An Inspired Chat with Dominic DeLaney

Dominic DeLaney shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Dominic, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
Oof. That’s something I’ve questioned for quite some time. I know I’m a traveler at heart – rarely do I feel as present as I do when I’m traveling – and with music it’s great because there are these goals, and levels, almost, that keep it interesting. Stopping doesn’t work well for me – I’m not great at “adulting”. Being on tour suits me well, so for the foreseeable future I’ll most likely be on the road.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
For the past 7 years I’ve been writing and performing music under my own name, Dominic DeLaney. To date I’ve played 524 shows in 32 out of 50 States. In 2023, I began a series of tours utilizing the Amtrak train system, traveling through 15 states, and playing shows. My last Amtrak tour was with my good friend, and producer, Ricky Bolufe, where we started our train traveling folk duo, DDRB, and released our debut album on Rivermonster Records. My book about the Amtrak tours was also just finished, and will be released November 2025!

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Well, certainly my younger, wilder, partying side has become a thing of the past. I’m happy to say I haven’t drank alcohol in over three years. As I like to joke, “I went pro and retired early.”
Getting sober really allowed me to kick all of my creative mechanisms into high gear.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I don’t know, I was kind of a shit head for a while. Stubborn as a mule. I think I would tell my younger self to focus on making music more, get on the road as early as possible.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I think so. Most of the music I write is pretty autobiographical, and I don’t shy away from my faults. I also try and just be a good music scene member; and be supportive to other artists.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
If you’re not out of your depth, you’re not really trying are you? There’s that whole nonsense about being the “smartest person in the room”; if I was the best musician in the room all the time, I’d either get pompous, repetitive, or bored. So, I say jump in the deep end, learn to swim.

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Fluxcap Media

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