Jon Delaney

Story

Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Keyboard player - ex-Indie acoustic band Cloudy and Funky Contemporary Folk Quartet Kismet Hardy, currently writing and performing with The Rogue State Circus and acoustic duo Wildflower Rogue. Songwriting obsessive. Known to like a bit of genre warping.

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

What is music to you? What does it give you?

My lifeblood. My saving grace. My truest companion, always there through all the good and the bad of life. It gives me a better way of relating to and understanding the worlds without and within. Joy, even in articulating sorrow

What is your music dream?

To reach as many people as possible with my original songs, to hear different people interpret them, and continue to have the opportunity to perform live and record them myself.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

Me. "You got one life - so quit stalling" (from my song "Everything Under The Sun".

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

My head is full of Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel classics and Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" . but to be honest the most memorable is "These Boots Are Made for Walking" Because my lovely mother used to sing it and dance around the kitchen with me, before I'd even learned to walk.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Beatles, XTC, Blur, Bacharach, Divine Comedy, Prefab Sprout, Kinks, Magazine, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Big Star, Neil Finn, Jellyfish, Blue Nile, David Sylvian, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, David Bowie, Deacon Blue,

What inspires you to make music?

Everything. My own feelings and thoughts about life, news and current affairs, books, films. Other people's life experiences. The highs and the lows.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

This is not a rehearsal. "Life is change". " Make the Best of It while you still can - you still can." "Don't make a desert of your heart" "Fall in love with everything" "We Are All Amazing"

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Alive. Pure. Afraid but enervated. Possessed by the best of my own soul.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

The last twenty years have seen the music world change in previously unimaginable ways. The benefits and drawbacks have been many and varied. The change in consumption and listening patterns means You can more easily reach the world, but so can everyone else. It is a real challenge for any musician to make a viable living out of music alone, and musicians whilst greatly enabled by the tech are having to take on more and more of the A&R and business side which by necessity reduces the time and energy available for more pure creative activity. Improvements in anything that helps to free up the creators to create more and better and provides support to getting the good stuff out there are always welcome.

What do you think of Drooble?

An excellent, friendly, engaging and supportive Community. An inspiring place to hear new music and exchange information and ideas. A useful networking tool. A site that helps musicians grow and develop both individually and together.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

Pretty much the same thing that frustrates me in any part of my life :- narrow-mindedness and ignorance. People who are dismissive of others, or just selfish and rude. Coming up close- is my own shortcomings as a musician - ie I can't always play what I hear in my head (yet ?)

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

Regular attendence at local gigs, telling promoters about other good bands I've seen they might want to consider booking. Arriving early staying late (to nd wherever possible) when playing as part of a multi-band bill. Participation in social media local groups.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Persistence. Clarity of purpose. Enthusiasm. Energy. Self-Belief. Honesty.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Hazeyjane, Corinne Lucy.