Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric DeLong.
Eric, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born out of this world in Huntington, WV, and raised in Rusell/Flatwoods, KY (home of Billy Ray Cyrus!). I am fortunate to have been brought up by a single mother in Eastern, KY who was extremely inclusive and encouraged me to entertain others’ perspectives, while also being surrounded by a family with a rich tradition of bluegrass, old-time music, and storytelling.
My fondest memories are gathering in my great grandparent’s farmhouse for family reunions. During the evenings of that weekend, one time a year, the family and friends of the family would gather in the living room with their instruments to sing songs, tell stories, laugh, shed some tears, and linger in conversations that would spill out onto the back porch, late into the evening. It was there that I knew I wanted to play music.
After many years of badgering my mom for a guitar, my Uncle Brian helped my mom pick out a guitar for me and it was off to the races! Once I could string together some chords I immediately started writing my own songs at 13. Through high school and early college, I played in alternative, punk, and post-hardcore bands before starting an acoustic side project called The Apprentice in 2001. That band toured until 2011, playing shows sporadically until 2016.
In 2015, I started putting music out under my own name, just for the fun of it. I had amassed enough equipment and knowledge to produce my own music and I thought “Why not?”. I could record and mix my own music and didn’t have to worry about recouping costs to pay back a label and started to explore the music I love. I wasn’t worried about being “on brand” or sticking to a particular genre.
Since then I’ve undergone some pretty radical changes in my life and I’m gearing up to release an EP called “Reorder” that tells that story, sometime in late August/early September.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been anything but a smooth road! I should mention that in 2007, I planted a church and worked there as the worship pastor for 11 years.
I’ve always had a heart for helping people and I feel lucky to have been in an environment where I was encouraged to continue to pursue my art, but around 2011 I slowly started to put my own music on the shelf. I was tired of living in the music world of diminishing returns and I was about to get married.
In 2018, I moved to Nashville with my former partner to raise our son close to her family. Shortly after the move, and on my birthday of all days, I deconverted from Christianity and within two years was divorced in 2020. In 2 years, I moved to a new city, lost my worldview, and lost my career, and my marriage so my music was the least of my concerns.
The road has been difficult both professionally and personally, but I tell people all the time that it was the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I would say first and foremost, I am a creative who applies creative energy to whatever I do. My two main areas of focus right now are songwriting and life coaching.
In the realm of songwriting, I’m known for being willing to ask questions, taking risks, and being open to exploring different modes of expression via differing genres.
It’s cliché, but I’m most proud of this last batch of songs that I’m about to release. It’s the first collection of songs where I feel like I am unapologetically myself. There is pain and hope. There is disintegration as well as integration. During the time of writing those songs, there was so much healing amidst a divorce and a global crisis and I felt like I met my truest essence for the first time.
I don’t know if there’s anything that sets me apart from others? I believe that we each bring our own experience to the collective consciousness of being that is creating our world. I’m happy to be a small part of the mysterious swirl of the universe that is happening.
There are many artists like myself that have formerly been a part of the evangelical tradition, dealt with the grief, and moved into a new or non-spiritual space. What I bring to my art via songwriting and life coaching is an empathetic and curious posture as I’ve swung from one end of the spectrum to the other and am finding my own balance.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as a life well-lived.
A life well-lived is a life full of meaning, rich with experience, and sizzling with aliveness. I would also say that success is having enough money to move throughout the world with a healthy measure of freedom.
At the end of my life, success is about knowing I loved people well, I showed up as my authentic self, was a faithful father to my son, and brought forth beauty into the world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ericdelongmusic
