “As a band though we usually use ‘Ask Jeeves.’” [to which he received blank stares]

Emily: “Should we uh… ask what that is?”

Derek: “That makes us look old. Man.” [well…]

Todd: “It was the first search engine. It might have predated Google. Should we Ask Jeeves?”

Emily: “God no.”

Rory: “Regardless of that, I think we can all at least agree that a sandwich makes the best meal.”

Bre: “But I really like soup.” [we love being purposefully problematic. how long can we draw out this godforsaken question?]

Rory: “What about soup in one of those edible bread bowls?”

Emily: “Sandwich. Sandwich!”

What would your last meal be on death row?

Alex: “Kielbasa. Definitely.”

Rory: “I’d have a liquid salad.” [the Sandwich Theory is vetoed from here on out]

Emily: “I’m not going to include that.” [yeah, right]

Bre: “Turquoise from Dominy said she’d ask for pasta and when they grate the cheese for her she’d just never say ‘when.’”

Emily: “So she’d sit on death row forever.”

Todd: “I’d go with pizza. Like - oh man or a Philly Taco.” [do you know what that is? here. i’m sorry."]

Emily: “Fair. But, disgusting.”

Alex: “Jim’s cheesesteak, wrapped in a Lorenzo’s slice.” [i’d like to emphasize that the mere thought made me lactose intolerant]

Katie: “I’d definitely do Pho.”

Todd: “Wait I’m changing my answer since she said Pho. Soup dumplings.”

Derek: “Maybe something that’s gonna make me sick so I have to go to the hospital? Like some really bad seafood or something.”

Bre: “If you’re on death row they’re not going to take you to the hospital, they’re just gonna - “

Emily: “Like, that’s it. You’re done.”

Bre: “What are they gonna do? ‘Uh oh, he’s got a fever, we have to hold off.’”

Derek: “Okay fine, if that’s not an option, then some kind of seafood smorgasbord, with lobster and crab and shrimp and stuff.”

Emily: “I asked this question to another band last week and the one guy said he’d ask for a body. Like a human body, so they can see what that’s like.”

Alex: “Too much Walking Dead.”

Emily: “I won’t disclose that band.” [for real, I won’t. but you’ll see them in this series soon wink wink wink]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Derek: “I grew up in a haunted house, but I don’t believe in ghosts. I think there’s always a logical explanation.”

Bre: “Well what did you experience?”

Derek: “There were these voices. We have such a classic story - our house is at the top of the tallest hill, and it’s the oldest one in our county, so therefor it sits on an ancient Indian burial ground. Blah blah. I lived there until I was 13, and it was in the middle of the woods. Any house in the middle of the woods is going to be creepy and noisy, and it was always extra dark. And it wasn’t until we moved that my mom mentioned some things, like hearing my sister watch TV downstairs and I’d be upstairs, but there was actually no TV on at all. My mom actually went to a psychic who told her we had these ghosts and they’d speak to her sometimes. We both had these weird identical experiences. But I think it’s a leap to say that we all die and then we come back and haunt things. That doesn’t really appeal to me.”

Rory: “I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but I do believe in something. There’s an energy that exists between everyone.”

Alex: “I don’t believe that you die, and then in the afterlife you come back. I agree in that sense of energy - [Derek interjected the phrase ‘quantum entanglement’ for what it’s worth] - I believe in a certain degree of faith in that sense.”

Do you believe in ghosting?

Todd: “Like - tricking people…?”

Emily: “Oh no no no no no no no no no no no no no.” [he is so nice, we can’t forget that. also he’s married, so he gets a pass for not knowing]

Derek: “Like not showing up to something or not talking to someone anymore.”

Bre: “Exactly. We got there.”

Derek: “Let me think if I’ve ghosted someone. It’s possible… I can’t think of a specific example.”

Rory: “I only ghost my friends.”

Todd: “That’s true.”

Bre: “But you don’t believe in ghosts?!”

Emily: “That’s a red flag, he ghosts his friends.”

What’s something really cringey that you’ve done to impress someone you like? Or share something that someone has done to impress you that was horribly awkward.

Katie: “In high school I made my first demo, and this guy - super nice, but just really, really nerdy - had a big crush on me. He was getting really into DJing and one of our other friends was already kind of good at it, so he was like, ‘let’s have a battle.’ A DJ mixing battle. Yeah. And he remixed all of my songs and it was just so, so bad.”

