Somewhere up North the South is rising. It's Friday just gone in Camden's Barfly and a decent sized crowd is happily bopping along to the infectious Lynryd Skynryd / Little Feat boogie pickings of London's The Delta Blues. The guys are on fine form tonight, enjoying their stage time together. Chief picker Dan Clark and singer Andy Gyves take turns deciding which song to play next; when Dan breaks a string he calls a member of the audience up to help him restring it whilst the rest of the guys pull off an impromptu acoustic number.
Centre stage, front man Andy has that cocksure Mancunian presence, yet without any of the arrogance often associated with a certain Gallagher brother; but all three in the front line take their turns holding the limelight. Andy's slightly quavering vocals add a touch of The Verve (yes, we know they're not from Manchester but we're London and anything north of Watford Gap is, well North really) to their sound, although a friend says they remind her a little of The Music. Either way we hope that when TDB make it big, and there's no reason to suggest that they shouldn't, such is their way with a catchy danceable tune, Callum Adamson will still be hopping into the crowd bashing away at his acoustic. Behind them Simon Julian lets the others do the jumping around and concentrates on just keeping the bass line whilst Japanese drummer J Hirano is really just very very good.
A couple of weeks ago Dan and Callum sat down to answer the Londonist Music questionnaire in return for letting us have a copy of their track East Of LA for you to listen to. The Barfly gig was being taped for a DVD to go with their forthcoming 3 track EP and we have a copy to give away, but you'll have to take the jump to find out how.
Who's In The Band? Callum Adamson – Guitar, Dan Clark – Guitar, Andy Gyves – Vocals, J Hirano – Drums, Simon Julian - Bass
What Do You Do In The Real World? Whisky
Describe Your Sound To Us: London Americana. UK Country-Blues Rock’n’Roll. Or a bag of spanners if we haven’t rehearsed.
How Did You All Get Together? Chance meeting of coincidence and hangovers. Mutual friends. And whisky.
Who Are Your Influences? Johnny Cash, women and whisky.
What's The State Of Play With The Band At The Moment? Chaotic
Where Can We Hear / See You Next? The Barfly, Camden – Friday 22nd July
What's The Big Game Plan For The Band? To be 4 nil up by half time. Then stick the subs on.
Who Would You Most Like To Support?
DAN: “The Charlatans.”
CALLUM: “Kings of Leon.”
What's Your Ultimate Label To Be On?
DAN: “Chess - Home of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and so on.”
CALLUM: “Atlantic – ‘cos of Led Zep.”
What's the best gig you've ever been to?
CALLUM: “BRMC at The Exit, Nashville.”
DAN: “Any of ours, obviously. Aside from that, probably The Charlatans at Brixton Academy a while back.”
Have You Ever Thrown A TV Out Of A Hotel Window?
DAN: “I was looking forward to when touring Europe but the tour was pretty low budget. Most nights the hotel room not only had no TV, it had no window either.”
Would You Like To?
DAN: “It’s a bit outdated. Pop stars dangle babies out of windows these days. It’s cheaper.”
Any Great Stories From The Road?
DAN: “Only stories from the gutter.”
CALLUM: “One time, when I was at band camp…”
Recommend One Album To Our Readers You Don't Think They Will Have Discovered.
CALLUM: “Johnny Dowd - The Butcher’s Son.”
DAN: “Dixie Chicken by Little Feat. It’s slidey, vibey and sleazy.”
SIMON: “Dusk by The the.”
Why Should Londonist Readers Go And See You?
DAN: Whether you want to fight, fuck, dance or cry, we’ve got a tune for you. Join the ever-growing TDB brethren and have a drink with us afterwards: it’s always a top night out.
What's Your Favourite:
Venue To Play In London?
CALLUM: “Barfly.”
DAN: “I’d say the Barfly too.”
Venue To Go To In London?
DAN: “Brixton Academy.”
CALLUM: “The Barfly again.”
Record Store?
DAN: “Beanos or 101 in Croydon.”
CALLUM: “That one in Soho.”
SIMON: “Sounds Of The Universe”
Shop (non-music)?
CALLUM: “Rare Guitars in Denmark St.”
DAN: “I only visit one other shop - I only buy music, essential foodstuffs and whisky. So it’s got to be the Co-Op.”
Market?
DAN: “Portobello.”
CALLUM: “Brick Lane.”
Place To People-watch?
CALLUM: “My flat window.”
DAN: “The pub overlooking Victoria Station concourse. Which is incidentally where me & Callum first met. It’s a long story.”
Place To Chill-out?
DAN: “Round the singer’s flat usually.”
CALLUM: “Girl’s house…”
Place To Get Lashed?
DAN: “In the gutter.”
CALLUM: “Anywhere with homeless people. They get right on it!”
DAN: “Oh, great idea. That’s a great cure for the alcoholism that’s lost you your job and home - get pissed on the street with us.”
Place For A Post-gig Kebab?
DAN: “Don’t bother. Kebabs tend to get in the way of the whisky.”
CALLUM: “What’s food?”
View In London?
CALLUM: “Usually from behind a blonde.”
Form Of Public Transport?
CALLUM: “Bus.”
DAN: “The open top boat along the Thames from Richmond to Westminster – on a warm day it’s a small floating pub with a variety of nice views, if you can put up with the occasional American tourist in golfing slacks and an arse the size of Belgium.”
What Advice Would You Give Ken Livingstone?
CALLUM: “I don’t give a fuck about this.”
DAN: “Don’t appear on any more Blur records.”
What London Place Or Thing Would You Declare A Landmark?
CALLUM: “Those beigel shops on Brick Lane.”
DAN: “Callum’s hair. Sailors navigate by it.”
The World Is Ending In 24 hours. How Would You Spend Your Last Day In London?
CALLUM: “Spannered with girls.”
DAN: “Knowing London, in a badly organised party based at a new exhibition venue called The End Of The World Dome which is way behind schedule and won’t be finished for at least 24 hours after the world’s ended.”
Have You Ever Been Sick On The Tube?
DAN: “Only at the state of my fellow man. Usually fat accountants with hairy fat hands and ill fitting suits.”
CALLUM: “I don’t ride the tube…ever.”
If You Could Lose One Part Of London, Which Bit Would It Be?
CALLUM: “Anywhere there’s a bank.”
DAN: “Croydon, and I’m 100% entitled to say that as I’m from round there.”
Greatest Thing Ever To Come Out Of London?
CALLUM: “The Clash.”
DAN: “Us. And the Thames, to be poetic for a fortunately brief second.”
What Advice Would You Give To Someone New To London Getting On A Night Bus For The First Time?
DAN: “We’re all knackered, so stop counting your change and get a fucking move on.”
CALLUM: “Get a cab.”
If You Could Write A Song About London What Would It Be Called And What Kind Of Song Would It Be?
DAN: “No point. Waterloo Sunset’s already been written, and it already says everything you need to say.”
CALLUM: “London Calling, mate.”
DAN: “That’s a point. But then that’s not really about London as much…this is a can of worms actually.”
and finally
Sum Up London In A Word...
DAN: Home.
CALLUM: Cheesecake.
If you want a copy of the forthcoming Delta Blues EP then just answer the following fiendishly difficult question on an email or to [email protected] with The Delta Blues in the subject line.
What is the full name of the band The Delta Blues?
A) The Delta Blues
B) S Club 7
C) Blur
Competition closes Monday 8th August.
If you're a band looking to get coverage in Londonist, get in touch with the music team, after reading these handy tips on How To Get Into Londonist's Music Posts.
