Melbourne rockers The Delta Riggs are currently tramping around the cobbled streets, the snow capped mountains and the lush green fields of Continental Europe. Before they jumped on that dreaded 14 hour flight, they found a chance to answer a few quick questions for us about Supersonic Casualties, Hollywood Hills parties and not being a Rock and Roll band who definitely don’t play it pretty straight.
Brilliant illustration courtesy of the super talented Tim Andrews
HAPPY: Supersonic Casualties has been out for a good month now – has your opinion of it changed now that it’s out there in the big wide world?
DELTA: Not at all, we all love the track and it seems to be connecting reasonably well with a greater audience than the five of us. Tonally and production wise, it is some of our best work as a band so we are stoked that people are digging it.
HAPPY: You’re about to embark on an Aussie tour* – what’s your favourite part about touring (other than the groupies & free cocaine)?
DELTA: Ha, what shows do you go to that they give out free cocaine? I’ll PM you my number and call me up next time please. Really though, I personally enjoy seeing familiar faces each time we are in a new town. Playing live is always the best part of being in a band, every show is different from the other and it’s devoid of any of your real life problems for that 40 or so minutes.
HAPPY: Do you have a favourite tour moment from past shows?
DELTA: There are so many moments with this bunch of dudes, favourite tour would have to be our shows with Divine Fits last year. I am a huge Britt Daniels fan, so to have him watch us play side of stage and be genuinely thankful that we played with them was a massive win. We were in LA in october too and got invited to Jonathan Wilsons album launch at his house. It was ridiculous, proper Hollywood hills party. There are always shenanigans and random people that fleetingly come in and out of your life too, that’s always fun.
HAPPY: You’ve also just announced a UK/EU tour, which is pretty dang exciting – is this the first time you guys have done a tour on this scale?
DELTA: Of that magnitude yes, it’s about 25 or so shows over 6 weeks. So we are pretty psyched on that for sure. We hit The States in October last year ( New York & LA), that was more a wild, whirlwind of not much sleep, 10 shows in 12 days and amazing parties. I don’t actually know how we ended up at a couple of them to be honest. So this pending UK/ EU trip will be a lot more strategic for me anyway, I don’t want to burn out too early.
HAPPY: What are you looking forward to doing, seeing, eating, whatever in Euroland?
DELTA: I was actually saying the other day that I am really looking forward to the food over there. I was in Germany last year and had pork knuckle, it was colossal feat eating that thing. I tend to love European history too, Berlin is amazing for that. I’ve also never been to Amsterdam and quite frankly may never come back.
HAPPY: What kind of logistical challenges are you facing in doing an EU tour? Keeping those skinny jeans folded and ironed might be a challenge.
DELTA: Who irons jeans?
HAPPY: So you guys are a Rock and Roll band. Are there any challenges for a band who play it pretty straight like you guys do while everyone else seems to be carving their own niche or cramming themselves into a pre-existing subgenre?
DELTA: I wouldn’t say we play it pretty straight. I guess from our singles that you are no doubt referring to, it would seem that way. There is quite a lot of depth on all our releases though and we always challenge ourselves with tones, production and song writing. This new album really pushes us sonically too, there are a lot of different textures and styles that we draw influences from. Why don’t you listen to the record and get back to me.
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HAPPY: Who are you playing with on the Aus tour? Are you guys good mates?
DELTA: Our good pal Darren Cordeux is playing a couple of shows with us in Melbourne, his band is called White Caves. They have just put a new track out and it rules. Jenny Broke The Window are pretty cool too, haven’t played with them before but I’m sure we will get along just fine.
HAPPY: I know it might be a difficult question with a scene as diverse as Melbourne’s but are there any bands down there that you’ve heard or you’ve played shows with that you reckon might be the ‘next big thing’?
DELTA: I love the Pretty Littles. They are this awesome band from Fitzroy and just write really cool songs. Another bunch of kids Five Mile Town are doing some pretty cool stuff too. There is a lot of great music getting around at the moment
HAPPY: What makes you Happy?
DELTA: This interview. Ice Cream. The new War On Drugs album. Waking up to my house mates cat on my head. Streaming capabilities. Wanderlust. Sarcasm. You know, all of life’s beauties.
*For all parties interested, this Aussie tour is now well and truly over – you’ll have to wait for the Dipz Zebazios Album tour!
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The epic illustration is our third piece from Tim Andrews – illustrator, sculptor and all round legend is a Sydney based artist. His work has been published in Australian and international art and design periodicals, and has recently exhibited work in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney. For more info, visit timandrewart.com.
