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5 Questions: Don DiLego

After a four-year hiatus following the release of his first two albums—The Lonestar Hitchhiker, Vol. 1 and The Lonestar Companion, Vol. 2—Americana roamer Don DiLego finally returned in late 2006 with a new album, Photographs of 1971.

Forgoing the nomadic conceits of earlier recordings, this time DiLego's inspiration came out of a box of photographs and nostalgic yearning for the style, simplicity, and honesty of the late '60s/early '70s era.

We put the five questions to DiLego, and got some expansive answers about unexpected musical influences, the high bar he sets for himself, and aphorisms we'd never heard before...

1. Name a musician who has influenced your sound, but that people may not expect.

Well, this is always an interesting question to me. Obviously it's near impossible to name everything that may have influenced your sound. I would say that, oddly, I am really inspired by films from the late '60s and '70s. I tend to think very cinematically when I write. Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have been the real torchbearers in the years of late. Being There was absolutely one of those albums that changed everything for me. But the real answer that would be a surprise is Simon LeBon. My father wouldn't allow us to have a stereo in the house to listen to the current music. When MTV first rolled out, I immediately grabbed onto early Duran Duran. They were the first act to really embrace music and film together. They were making little movies. I'm not sure where Simon's voice ranks in the pantheon of great rock 'n roll singers, but I will say this: He is an original, and I can still hear hints of his unique style creeping out in my voice at times, and I know that's from my obsessive and formative teenage music discovery years.

2. Who or what inspires you to make music?

Other artists are my most direct inspiration. It can sound silly coming from an artist such as myself that is not widely known at all, but I am absolutely competing with the Wilcos and Radioheads and Becks of the world. I certainly don't have the time or money that they may have, but that can't be an excuse. I never ever want to release an album where I will later say "It would've been much better if..."

I love where music is now for the independent artist. In a lot of ways, the playing field has been leveled to some extent. And since I'm not making music for MTV or a radio pop crowd, that extends the years I can keep putting these albums out and feel that they are relevant. Certainly, I obsess too much over my music. But I have to admit that each time I make a record, I'm trying for a "classic," and nothing less.

3. Was there a driving concept behind your new album?

My whole life has been spent in a car. I'm not so sure how proud of that I am anymore, but it's true. It seems I am always driving "someplace else." My first two albums are completely about driving, and I even spent six months driving across the country writing a lot of the songs. Driving. Driving. My girlfriend at the time made fun of me because she said all my songs said the same thing, "Where am I?" and "Where am I going?" I argued with her until I realized she was right. Each song was a variation on that theme. But they say the truth comes out in your music. So there you go.

I was in a little writing rut after those albums, mostly because I knew that I couldn't write more driving songs. The other problem was that I really, and this is just a personal thing for me, I really don't just like throwing together a collection of songs and calling it an album. Even if they are all great songs. Most all of my favorite albums are some form of a concept album, and I miss that today. It just seems to give the music more weight when you feel there was a reason or purpose for those particular songs to be there. They have a unified message to convey. My record company at the time got mad a me for leaving off a couple of what they thought to be the "catchier" songs off my record. But they just didn't fit. On my first album, the template was Ziggy Stardust. Again, it would be laughable to compare myself to Bowie. But I'm dead serious when I say that I was aiming to make a great record like that, and it pushed me the entire time.

So with the latest record, I was having a hard time finding my "concept." I had a few good songs lying around, but they didn't tie together thematically. One night I was fishing through some old boxes of photographs my mom had packed at my house. I came across all these old photos from the '70s with the white borders all yellowing and the date stamped on the side. There is NO replacement for a great photograph. It conveys such weight and says so much and still keeps your mind filling in the blanks. I wrote a song that night called "Photographs of 1971" and realized I had my concept. It became sort of a family photo album to music. But it's not all that sunny. There is a lot of pain in those songs, and I'm so glad they came out. Plus, no driving! But I still get a lot of comments about it being a cool driving record. As they say, "You can take the driver out of the car, but you can't take the car out of the driver." (Actually, I just made that up.)

4. What's the most exciting part of the actual music-making process for you?

Hands down it's the first 15 minutes of inspiration. The moment a song idea is brought to earth. Hands down. After that it becomes work. Sometimes really hard work. I have no less than about 300 songs sitting on my computer right now that are half-written and incomplete. I hate that. It's the monkey on my back. It's like you've just finished having great sex and then immediately try to get aroused again. I mean, it takes some patience. And the way my mind works, if I'm distracted for a second, I'm off writing another song. Did I mention my "Folder of Inventions?"

5. If you could pick a dream band to open for, past or present, who would it be?

Oh boy. We did open for Duran Duran, so that was pretty cool. Wilco might be the easy answer, because they seem to embody everything I aspire for in an artistic career. But I think I'm going to go with Willie Nelson here. Because no one is cooler than Willie.

Don DiLego's Photographs of 1971 is available in the ARTISTdirect store.