The Delta Riggs

Look out for The Delta Riggs as they play some final shows to wrap up their smash album Active Galasctic. These lads continue to impress and no doubt will continue their upward trajectory with the new album that is in the works. Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles spoke to Michael Tramonte about life in The Delta Riggs and what is on the horizon for the band beyond this run of dates.

How’s everything good in The Delta Riggs camp at the minute?
Pretty good! The ushe! We’re kicking on and have started writing again, it’s always good.

Is that frustrating for a band that as soon as you get one album out that you need to start thinking about the next one?
Yeah, we’ve always been pretty productive though. I guess our output has slowed down a little bit compared to previous years where we were doing two EP’s a year and an album every year. This is the longest we have ever taken between albums from Dipz Zebazios to Active Galatic and not that is a bad thing as it worked in our favour but we need to keep the machine rolling. Otherwise, you get sick of playing the same songs over and over as you have no new material to bring in to the set list which can be detrimental to the live show. The band has made a conscious effort to keep it moving and it’s good for your brain.

What can you say about the new material you are working on?
It is still very bare bones but probably is a blend of the last two records and I think we’ve caught what works best so I think we have found our sound in a way. The plan is to have it out this year and we may decide to have a small EP first and the record next year. We’ll release something that is for sure.

Are you taken aback by how well Active Galactic resonated with fans?
Nah not really! I knew it was great without sounding arrogant. I knew it was our best stuff and it is always nice to be validated by people turning up to shows and singing the words is always a nice thing to have that. I don’t think you ever really know, it is always about two weeks before the record is released you start to think that it is shit. It’s like fuck, may be this isn’t great or as good as we think it is. It is real nice to have that fear allayed by doing those shows.

What did you take away from the Active Galactic sessions that you wouldn’t repeat on the next record or EP?
Hmm, it’s more like what if people don’t get it. This is the anxiety we go through each time because we’re doubting certain things or too involved in it as we thinking it is fucking awesome but in reality in sounds like a cacophony of noise that no one is going to listen to any of it. It might be a common thing, I loved the way we recorded and is my favourite place to be. It is always my favourite things about being in a band being in the studio, we don’t do it enough together.

Once you played Active Galatic back for the first time surely that must of allayed those doubts?
Yeah, yeah that is exactly it! When we finished the record and had it for two to three months before it came out I loved it. It is that moment where you think maybe it isn’t as good as I thinking it is and people won’t be in to it. Then you start over thinking stuff massively and I guess that is the normal creative anxiety.

What stands out most from last year particularly when you launched the album?
That album tour was our biggest tour ever and we went to some weird places and was cool to go to some places we had never heard of playing to three hundred kids in a packed room, frothing out, crowd surfing and then you come back to the cities and playing venues like The Gov and The Metro which we sold out was incredible. On top of that was two Corner Hotel shows in Melbourne and there was like thirty dates on the whole tour and it felt like all the hard work and panicking paid off in that respect.

Are the Delta Riggs a full time thing now?
Some of the guys don’t work and live off the band but we all do different things. I work for a creative agency and they let me go when I need to take off. I have a good arrangement with them but basically it is a full time job with perks. It is tough doing music but you got to do it because you love it, no other reason.

Is spreading the wings internationally a focus for The Delta Riggs this year?
We have done the UK and Europe once and been to the States three or four times. I think we have had some good times and done some good shit but never had the perpetual motion to keep going back like our friends bands do where they have a nice set up over there. We have management over there now and they are setting things up in Canada and US so hopefully that changes things over the next six months so we can get over there.

The tour locked in for March is that pretty much wrapping up Active Galactic before moving on to whatever is next?
Yeah pretty much, we have some really cool shows coming up in some really cool venues which we’re looking forward to.

THE DELTA RIGGS TOUR DATES

Saturday 4 March – Mordialloc Music Festival –  Mordialloc, VIC
Saturday 18 March – Party in the Park, – Narrabeen, NSW
Saturday 22 April – Meatstock Festival – Melbourne, VIC
Saturday 6 May – Meatstock Festival – Sydney NSW

Tickets and more info here