Bio

for booking, contact drpmusicentertainment@gmail.com

Janzlife Entertainment began in 2013 (then known as Derpity Media) as a collaboration between Robert Janz (myself) and a number of 6th grade classmates. Three albums were released between November 2013 and May 2014 under the band name The Three Derpys (plus Let's Start a Party, released in 2015 using leftover tracks and a few new tracks recorded independently); all of the content was comedic and experimental while Janz learned the basics of music production through the iOS version of Garageband. Though, the first signs of future developments came through frequent collaborator CJ DeGroote, who would later appear on many projects.

Following a loss of interest from collaborators and myself in the 'Three Derpys' project, I began focusing more and more effort into making music independently, culminating at first with the 2017 album 'For No Reason', still released under the Three Derpys moniker; the majority of this album was created without outside input, save for sampled vocals from younger siblings and appearances from CJ DeGroote. The 'Three Derpys' project would finally be put to rest with the release of the 12 minute instrumental 'Nyet', which was one of my first steps into instrumental music.

The next phase of Janzlife came with a name change/simplification, going from Derpity Media to DRP Entertainment, in 2017, and with the release of Real Music: Volume 1 later that year. RM:V1 was my first release under my own name (excluding a live EP of comedic tracks with CJ DeGroote released 3 months earlier) and the first to feature a full set of tracks written solely by myself. While still produced in Garageband iOS and containing more simplistic compositions, RM:V1 features tracks still performed often today, such as Saggy and We Need a Gap.

2018 would bring the sole single from internet collective Quiet Times, Quiet Measures (produced and recorded primarily by myself with writing credits from 10 individuals), as well as the Public Domain Christmas EP in December. In April 2018, Janz and DeGroote would release their most successful track Burger King Foot Lettuce, written and recorded in 30 minutes and based on the internet meme popular at the time. The track would accumulate over 15,000 streams on Spotify alone and remains the most commercially successful DRP track to date. 

2019 was the most prolific year for Janzlife/DRP Music to that point, beginning with the release of my solo album Real Music, Volume 2. While Public Domain Christmas (2018) was my first major release to stray away from Garageband iOS, RM:V2 was my full transition to more powerful software. It shows on tracks like Dominance I and II, as well as the thoughtful jazz-ballad Emotion. Alive Music Sessions would follow months later, compiling live compositions recorded using live looping, a technique that would go on to be used heavily in my live performances. Both releases were the focus behind my first full-length live release Robert Janz and Friends: Live at Jackson Coffee Company (7.12.19); this album documented my first solo live show and featured tracks from all instrumental solo projects to that point as well as covers performed with CJ DeGroote and audience members.

August 30, 2019 marked the end of what I would call the "Impromptu Summer Tour", as well as the beginning of the short-lived Janzession collaboration. Spawned during and after a show occurring on 8.30.19, Janzession was a band formed between a group of friends that would result in a live EP (The Live E.P. [8.30.19]), 4 comedic tracks (The Album's Coming, We Swear), and an album containing demos, live originals, and rehearsals (The 2019 Collection) before disbanding in early 2020.

As COVID-19 left us unable to perform in public, I banded together in 2020 with my brother Will Janz to record our first project together; DRP Music Presents was a series of 4 instrumental covers released over the course of 2 weeks on YouTube (with a 5th track released in June). It features further explorations in musical styles on lesser known tracks like Tatsuro Yamashita's Only With You and Ben Folds Five's Boxing. 2020 was a relatively quiet year for Janzlife, only later resulting in the live EP Live in the Alley, documenting a last-minute performance at Nite Lite in Jackson, MI. The year ended with the start of a new tradition: the yearly Christmas special. A Christmas We'll Remember was hosted by CJ Degroote, Will Janz, and myself and featured performances by Matt Farley, The Existential Funk, Isaac Conrad, and the Jackson Community Concert Band.

