Just some of the reasons why I love The Delta 72:
(i) The liner notes of The Soul Of A New Machine were written by no
less than John Sinclair, manager of god-heads MC5. Nearly 30 years
after Kick Out The Jams as well!
(ii) The gorgeously funky Delta 72 live show has the boys and girls
of Dublin doing the twist and mashed potato like I've never seen
before.
(iii) These four heartbreakers have grabbed The Nation Of Ulysses'
13 point program and added a few more points of their own for good
measure.
(iv) Together with the likes of Make Up, the Blues Explosion, Girls
Against Boys (steady!) and Jonathan Fire*Eater (swoon!) The Delta 72
are injecting some goddamn energy and sexiness back into the tired,
dull edge of rock n roll, as well as a little soul and rhythm and
blues.
(v) And baby, I'm not just talking about music here, look at the
above photograph forchrissakes! They've even asked you to design a
suit for them on the sleeve of their latest record.
(vi) Released on Touch and Go especially for your delectation, the
down n dirty, utterly groove laden Soul Of A New Machine and debut,
The R&B Of Membership, are two of the hip swingin'est records of the
last couple of years.
(vii) Right after this interview, Gregg Foreman rips the cast off his
broken foot using a massive pair of pliers, whilst everyone else in
the dressing room looks on in horror, just so he can "rock out more"
later that night. ROCK AND FUCKIN' ROLL!
This is the first time in the UK for these kids, made up of Gregg (guitar, vocals, twinkling eyes, injuries), Sarah Stolfa (Farfisa organ, backing vocals, tattoos, with Gregg only remaining original member), Jason Kourkounis (drums, formerly of the mighty Mule - all hail! owner of the pliers) and the most recent member to join, Bruce Reckahn (bass, very dapper, on-stage rabble rouser).
Munching Pringles backstage at Dublin's Music Centre, Gregg is feeling extremely underwhelmed by last night's gig at U.C.D., in actual fact a Christmas party for students expecting to hear 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' and 'Fairy Tale Of New York' covers! They didn't get them. "If we played shows like that every night I'd be dead!"
You played a surprise show with the Dub Narcotic Sound System in
London this week, how did that go?
"That show was good! We only
played five songs, we probably could have played more, but it was
just about Dub Narcotic, so we asked Calvin if we could play and he
was into it, he was dancing and stuff." (Laughs at the thought of
Calvin Johnson dancing!)
The Delta 72 are just one of a slew of bands on Touch and Go
including PW Long's Reelfoot, Uzeda and Cash Money, who, as well as
sounding different from each other, are a million miles from T&G old
boys like Killdozer, Big Black, and The Jesus Lizard.
"Yeah, 'Man Rock'. They're changing a lot. New bands like Blonde
Redhead, Man Or Astro-Man? Brainiac and us, all those bands sound
really different than what has been on Touch and Go in the past. I
think the reason is the rate of good bands is going down and I think
the appreciation of music is going down too. I think at Touch and Go
they really like music and they wanna expand. But I think at first
they were just putting out records by their friends, which happened
to be a lot of those people that you mentioned. They've been in bands
and changed and been in other bands. So they always have a similar
feel, whether it's been Big Black going into Rapeman, going into
Shellac. That's one group right there. Then Scratch Acid going into
Jesus Lizard. I think that Girls Against Boys was the first band that
was a little different and then came all these other bands like
Brainiac and finally it got to us and Blonde Redhead and MOAM? You
can tell that they're into music by what they're doing."
Your own show is usually a rather frenetic affair with jumps, splits,
windmills and so on, but I see you're sporting a cast right now. What
happened?
"I just jumped off my speakers onto the stage. I didn't really look
at what I was doing and landed on my ankle. I don't think about what
I'm doing, it just happens. I don't like to plan what I do, I just
freak out. It's not like 'Look at me, I'm so crazy!' It just feels
natural. The music makes me feel that way. So no splits right now! I
just do whatever happens and I think it adds literally to the music,
but it's hard to get down with this thing on. I mean it should really
be off now. It just sorta hurts. I mean I'm afraid if I just take it
off I would really hurt myself cos my leg's not up to par, so I'll
wait till it heals completely."
You're a bit immobilised now then?
"I still jump around, but I'm not supposed to. I think it's taking a
little longer to heal because of what I've been doing. Like one night
I jumped off the speakers with this on and my leg hit the floor like
BAM! And my knee bent and it hit my chin so it was BOOM! I just kinda
go with what I feel and that's the problem with this whole thing, why
this happened, why it takes so long to heal. Like I said if you're
going for something you just play from the soul, that's the way it is
for real."
What are your plans for after this European tour?
"We go home and we take a month off. We'll have a few shows in
January and then we're gonna do an East Coast US tour with Twenty
Miles or maybe with Servotron, which is people from MOAM? Then I
think we're coming back here in February or March with Rocket From
The Crypt. And then in the summer we'll do the scattered European
festivals, but otherwise just stay at home cos it's too hot to tour
and then work on the record during the summer."
What influences The Delta 72?
"Would it have to be in music or vision? Yeah, I definitely think
that people like any of the Touch and Go bands like Blonde Redhead
and Man Or Astro-Man? I would say more like MOAM? and what Brainiac
was doing, because of what they were bringing back to the people.
There's an energy, a show. And, you know, Jon Spencer. But there's
not so many bands. A lot of bands are sticking to this sorta
underground indie stance where they just come out and play and they
don't take their audience into consideration and I think that is why
we started and what we're doing is trying to bring entertainment to
the people."
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