Danceable by design: Glen Delpit on 30-years with the the Subterraneans
Plus an EP from Puppet and a dontcryformeimalreadydead Go in Grace split cassette.
It’s a bold statement to say that Glen Delpit and the Subterraneans have been gigging longer than any band in Fresno.
But trace the group back to its earliest roots as the Houserockers and some of these guys have been performing original music for four decades.
They’ve been backing Delpit as the Subterraneans since 1988 and have a resume that includes six albums on Dharma Brand label (the latest is out now) and opening spots with everyone from Bo Diddley and Los Lobos to The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Booker T. and the Blasters.
Next Sunday the band celebrates its 36th year with an anniversary show at Fulton 55. Show start at 6 p.m. with a $10 cover.
Delpit and I conversed via email in advance of the show.
How have you managed to hang on to the same players for all these years? Are these the exact same guys you started with? What has the longevity meant for gigging and the creative process?
“Not exactly all the original members, but the drummer (Joe Luppino) has been with us for 33 years; the guitar player (Dean Macdonald) and keyboard player (John Suhr) for 28 years.
Bass players do tend to come and go, but Chris Eacock has been with us for 13 years.
The key has been the fact that none of the guys has a big ego, which is the major cause of problems in most all bands.
They also happen to be generally very nice even keeled guys and that’s just pure luck.
It’s really lucky to keep members that long.
They have also just given in to the fact that we are going to play original songs and that they would be my songs. Of course, we arrange all the songs as a band, so everyone has a hand in the creative process.”
You released an album in November. Tell me about that.
“The new album is called ‘Have Mercy.’ It’s a collection of nine songs, some
brand new and a few we have played for a long time but never recorded.
The songs range from Chuck Berry-styled rock and roll (‘Tell My Horse’), to blues, Americana and even a reggae-flavored number.
Like a lot of the songs I write, there is a fair amount of social/political content. In the the title song ‘Have Mercy,’ for example, and ‘Now Is The Time’ and ‘Writing On The Wall.’ ”
Has the band changed, musically, over the last 30-plus years? How do you age (gracefully or otherwise) as a band/musician?
“The lyrical content of the songs has pretty much been the same since we started. Always a fair amount of social/political writing. If it’s blues oriented I tend to try and throw some humor into it.
One change over the years has been that the songs have become extremely danceable (by design).
That has really served us well, because our crowd really likes to dance.
One of the most remarkable and rewarding things about our performances is seeing the dancers on the dance floor mouthing the words to our songs. It’s truly gratifying
to know that they love our music so much. That’s something money can’t buy.
As far as aging, I’m not sure about that because when we are playing and the dance
floor is full I feel like I’m 25 years old.”
New musics: Puppet, dontcryformeimalreadydead + Go in Grace
Here’s this week’s short list of new music.
Puppet — “Last Breath”
On Friday, Puppet released the four-track “Last Breath” EP.
It’s the first time we get more than a single track from Fresno dark wave goth singer Giovann Mena and longtime friend/collaborator Randy Guerra.
“Randy and I really wanted to bring songs and mixes that sounded closer to what we sound like live,” Mena says.
“I think we did that.”
Mena recorded vocals with Ryan Yamaoka, who used to play in the band He Cried Wolf and Steven Darling of Hotel Apache, at his studio in Visalia.
The production across the four tracks is sonically solid (the ’80s synths, electronic drum beats and just a bit of extra noise) but it’s Mena’s baritone that does the heavy lifting here.
You can hear me debut the EP tonight on the Homegrown show on NewRock 104.1.
You can see Puppet live tomorrow night (Dec. 11) at Destructive Warehouse playing with Soft Vein and Ex- Heir.
dontcryformeimalreadydead — split with Go in Grace
This is a release for Mike Seay, as plug for his cassette-tape blog project.
It’s a Fresno emo/scream/noise split-release from dontcryformeimalreadydead and Go in Grace.
The six-songs are available on Bandcamp for the easy listen, but the cool kids (and collectors) will want to go for the cassette tape version, released in a limited-run (60 tapes across three variants) on the DIY label Jean Scene.
This is for fans of loud music and would generally be classified as screamo (I think). dontcryformeimalreadydead goes heavier and a bit more spastic in its three songs (read, more blast beats).
Go in Grace plays more in the emo-range with the guitar runs and vocals.
Both sets of songs were recorded by Jacob Lee, who aside from being a recording engineer is a driving force in the grindcore band Elder Devil.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM and follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com