Hey y'all, DLG. here 👋
(You can call me Dave though, we're homies like that).
I started playing guitar when I was 6. I played classical guitar, with nylon strings. I loved the warmth of the instrument, how I could feel each note resonate in the wood grain against my chest. I spent many years taking lessons and playing in classical guitar recitals, freezing my ass off in a church somewhere on the edge of town. I would wear a black turtleneck and sit up straight as an arrow.
As time passed, I decided that sometimes I wanted to hunch over when I played the guitar. I wanted to hum along to the notes, play random chords until something stuck, experiment more. I was always very adventurous with the rest of my art (mainly drawing, painting, and origami at the time), so writing my own songs felt like a natural step to take.
I began to try properly singing when I was about 12. Prior to then, my singing experience was mainly singing along to Cake and The Beatles on road trips. I was angsty and I needed an outlet, so I would sit crosslegged in my living room and belt out whatever lyrics crossed my mind. Garageband entered the picture a couple years later, and the songs I was writing in my living room (and with my rock band, Fat Boy and The Midnight Snackie) could be immortalized on my hard drive.
I kept writing songs throughout high school, as well as creating physical art. Drawing, painting, printmaking, origami, and sculpting have always been very important parts of my life, and my music is heavily influenced not just by other musicians, but by painters & illustrators as well. My favorites include Joan Miró, Dalí, Peter Sis, and Chris Van Allsburg.
Near the end of highschool, I discovered Ableton, and formed a band with my close friend and collaborator Josh Mosier. I eventually explored producing on my own, and began to tinker with an EP during my freshman year of college.
I spent a lot of time during college locked away in my room, in a manic daze, determined to finish songs. I was addicted to getting better. I released songs with no intention of having them heard or being a successful musician; I just needed to get them out there. It was my form of therapy.
For my artist name, I chose DLG., the initials of my last name and the nickname that everyone in college already called me.
One song after another, and I started to get some recognition. Suddenly, the hours locked away in my room didn't seem so crazy. I realized I should take music as seriously as I always wanted to, and the rest is history.
This song, Runnin' Back, is the first track I've finished since moving to LA from Austin a week ago. It was written, recorded, produced, and mixed by me in my living room. The artwork (as with most of my recent album artwork) was painted by my mom Joyce Rosner, an award-winning artist & designer.
Thanks for listening 🧡
