Grant Dermody joins the podcast again, from his last appearance in 2020
Ross Garren is a harmonica player, composer and Paul deLay superman
Pete Dammann completes the guests. Pete was band manager and guitarist in The Paul deLay band for twenty-five years
Pete was a journalist who was writing about the North West US blues scene and interviewed Paul’s band before joining up as their guitarist
Robert Cray was also based in the North West of the US and Paul was reporting on the blues scene in the area
Pete was blown away when he first heard The Paul deLay Blues band
Grant met Paul when he took a couple of lessons from him
Grant grew to appreciate his phrasing and his unique approach to the harmonica, vocals and songwriter
Ross saw Paul play on a few occasions in the late 1990s, early 2000s
Ross gave Paul a demo tape and was amazed when Paul gave him some feedback some months later
Had a unique style of playing harmonica, and where he developed this
Grant talks of how Paul was such a songwriter and the best singer he ever heard, putting his heart and soul out through his harmonica
His songwriting probably dictated his unique approach to playing the harmonica
Paul didn’t start writing songs until around 1990, after being busted and cleaned-up from substance abuse
Pete describes how Paul was an interesting intellectual guy and had eclectic tastes that fed into his aesthetic
Paul always pushed to be original and expected Pete’s guitar playing to be the same
Although blues based, he brought a jazzy edge that some of the purist blues fans resisted
His first band was the Brown Sugar Blues band, but he always came back to the blues playing after he ventured off into more jazzy territory in many of his recordings
He pushed in his eccentric directions from the get go during his Brown Sugar days
Louis Pane brought the jazz organ sound to the band
Paul’s music just clicked with Ross as soon as he heard it and he identified with him as a person he could access
Ross saw Paul as the complete package
Paul offers something unique and every song and pushed the harmonica in new directions
Ross thinks he’s heard Paul play on unusual harmonicas
Paul had his own sound, like all the greats do
Great songwriter with some very funny lyrics
Paul spent 41 months in jail and his prolific songwriting period around this time
Sense of urgency from impending jail time spurned him into action
Two great albums: The Other One and Paulzilla albums were put out in this time, with all original songs
First album Pete played with the band was Burnin’ in 1988
The song arrangements were made in a collaborative way with the band, except for the lyrics which were all Paul
Paul was born in 1952, played with the Brown Sugar band through the 1970s and then formed The Paul deLay band in 1982
Made great use of the chromatic and had a unique approach to that too
Someone advised Paul to pick up the chromatic and how he developed his sound on it
Played chromatic on the first Paul deLay band album in 1982, Teasin’
Released Ocean Of Tears album in 1996
Nice and Strong had the song Fourteen Dollars In The Bank, nominated for a WC Handy Award for Best Song
Not all Paul’s albums are not easily available, such as on streaming services, something which will hopefully improve
Some good compilation albums, including Last Of The Best, released following Paul’s death in 2007
Later in his life Paul returned more to playing traditional blues, partly down to line-up of band
Live at Notodden ’97 was released ten years after Paul’s passing and how the live recordings were uncovered years later
Discussion on the sorts of harmonicas Paul played to get some of the unusual sounds he did
Grant discusses how Paul was always original, his use of space and how he always‘served the song’
Fan songs of Pauls from the panel, starting with Ross, whose favourite album is deLay Does Chicago
Grant’s favourite albums are The Other One and Paulzilla, and two favourite songs off each of those albums
Pete’s favourite song is The Other One from the album of the same name and the time pressure which made this such a creative period for Paul
Paul died after a short illness on March 7th, 2007, from leukaemia, and Pete’s memories from his last show
There were some memorial concerts following his death attended by the north west blues players
Paul’s departure left a hole which has never been filled in Pete’s eyes
Gear Paul used, helped by a great entry on harp-l by Drori Hammer
Played Hohner Big River harps
Chromatics probably played Hohner Chromonica, and certainly used 16 holes at times
Used a ‘space case’: a briefcase with pedals he would change over and plug into the PA
Mainly played through a PA but did use a Fender Tremolux amp earlier on
Mainly used a vocal mic, but used a JT30 for more traditional blues songs
Ross asks how the band recorded the excellent albums they did
There was a story from the early days that Paul recorded 125 takes of one solo, and used the first or second take in the end, but he was much more focused later in career
The deLay Does Chicago recording
Paul didn’t play much, if any, as a sideman, although he did often sit in with other people
He had amazing ears and was there in the moment and really came alive on stage
Grant’s final words on Paul including the words of advice: ‘beware the gratuitous vibrato’
He was super musical despite not knowing much musical theory
Ross’s final words on Paul include his view that Paul was a genius and architect of his own harmonica style
Ross compare Paul to Thelonious Monk, turning the idiom of blues on it’s head, and it still works
The wide variety of emotions that Paul expresses and the different tones he produces
Pete’s final words on Paul include that he was full of surprises and he drew on all sorts of influences for his music
Takes an enormous artistic talent to paint outside the lines, especially in blues music
