We were lucky to catch up with Derek Flores recently and have shared our conversation below.

Derek, appreciate you joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I feel like my work has been misunderstood, but it doesn’t exactly bother me. A lot of people like to think I write about sex, drugs, and being a jerk. There is a kernel of truth in that, but it’s because I’ve never related to “She left me” songs. Every time I hear one of those my brain goes “Okay, but what did you do to make her leave?” My songs are self reflective and I admit my faults in them, for better or worse. What it really boils down to is some artists like writing about the party. I like writing about the hangover.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Derek Flores. I play in a band called Ethun Hawk and I write songs for you to ruin your life to. This is not music to save your life or to get you out of a hard time. It’s fun and upbeat, but these are songs for 3 day benders.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Quit kissing their asses! People have this weird hero worship when it comes to artists. Fans, other creatives, and promoters give artists free passes to be rude and make demands solely because they’re artists. That doesn’t help them. It hinders their growth by not allowing them to experience what should be their journey. I’ve seen acts who have no draw, social media presence, or even recorded music ask for $300 for a 30 minute show. That doesn’t help them at all.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I just want to finish out EP “I’m Sorry My List of Apologies Is So Long.” I’m funding everything out of pocket, so it’s not easy, but I know theses songs are great and I can’t wait for people to hear them. And if they’re not great, just tell me they’re not… I like them.