Forget her not

It’s been quite a year for Delaney Gibson. Relationships began, ended and began again. Awards were given, praise rained down, and disappointment often ruled as the singer-songwriter, whom VCReporter singled out as an “artist to watch” in this year’s local music issue, rode out the highs and lows of a life thoroughly lived. But great art usually takes root in pain and sorrow. And it’s a rich mix of such, along with the occasional shower of hope and joy, that allowed her newest record, Hurricanes and Forget Me Nots, to fully reflect the breadth of her talent. While her debut record, Worst Kind of Way, didn’t fail to impress, there was something noncommittal about it — fickle, unfocused, insecure and coy, like a female on the verge of womanhood. With Hurricanes, the girl has matured, and confidence is as powerful in verse as it is in demeanor. If this record, which she wrote in one month, doesn’t bring Gibson to the forefront of the singer-songwriter circuit, the genre should be re-examined — songs like these with a voice like hers are rare, even in a saturated market. Poignant, playful, clever, feminine, heartbreaking and ultimately optimistic, Gibson shows us the strength of vulnerability, the grace in surrender and the beauty that can be culled from life’s most crushing, suffocating moments when we remain receptive despite it all.

VCReporter: The title says “drama.” Life has been challenging since your last record?
Delaney Gibson: I’m trying to be optimistic but I went through a long relationship and a short breakup. I went through a bad breakup, but the album is about someone else. Meeting someone new propelled me. It was kind of a whirlwind process. I was living on friends’ couches, trying to figure out what I was doing. It was while we were working on the album. It all happened at the same time. Definitely a crazy year.

VCR: Hurricanes is definitely more mature and focused than your first record. Have you found your voice or has your voice just grown up?
I think with the ending of my relationship and this record, it’s the first time in my life I did something the way I wanted. I always assumed everyone else knew better than me, from parents to friends.  This was the first time I went “F” it: I don’t know if it’s finding my voice or finding the strength to do what I wanted.

VCR: Unrequited love is a recurring theme throughout. Is it easier to write from a place of heartache?
I think for me, I get most inspired when I can’t have something, and I focus on it and obsess, and I think it comes more naturally rather than when I’m happier or even just sad. I tend to write about unrequited love a lot. I might seek so I can write about it. [Laughs]

VCR: On “Better Version of Me,” you make reference to hanging up your heels for cowboy boots. This record has some hints of country; is that where your roots are?
I just always like a hint of it. Dolly Parton was one of my biggest idols, so I always have a bit of country and my dad is from Muskogee, Okla. I have a lot of Okie family. I never want to go too far in any direction, I want to keep it as singer-songwriter as possible, but I’ll always have a little twang. I’d rather say ain’t. [Laughs] I live in Ventucky.

VCR: At one point, you considered moving to Nashville to sing other people’s songs. Is it difficult to continually come up with new material?
What’s hard is to convince people that they like it. It’s easy to be a singer. I do consider myself to have a good voice. And sometimes people get really focused on that, but this is the first time I’ve been able to say, “Yeah, wait, I write songs, too.” It’s hard to write your own songs. The Nashville community wants you to either sing or write. It’s the old-school mentality.

VCR: It’s not good enough anymore to just have talent, and you work harder than many. Do you find it discouraging that an artist has to do so much peripheral work to be noticed?
I was telling somebody that I haven’t written a song in a month because I do all my Web design, flyers, booking — everything. Sometimes it gets so overwhelming. Plus, having a full-time job to support it. I have nothing, no management. I think this record might be good enough to get some attention. It gets really tiring, but I want it so bad.

VCR: What is that you want?
I want to be able to do it for a living. To be on the road, to get with a bigger act and tour. Get as many CDs out as I can. Fame: take it or leave it, I just want to do it. It’s so hard to keep your head above water, it’s so expensive to keep it going.

VCR: You’ve drawn from quite a pool of local talent. Are you ever surprised by the level of musicianship in this town?
I’m surprised every day. I grew up here and there’s always really extremely talented people. I moved to L.A. expecting it to be a million times more, and there’s so much more here. When talented people support you, you relax. I feel very lucky.

VCR: What’s next for Delaney Gibson?
After the party, I’m going to start shopping it to as many agencies, licensing companies and management companies as I can. I want to start touring. I don’t want this album to fall to the wayside. Music is the first thing on my mind all the time.

VCR: And your love life?
I have something (that) is happening but not with who I thought. The whole way the record came about, there are so many little kismet, fate experiences, and one of them was me leaving one person for another person. I’m more proud of this than anything I’ve ever done. I can actually listen to this and go, “Wow!”     

Delaney Gibson’s record release party is Saturday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. at My Florist Cafe & Bar, 76 Oak St., Ventura. 653-0003, www.delaneygibson.com

michel@vcreporter.com