An honest songwriter with a real sincerity in his lyricism and vocals, David "Ziggy" D'Amato has a real way with his music to hook you under. Influenced by classic and retro rock with a subtle slice of melancholic pop, Ziggy has a real knack of taking you back to the 90s days where rock was at its arguably most formidable, then right back to 2022 with his modern and relatable pop sensibilities.
We sat down with Ziggy as he's just released his simply brilliant new single 'King Baby' which typifies his whole addictive craft; singalong chorus', psychedelic rock guitars and great songwriting. Here is what he had to say:
Hey Ziggy! How would you describe your music to our readers?
Hello! I'd describe my music as midwest pop rock. I always seem to operate under the shelter and structure of pop music. Some of my other songs are more R&B, electronic or funk tinted than rock.
Your music brings a real positive yet melancholic mood to it. Was this the aim when writing/producing your music?
I'm usually a subconscious/unconscious dude when I'm writing, and in general life really. However, my lyrical intentions are to celebrate the pain. To always acknowledge the healing and the pain, and the struggle of reconciling the paradoxes of this absurd life. I'm not sure I ever achieve this. I'm often just thinking about a woman.
Please tell us all about your new single 'King Baby', it's so good!
Thank you! I wrote and recorded a sketchy demo of 'King Baby' about five years ago. I re-recorded and rearranged it in the summer of 2021. Five years ago, I had just gotten out of a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. I was sixty pounds heavier than I am now, it was the lowest point of my mental and physical health. At the mental hospital there was this beautiful lady there for the same reason I was. She was so beautiful to me in so many ways and we got along great, but I looked and felt like utter shit. When I got home, I sat down with a guitar and 'King Baby' appeared over the course of an hour. So the lyrics are about how I felt so ugly and shitty in contrast to this pretty woman. For the music I was channeling the Cars, Elvis Costello and the Beach Boys. I wanted the guitar solo to sound like a baby throwing a tantrum. So I leaned heavily on my wah pedal and fluctuated between over-the-top bends, tasteful melodies and falling-apart-noise.
Stream 'King Baby' here:
What inspires you to create? Women and loneliness. I used to move around a lot when I was a child, so at a young age I felt like an outsider and spent a good amount of time alone. I started writing my own songs when I was seven or eight. I'd just write lyrics and dream of what the music would sound like in my head. Then I started playing guitar at the age of ten, and as I got older I taught myself any instrument I could get my hands on so I could bring these sounds I heard in my head to reality. Now I'm thirty and use the same method of songwriting basically, I get lonely and dream. We hear real psychedelica mixed with indie rock in your new single. Are these two genres you've been influenced by in your writing? I love psychedelic music from the 60's and 70's. I've been obsessed with and studied Jimi Hendrix my whole life, and still do to this day. In high school, I learned nearly every Beates song, on guitar, bass and piano. I love bands like Can, Frank Zappa, Syd Barrett, The Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane... I could go on and on. I listened to some indie rock in high school. There's really only a couple of indie rock bands I still listen to like the Weakerthans, the Mountain Goats and Sleater-Kinney's 'The Woods' album. Is 'King Baby' part of a new project/album? What's the plan for the rest of this year? It's not part of any larger project. 'King Baby' is just a stand alone single. I plan on putting a four or five song EP together by the end of the year. I have some songs done, including a cover of the Looking Glass song 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' that I'm pretty excited to share. This year, I also plan on collaborating once again with my lifelong good friend Zach Schwartz to work on some pop flavoured hip-hop, under his artist name ...Zach.