Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Delaney.
Andrew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
A lot of my art revolves around my family’s story. My dad was a con artist who spent some time in a cult. The stories can get pretty wild. I think that’s where my love of storytelling comes from. But on my mom’s side, we’re pretty buttoned-down, conservative Chinese-Americans, which is probably why I’m such a neurotic rule follower.
I was born in Houston and spent a good part of my youth in Spring, TX, at my grandma’s house. Even after my mom moved our family to Dallas, I spent summers with my grandma in Spring.
I started songwriting in 5th grade, as part of a “write something every week” kind of assignment. It was mostly a knock-off of the music I was hearing on country music radio back in the 90s. I kept at it, and I was in bands playing shows by age 14 — blues, country, metal, whatever. I had a prolonged goth phase.
Nowadays, I play my own brand of indie-folk music. Most recently, I have been producing records and dabbling in filmmaking and stand-up comedy. My main focus is still heavy on songwriting, and I teach classes on that subject at The University of Texas at Arlington.
Basically, everything I do comes back to my love of telling stories. I follow a common thread from my family’s emigration from China, through struggles I have with mental illness, to my teen fixation on The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It seems random, but it’s not.
Everyone’s story is like that: A bunch of pieces that maybe shouldn’t fit, but they do, and when you stand back from it, you see a whole person there.
Has it been a smooth road?
I am Bipolar Type II, and I think having those phases when I’m full of ideas and infinite energy is a huge contributing factor to my art. The long stretches where I’m not particularly functional have harmed me, professionally, though. But I’ve gotten really good at putting off breakdowns for when I have time for them. It takes practice just like anything else I do.
I don’t buy into the “starving artist” archetype, but there’s definitely a lot of hustling to be done, just like any other small business. I travel a lot as a performing songwriter; I toured the West Coast twice last year by plane, and still put 35,000+ miles on my Mazda 3.
You wear a lot of hats, you keep a lot of plates spinning at once. Accounting, updating websites, booking tours through places like NYC, LA, DC, and Nashville. In my wildest dreams, I have staff for all that stuff.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Andrew Delaney Music – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
When I’m on stage playing music, whether, at Anderson Fair or The Kerrville Folk Festival, I’m the happiest and most fulfilled that I ever am. I love the shared experience of a live performance. I love refining the delivery of a story and changing things up every night. I don’t ever want to do the same show twice.
When I produce records for artists, I use sounds to tell stories. I find textures that really give a song a sense of place. I work fast and kind of low to the ground and I don’t ever want things to come out sounding too refined. It’s rewarding for me to make art in a collaborative way and to find the things that really make a performer shine.
I teach songwriting through The University of Texas at Arlington, and I do mentor one-on-one via Skype. It’s never about “follow these steps and at the end, you will have a thing that looks like a song.” It’s more about making people think about music in a deeper way and helping them apply that new understanding to their own efforts. I show people how to listen and to think critically about music, and then to find their own path.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
If I had spent more of my 20s keeping track of my email list instead of trying to always prove I was the smartest person in the room, I would live in a bigger house.
Pricing:
- CDs – These are usually $15 (or let’s make a deal!) My online store is at https://andrewdelaney.bandcamp.com
- Private Concert – That varies. If we can get 20 or 30 or 40 people together in a living room for $20 ahead, I’m super happy. I’m more concerned about creating a good listening environment than I am with the final dollar amount.
- Hourly Rate – For private songwriting lessons or video conferenced mentoring sessions, I charge $50 per hour.
- Record Production – For projects, I’m interested in, we’ll make a budget and a timeline that makes sense, and go from there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andrewdelaneymusic.com
- Email: andrew@andrewdelaneymusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adandthehorse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDelaneyMusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/adandthehorse
- Yelp: https://youtu.be/_53yFQDZOgM
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF-jFqq0fNwb5qyclfVzTzg/videos
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
