Daily Inspiration: Meet Andy DeLuca

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy DeLuca.

Hi Andy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started out in Buffalo, NY. At 13 years old, I had my mind completely made up on what I wanted to do with my life. Every day after school, I would toss my bag of homework in the corner and wouldn’t touch it again until the next morning — and instead, I would invest all my time into playing drums, starting bands, learning how to write and record songs on my computer. I tried going to college 3-4 times but couldn’t finish a single semester because I felt I was wasting my time and money. I wanted to tour, and I knew college wouldn’t get me there. So I worked at a pizzeria while I figured it out. I had no money, no college, no connections, I smelled like a deep fryer every day and I was horribly depressed while everyone around me was advancing in life. But I still deeply and truly believed I would do very big things. I had a very long way to travel if I wanted to get there though. But I figured I could either start moving towards my dreams or die. Those were my two options. I refused to settle.

The first step was getting out of the food industry. My very good friend Brett Mikoll (who now runs the successful Oxford Pennant) essentially grabbed my hand as I was drowning in the darkness and pulled me into the light. There was one day where I was dreading going into the pizzeria. Of course, my friends said “you should just quit!”, but I had very little options. Brett believed in my creative abilities and offered me a creative job where he worked at the time, at a high-end fashion boutique. So I called the pizzeria in that very moment, and quit on the spot, and never looked back. I lied through my teeth to get that job on the creative team. I was surrounded by people who went to college for design and here I was secretly watching YouTube videos on how to use Photoshop. I didn’t really have a set role however, so I needed to make myself useful fast. I had access to some great camera gear at this job, so I would just start snapping photos around the shop and make little videos for the store’s Facebook. This landed me an official role as the photo/video guy, and this is where I would learn how to use cameras. I would secretly “leave” the camera in my car when I went home. And I was “accidentally” use those cameras the start taking photos of bands and making music videos. And I would start to make a name for myself as a photographer and director in the Buffalo music scene and start to make friends with everyone doing cool things.

I started taking photos for all the really big shows and the bigger named bands that would come through. In 2014 I would start to travel and tour with my friends in the Buffalo band ‘Made Violent’ as their photographer. I was in the room with them when they signed to a major label, and I was on the plane with them when we went overseas to the UK for the first time. Through them, I met a UK-based band called Wolf Alice and would develop a relationship with them as well as their record label, Dirty Hit. It was through Dirty Hit where I would work with bands like The 1975, Pale Waves, Wolf Alice, and more. I would spend 2014-2017 touring the US with several artists from all over.

In 2018, I received a message about working with an Australian pop band called 5 Seconds of Summer. They were stepping into a new chapter in their band’s career and needed someone to come on tour with them to take photos and videos, and they seemed to like my work. My first show with them was in Sweden, and from there we traveled the UK and Europe, US, Asia, and Australia. As our creative relationship grew together, we traveled the globe 1-2 more times together and I also began to direct and create some of their music videos, design tour posters and merch, album artwork, etc. — earning myself the role as their creative director.

As 2020 approached, we had plans to create our biggest music video together, as well as tour the globe once again. However, Covid struck the world and everything was put on pause. We wouldn’t create much else together again until the end of 2021 for the band’s ten years anniversary.

During those quiet months of 2020, I would begin to write an album with my partner, Sarah Eiseman, where we are currently finishing up as we speak, with plans to release in 2022.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not. Success is not a linear journey. There is definitely a starting point, but not necessarily a finishing point. As long as you’re alive and able to create, I don’t believe there’s a moment when you say, “ok, that’s as much as I want to do.” I think I’ll be creating and learning and picking up new projects until the day I die.

Getting started was definitely the hardest part. I’ve always imagined the journey as space travel.

Here I am, on earth, looking up into the sky. There is one specific star I want to go to — but it’s so far it looks like just a speck of dust. But I know I must go there. So one day, I just decided to start building my ship. And I had help from friends and encouragement from family while building it. And even though I didn’t feel my ship was ready for travel just yet, I still took off and would plan to figure it out along the way. I have a long journey ahead, I couldn’t sit home forever – I just had to get going.

Of course, this is space travel. It seems impossible. It seems scary and unknown. It seems too far. I would often feel like I was traveling for years and haven’t made any progress. The star hadn’t seemed any closer.

But it was in moments of stillness I would start to see it. I would stop moving to pause and reflect and get my bearings. And because my ship wasn’t going full force, I was able to get a clear view of the star and realize it was actually getting bigger. Not by much, but it was enough proof that I was getting closer and that I should keep going. So I kept going.

I eventually reached the star but felt like my journey hadn’t ended but had only begun. The star turned out to be this big beautiful galaxy, filled with planets and so many other avenues and thousands of other ships entering and traveling within. And this is where I am, inside the galaxy, exploring the depths of it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artist who is heavily focused around music. Particularly guitar-based music. I’m known for taking photos of bands and artists, making art with them, and creating videos. I play every instrument and write my own music, so I’m able to have the mindset of a musician when making art with others.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
In 2010, I permanently lost vision in my left eye — which I took as a sign from the universe to become a photographer.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.andydeluca.me
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/andydeluca
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/shmandeluca

Image Credits:
Photo of me: Sarah Eiseman All other photos taken by Andy DeLuca