Emily: “Oh god. That’s tragic. I don’t even know how you respond to that.”

Katie: “I LIKE IT. THANK YOU. Is essentially what I said.” [her teeth were gritted the whole time]

Rory: “I joined Secret American.”

Emily: “No. That’s been the default answer, I joined a band.”

Todd: “Yeah, but now we like Rory. So it worked.”

Rory: “It worked!” [his answer was a little less sure this time]

Alex: “I met a bunch of people without wearing any pants once.”

Rory: “Yeah the first time he met a bunch of our friends his pants were around his ankles.”[i appreciated that there was like, absolutely no context]

Alex: “It was a dare. I’m susceptible to dares.” [if it’s possible to be both proud and defensive, he was]

Where do you stand on the existence of birds?

Alex: “They’re dinosaurs. They have temporal fenestraes, so they’re the most closely related things to dinosaurs.”

Rory: “I think we should be wary of them.” [he and Logan of Trap Rabbit would get along]

Bre: “Why do you think so?”

Rory: “They can fly. They’re flying dinosaurs.”

Emily: “They’re the government.”

Derek: “Chicken is delicious though. But chickens don’t fly.”

Rory: “They flutter though.”

Emily: “There’s a whole movie about chickens that can’t fly. Don’t disrespect that.”

Disclose your red flags - both for yourself and for others.

Derek: “My own red flag? I’m a musician.”

Emily: “UGH.” [I groaned so loud i was tempted to insert the audio clip] “EVERY time. We get that answer ever single time.”

Alex: “A red flag for someone else is chewing… that really bothers me. Chewing with your mouth open.”

Derek: “Being rude to a server. That one’s terrible.”

Katie: “Bad taste in music is a big red flag I look out for. I went on a date with a guy who listened to Nickelback and since then I’ve learned.”

Derek: “To piggyback on the whole server issue… people who don’t tip properly. I think that’s a direct reflection of your sex life. It’s a telltale sign - you have to give as much as you receive.”

John: “Too much phone time. I dated a girl who would want to be on the phone with me while she was brushing her teeth. Like there was no space.”

Derek: “Is this a red flag - I dated this girl whose mom already knew everything about me by like the third date. I feel like your mom shouldn’t know that you even exist until you’re having sex.”

Bre: “That could be really cute, though. She might be really excited about you. Depending on the person and the situation, I think it can be fine.”

Emily: “I don’t think that’s a red flag, as long as they’re not being unrealistic.”

Bre: “Yeah, if she’s dropping the marriage bomb, like ‘I think he’s the one’ after three dates. That’s definitely weird.”

Derek: “Yeah I’m going to wait it out and deliberate.”

What drink do you order to impress your date? What’s actually your favorite?

Rory: “Pina colada. Guilty pleasure. But if everyone’s around…bourbon neat.”

Derek: “I just shoot from the hip. I get what I want. But I think Rory’s answer is pretty spot-on.”

Alex: “I’m so boring, I literally will drink whatever IPA is on draft.”

Derek: “I think we should all drink pina coladas on stage. That has to be a thing.”

Todd: “What about a Miami Vice - pina colada mixed with a strawberry daiquiri. Fucking delicious. You can quote me, that’s my guilty pleasure.” [of course that was going to be quoted]

Bre: “What do you order to look cool then?”

Todd: [and nearly everyone else in unison] “A Miami Vice.”

Emily: “I’m partial to a really good whiskey ginger. Everyone who knows me knows that. It counts as both answers for me.”

Bre: “It’s mine too. Boys are always impressed when you order it, but I just don’t like beer.” [this is why Bre and I get along]

Emily: “They’re like, ‘oh, you like whiskey.’ And i’m like, ‘what about it.’”

Bre: “I’ll also do hard cider.” [I won’t but that’s besides the point]

Rory: “You could order a hard cider with a shot of whiskey in it. It’s a guilty pleasure and you look powerful.”

Emily: “And a little insane.” [don’t do shots on dates, don’t do shots on dates]

So.

Do we trust Secret American to order us a drink? Only if it’s a Miami Vice and not if it’s a hard cider with a shot. Are they the right group of people to bring to a psychic? Probably not. However - they certainly know how to eat, and I’d trust them to choose a first date restaurant based on what they’d eat on death row in a heartbeat. As long as it’s not somewhere with a Philly Taco.

The Date Where Secret American Rebrands & Drinks Piña Coladas Onstage