Name: Johnny Delaware
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Recent release: Johnny Delaware's Para Llevar is out via Normaltown / New West.

If you enjoyed this Johnny Delaware interview and would like to stay up to date with his releases, tour dates, and music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram.

For a deeper dive, read our SUSTO interview for the thoughts of his bandmate Justin Osborn.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

My first thought was that it makes me feel good.

Writing songs used to always be my way of communicating feelings and navigating through emotions, but now it’s been more enjoyable writing about characters, people I know or life experiences. I’m at a stage where I'm a bit bored writing about myself - which I’m excited about. It’s really special when you can write about other people and still make it feel like it’s personal.

But yeah, I don’t know where the involuntary dedication comes from. It’s just something I feel like I have to do. When the inspiration hits, I have to drop everything and at least try to get the idea across so I don’t lose it. You have to receive when these things are being given to you.. Or else the guy from Coldplay takes it!

Songs that come from dreams are hard to remember! But I'm excited to finally get one recorded. The song ‘Stubborn Faith’ on this album came from a dream – the chords, the way the words are sung.

I woke up in a dark basement in a cabin at 6am, busted my shin on the bed frame and went straight to my cell phone with my guitar and got it down. Recorded it 1.5 years later!

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I’m not very organized, so luckily crafting songs has never revolved around a ritual or anything methodical. Ideas usually knock at the door randomly, with chords or words that work to a melody. My ego will fill in the lyrical lines around the ones that showed up early on, and I'll fill out several drafts from there.

I’ve been working hard at being patient, and not settling on a chorus or verse idea. There are millions of options out there to pick from, so If I drive around with the demo, or run with it, and if it’s not making my body feel like electricity, or excites me, I know there’s more work to be done.

In the end, you’re on the same team with the creative forces, so there’s no wrong way to get to a great song. But I've learned through time to not settle and be patient.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Love a good cup of coffee! Haven’t ever made a song without one. Not ashamed of it. I’m a drug addict! Daddy needs his caffeine to write haha.

Reading books is a gateway for lyrical inspiration. There are certain lines from books that could write books themselves. That’s true for a song too.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Discovered. Years ago, I believed my material was mine, but throughout the years I don’t believe that anymore. It’s been shocking how many times I’ve heard the same chords and vocal melodies 6 months to a year later from other bands. Lyrics too. The difference is they released the songs quicker.

So I believe in a collective consciousness, or some sort of prosperous space where ideas gather in the ether. Knowing this though, it’s really important to get your stuff out sooner than later – because a lot of artists are up there sharing that same space and might be interested in the same things you want.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Tell you what, I’ve always respected the musicians who write lyrics first. The lyrics are less predictable. And you can feel it in the songs, the way they force a cadence and rhythm to feel more original – or don’t settle for a cute rhyme scheme. I need to try this more.

It doesn’t come very naturally, but that’s not always a bad thing. The people who write first and do it well, though,  bring a special poetry to their style.

But yeah, the lyrics usually always come after the music for me. I love my lyrics and wouldn’t change them. But it would be nice to experiment.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

The best lyricists tell the truth with a vulnerability most people wouldn’t have the guts for. But there’s a balance. Because obviously you can’t give too much information either, or else it’s a Sun Kil Moon song, and he’s one of the few who can actually pull that style off.

But it’s not always about exposing yourself either. Good lyrics make you think. They feel like the colors of the song. They make you relate to your own life and what you’ve gone through. Songs that we can relate to are probably the most powerful because we’re all here doing this human thing, floating on a rock in the middle of nowhere. It’s nice to feel like you’re not alone.

Overall, my goal is to not derail the song. I have a bigger confidence with the music than I do the words. So when my intuition bell goes ding ding, that’s when I know I'm on the right path & making the words as powerful as the music. Which results in a badass song!!

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Great Question. You’re good at this! Yeah I can relate.  After spending a month mixing my record, I was on the beach at the hotel that my girlfriend runs. I just kinda sat around, very happy to be done and over it all, but also a little melancholic. I had just put everything I had into making Para Llevar and I didn’t really have much to give anymore. And as artists, we tend to panic a little when we aren’t inspired or have the usual fuel.

But as I felt this, I read something at that exact moment that gave me clarity to accept it. The message basically said how important it is to give yourself space. You feel that way for a reason. You can’t run an ultra-marathon, and run another one the next day.

Providing yourself the space is what gives you the breath to create the next wave, which will form a new concept record or batch of songs that make you excited again. The breath is just as important because that's when you can retain information and learn more to inspire your songs, and make new writing material.

For God’s sake, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole about ancient giants in the desert southwest and it made me write a song about reptilians in the Superstition Mountains. Couldn’t have made that masterpiece without space! Haha