2021 began quietly as well, as work began on editing Grass Lake Theatrical Society's production of Exposed! What Really Happened. A soundtrack of original music would appear under the title Stories You Think You'll Know: An Original Soundtrack, before the biggest release of 2021, Real Music, Volume 3, appeared in May. RM:V3 is a diverse collection of more complex instrumental compositions, signaling another increase in quality for my work. Negotiation and Lost Fantasies bookend the album, both originally written in 2019 for chamber ensemble. Promotion for RM:V3 ensued throughout the year, with live sets featuring performances of tracks like Grit and Gingham Picnic Shirt. The year ended with the 2nd annual Christmas special, titled New Traditions and again hosted by Janz, Degroote, and Janz; this time including performances by The Three Band Quartet, the Jackson College Jazzy Jets, the Michigan Center High School Jazz Band, and The Bouncing Winds.

2022 was a more exciting year, beginning with the release of Two Soups and Nobody Else (a live EP documenting a 2021 performance, the first of its kind for Janz/Janz). Following this release, the newly named Two Soups duo embarked on a series of shows, entitled "The Two Soups Tour". This series solidified our performance style as well as began expanding beyond Jackson, with performances in Pontiac, Pleasant Lake, and notably, Lansing for Stoopfest 2022.  Special guests appeared frequently, such as The Bouncing Winds, guitarist Gavyn Coleman, and an all-new ensemble, Two Soups and the Salad Bar. An album of live tracks recorded on this series of shows was released on July 31 ("Soup's On, Baby!"), named after a quote overheard at Stoopfest. 

The video side of DRP/Janzlife, which had been largely ignored for several years, was resurrected for a new production created in association with the Eastern Michigan University Marching Band. This unique show featured interactive video elements incorporated using the jumbotron during an EMU halftime performance, telling the fictional story of a heist on EMU's campus. The show was performed on October 29th during EMU's home game against Toledo to great reception. Additionally, with the premiere of "Whodunnit?", DRP Entertainment officially became known as Janzlife Entertainment.

In November 2022, Grass Lake Drama Society premiered their production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", which featured an original score composed by Robert and Will Janz. A month later, 2022 wrapped up with the third annual Janzlife Christmas Special, "Christmas Once More", which combined the in-studio elements of the previous two specials while also incorporating live performances taken from a December 2022 Two Soups showcase.

2023 began with 'Essence', the first original piece of music by Robert Janz to be released since 2021's 'Real Music, Vol. 3': a brand new album of originals, titled 'Notes to Self', followed in August. The year also held smaller projects, like Robert Janz's 'Songs From The Ceiling" and the Mackinac Sessions EP, and large-scale performances, like June's return of the annual Yard Concert event (with an 11-piece iteration of Two Soups and the Salad Bar).

Two new albums from Robert and Will Janz respectively were released in the latter half of the year: Will Janz's long-awaited debut "Silly Songs with Will" and Robert Janz's "Notes to Self" instrumental album. Following that, the Janz brothers returned to the pit for a new drama production with the Grass Lake Drama Society.

2024 proved to be a prolific year for Robert Janz, with releases nearly every month. 'McChicken' appeared in January, becoming a fan-favorite single, continuing with 'Reputation: Robbie's Version', a 15-track re-write of Taylor Swift's album of the same name that was written, recorded, and produced within 24 hours. An EP of live recordings from GLDS' Fall 2023 production of 'Acting Can Be Murder' was made ready for release in March, while a cover of Andrew Peterson's modern worship song 'Is He Worthy?' was released on Easter (4/30/24). McChicken received a dance remix in June, the release of which sent the original recording above 2000 streams on Spotify, my first song to do so since 2018's Burger King Foot Lettuce. Also in June, Two Soups and the Salad Bar was revived once again (the largest lineup yet!) for two Yard Concerts, beginning in Michigan Center and later appearing in Ida. An extensive live album, 'Two for Two: Yard Concert 2024' was released later that July!

The second half of the year held further live concerts, including performances at the Walk The Beat festivals of Whitehall and Grand Haven (which spawned a live EP that October). The year's biggest studio release came with 'Four Point Confessions', a concept album inspired by the college experience which tackles the topic of coming to terms with change. The year ended with a Yard Concert-scale performance at EMU by the Salad Bar and an acoustic appearance at the EMUMB Banquet, all of which was documented in the full-length concert film 'Two Soups and the Salad Bar: Live in 2024', which was released in the first days of 2025.