Exclusive Interview with Rock Artist Deletto

Deletto is an upcoming and coming rock artist out of Northern New Jersey. His sound is a unique blend of driving rock riffs, heavy thematic drums, and ethereal vocal samples on top of a cinematic song structure, with songwriting heavily inspired by his own personal struggles and experiences.

I got the chance to talk to him about how he first got into making and performing music, what inspired his new single “All We Are”, why he wanted to use the music video for this single to raise mental health awareness and more! Keep reading to see what he had to say!

Tell me a little bit about how you first got into making and performing music. 

I listened to a huge variation of music growing up, and I liked music, but as cliche as this sounds, someone introducing me to the band Nirvana changed the way I listen to music. I never knew how connected you could be to an artist’s voice, the power of the instrumentation, and display of raw emotion through music before. Like every other teenager that picks up a guitar, I wanted to be like Kurt Cobain. I felt I had things I wanted to say, and also really liked dressing like a homeless orphan, so it seemed like a fit. 

Was there a specific moment or person that made you realize that music is what you wanted to pursue professionally? 

When I was 12, I unwrapped a guitar from the big man in red. I thought, “Oh cool, a guitar”, but had no idea what to do with it or why I got it. My dad played guitar, and he saw how I listened to music a little differently, with more passion than most 12 year olds, so he took a chance. I also found out that same year that he was in fact Santa Claus the whole time. That’s right, I was 12 when I found out Santa wasn’t real. He eventually showed me my very first chord, the G chord. I remember where I was, how I was sitting, and what it felt like the first time I strummed those notes. It took one chord, and that was it, I knew what I wanted to do. After that, it was the discovery of various artists and the feeling of escape and freedom whenever I played. I wanted to do that forever. 

I’m always genuinely curious about what artists want to convey with their music. So if you had to describe the music you create without using genre names, how would you describe it? 

A rebellious emotional memoir, or sad boy diary, whichever sounds cooler. For me personally, it’s my therapeutic storybook with clips and phrases of some social commentary to help those who can relate. That is for now at least, there are multiple aspects I have yet to have the opportunity to explore. 

Going off of that, who are some of your musical influences? 

First and foremost, Nirvana. That changed everything for me. They gave me direction and structure as an artist. I am huge early 90s fan. Pearl Jam is second in line, and I currently listen to them more. Film scores are right after that. The emotion, beauty, and stories told through film composition sometimes helps fuel my writing. Do me a favor, blast the theme from Hook while you are driving, and tell me you don’t immediately want to sword fight pirates with my man Rufio by your side!   

Let’s talk about your new single “All We Are”. What inspired this song? 

Like most of the album, growing up in the environment I did had a huge impact on this song. That’s a story for another time, but I will say, the ones that can relate to the song as closely as I wrote it are my 4 siblings.   

What was the songwriting process like for this song specifically? 

This song almost didn’t get written. It wasn’t until my recording dates fell through and got pushed back a couple months that I had the ability to write one more song for the album. I was just downstairs noodling on the guitar when my girlfriend secretly recorded what I was doing. But thankfully she did cause I listened back to what she recorded and realized I might have something. I then took some of what she recorded, recorded it in my home studio, and started to structure the rest of the song. 

Something I’ve always been curious with songwriting is how topics come to mind. Did you know what you wanted to write about going into the song session that birthed “All We Are” or did it just come about organically once you were in the session? 

Most of the songs on the album appear organically. I will start playing the song and sing random words to catch a melody. Sometimes those words are hilariously awful, but a lot of the times I get very lucky and the words that fall out make sense. I will find a theme, and then start to rearrange the lyrics to match it. It took me a few days to finally lock in the chorus on this song because I wanted to capture what I really felt. 

Was there any major changes made to “All We Are” once you got into the recording studio, whether it be in the lyrics or something sonically? 

I came to the studio with mostly completely produced songs. With this one, the only major change, and a great decision, was when my producer engineer, Kevin Antreassian, pulled out an EBow and said, “Use this.” For those that don’t know what that is, it’s a little device that forces vibration on the guitar string and gives it a bowed sound. The song has an ambient atmospheric sound, and that helped lift it into this ethereal space a little more. 

You also shot a music video for the song, which you used to raise mental health awareness. Why was it important for you to shine light on this important issue with your video? 

I always knew I wanted to surround the music video on this specific topic because a visual medium is easier to grasp than the songs ambiguous lyrics. I almost wanted the song to be like the background music to a short film that told a story. I am so connected to film, maybe even more than music, that I understood how much more impactful the message could be in film format. It is one thing to hear about something, but it hits you that much harder when you see it for yourself. 

What was your experience shooting the video like? Was that your first time shooting a music video? 

I am very lucky to work with the people I do. It was because of my exceptional Director of Photography, Chris Monsanto, that it looks the way it does. It is usually always a great experience when you have someone of that talent behind the camera. I also had amazing actors, so my job as a director was the easiest this time around. Exceptional experience, A+, would recommend! There are currently two other music videos out now, “Say Anything” and “Where the Wild Sleep”. Give them a watch as well as the new one. 

You’re relatively new to the music game. What are some music industry-related goals or benchmarks that you’re aiming to reach in the next couple of years? 

Tour, then tour, and tour!!! Being on stage is like being at home. Making the music is great, but to express it live to a crowd of people is an exceptional feeling. And randomly, play a spot on a late night talk show set. That’s an oddly specific goal I rarely mention, but for some reason I’ve cultivated that as my benchmark for success. 

Lastly, we’re called Talk Nerdy With Us because we all have an inner nerd so what is something that you’re currently nerding out about? 

I can’t stop talking about ghosts! Well okay, maybe I have recently, but I was obsessing all last month. I want to believe in them so badly, I just don’t. I’m a horror nerd to the next level, I live and breathe horror movies, so its a little disappointing that I can’t prove their existence. I will leave you with this, and those that know me know exactly where this is going. If you were home alone, and there was a home invasion, who would you rather it be, a ghost or a person? Discuss…..oh and p.s. Baby Yoda is my new life blood. 

Make sure you follow Deletto on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.