I spoke with Andrew Daly of Vinyl Writer recently. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

I think that when you are telling stories, you are always telling your story. In songwriting it’s more important to tell the truth than the facts. And your truth is informed by your story. So when I’m writing a story about a character (and most of my songs are character-driven), I spend a lot of time talking with that character, finding out who she is. And the parts of her that I empathize with – in fact, the whole reason I’m compelled to write about her – is because of who I am and what I’ve experienced. I just don’t think there’s any other way to write authentically. Our common humanity is what we have to offer, as writers – to hold up a mirror so that listeners can see themselves.

To read the interview in its entirety, visit Vinyl Writer.