We recently caught up with Avery Steele, the San Francisco-born, New York-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who's been making waves since his re-emergence in October 2024. Formerly known as Jason DeLima, a name familiar to fans of The Foxfires and Nothing Personal, Avery has burst back onto the scene with a fresh sound and a captivating new single, ‘The Girl From Apt. 419.’
His debut album, ‘Rooftops’, dropped in March this year, solidifying his punk-rock credentials while he also dedicates his talents to commissioned songwriting and remote session work across various genres. In our talk, we dig into Avery's musical journey, from his early inspirations and influences, particularly the raw energy of Queen and the songwriting prowess of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, to the creative process behind his latest release.
It’s great to speak with you today, Avery, and congratulations on the new single! When did you first start making music? Where did it all begin, and what inspired you?
“Summer of 2006, I was 12 years old watching the concert film of Queen playing in Montreal in 1981. Seeing their showmanship, how they controlled the crowd, and just their energy inspired me to want to start creating. As a drummer first and foremost of everything else I play, Roger Taylor is one of my biggest inspirations. As a songwriter, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day is my largest influence, as I’ve lived by his ‘f**k everyone’ type of attitude.”
Your new single is out now; can you tell us a bit more about it?
“The Girl From Apt. 419’ was so insanely fun to write! I’m the farthest thing from a hopeless romantic, but to play the part of one just made it so exciting and heavily influenced how this song came out. I discovered Sammy Kay through another music blog that I’ve also been featured on many times. She is an insane talent, wonderful singer and even more amazing songwriter all around. It meant the world to me that she gave me her blessing to rewrite her biggest song! I always loved how Cole Swindell rewrote Jo Dee Messina’s ‘Heads Carolina’ and I dreamt of the opportunity to do something similar. Being able to work with Sammy in this aspect has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my music career thus far.”
Where there any artists, moments, or experiences that influenced you when writing the release?
“Green Day always influences everything I do as Avery Steele, and country songwriter Cole Swindell of course for giving me the inspiration to do this in the first place. One experience, however, is that like the story being portrayed in both songs; I actually live in an upstairs apartment where I record and do all my music work, and coincidentally, my downstairs neighbour is a woman! I channelled a lot of this real-life energy as I wrote and recorded this song.”
What was your songwriting process for the track was a lot of fun, but how did it all come together?
“Well musically, the song is a carbon copy of Sammy’s original; I lowered the key a whole step and put more of an influence on the distorted power chords to make it more punk sounding. Lyrically, I flipped the script entirely, to where I’m in love with the girl who lives below me. I personalised some lines to make it more of me like: “Oh my god he’s so cute” I changed to “yo bro, she’s so hot”, something I would typically say when telling my friends about someone I like. “I like James Taylor too” I changed to “I like Sammy Kay too”, direct shout out to the original songwriter! “Hear me right now” I changed to “play it for me now”, a common phrase I’ll say in my original songs. I still see this release as more of Sammy’s song than mine, but the little details and personalization makes it that much sweeter to me.”
Taking on an existing track and making it your own takes some talent. How would you describe the sound and how you change it from the original? Has there been a change or evolution in style since you first began?
“I can’t really compare this song to my past songs because I didn’t originally write it, but it was fun to mashup my style with Sammy’s! Her vocal melodies are a little different from how I write songs, especially in the bridge; so, it was definitely interesting but fun and satisfying to sing it in my style. And honestly I just really love the pure rock sound of the choruses.”
Was there a central message or theme you were trying to convey in your latest release?
“Honestly, not really. I just heard her song and thought it’d be fun to tell the boy’s side of the story, and thought it would be humorous, yet cute to see that he’s also in love with the girl and is just hoping for a random, spontaneous meeting. This was all in good fun more than anything!”
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations as an artist? Where do you see yourself in the next few years, both musically and personally?
“My career has blown up exponentially within the last couple months, it’s insane and overwhelming. I’ve written my second album as Avery Steele entitled ‘The Villain’ which I’m slating to put out in early 2026. Upon that, I have a project with my house-music alter ego 45.T33L3, working in tandem with Vanta Blak Records in St Petersburg, FL where I’m combining house music with different genres. The next release, ‘Never Coming Back’ with singer Easton Driver combines house with country music and its so dope. Comes out August 1st!”
“I have also been in the works of re-mastering and re-releasing my old music as Jason DeLima; to those who remember me back then, the entire Song-a-Week project will be on all streaming platforms before the end of the year. I have a couple other projects I can’t talk about just yet due to contractual obligations, but I see myself continuing to grow and thrive as I have been since the release of ‘Rooftops’ back in March.”
What's next after this release? Do you have any new releases or shows on the horizon?
“The world will see me become ‘The Villain’. That’s all I’ll say to that.”
What sort of reception have you had to your latest release? Have there been any memorable moments that stand out?
“I reached so many streams in such a short amount of time, this song by itself has gained more attention than my entire Rooftops album combined! I am so honoured and grateful for everyone’s support on ‘The Girl From Apt. 419’.”
Is there anything you would like to say to our audience? How can they connect with you and help support you?
“Follow your dreams. Love yourself. Pursue your passions. Don’t put anyone else ahead of you. Continue to listen to my music and please follow me on social media, I have so much more to show and share with all of you.”
Avery's passion for music is palpable, and his journey, from his early days drumming to his current success as a multifaceted artist, is truly inspiring. With new projects constantly on the horizon, including his upcoming album ‘The Villain’ and his intriguing house-music alter ego 45.T33L3, it's clear that Avery Steele is an artist who’s not afraid to push boundaries and evolve.
You can stream the new single above and be sure to join Avery Steele today on Instagram and YouTube.
