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Dick Deluxe
New Orleans, LA | Established. Jan 01, 1999 | INDIE
Music
Press
âWhy isnât this guy famous?â has got to be one of the most frequently heard reactions to a Dick Deluxe performance.
Porn star-like name notwithstanding, Deluxe is actually a musicianâa captivating singer and guitarist, a prolific songwriter, and a subtly magnificent bandleader who seems to have an encyclopedia of obscure country tunes tattooed somewhere on the inside of his skull. Heâs also apparently played with every type of band under the sun.
So, why not more famous? It probably has something to do with his workaholism-fueled sticklerism for being technically adept, rather than focus his energies on self-promotion. Heâs the kind of guy that says things like, âI started off as a frontman, but then got good enough to be a sideman.â
Lately, heâs finally been wheedled into a bit of self-promotion. His own qualms aside, itâs fantastic for the rest of us. If anyone deserves his turn in the spotlight, itâs Dick Deluxe.
The Wisconsin-born childhood trombonist switched to guitar in time to ârun away to San Francisco during college to play some rock and roll.â His colorful history has taken him all around the country before finally landing him in New Orleans a couple years back, where youâll find him most often playing around Frenchmen Street with percussionist/harmonica-extraordinaire Jimmy Sweetwater. Their project is called âSweetDeluxe,â which is a much better name than âDickWaterâ would have been.
Both members sing, and the multi-talented Sweetwater complements Deluxeâs guitar with wailing harmonica and a rhythm section driven by his one-of-a-kind washboard, a homemade contraption decked out with countless bells, whistles, and other percussive doodads.
Their duo is sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric, and often not a duo at allâa rotating cast of musician friends is always at the ready to sit in. For over a month this summer, for instance, the weekly SweetDeluxe Marigny Brasserie gig was a quartet, with drummer Pete Bradish and upright bassist Ryan Donohue filling out their sound. (Bradish and Donohue recently departed to tour Europe with Kim Carson.)
A typical set list features original compositions, old country tunes, folk ballads, rollicking blues numbers, even a few rock/pop hits, and more.
âWe do a lot of American music of all different kinds,â Sweetwater explained. âEverything from country to blues to folksy music⌠I donât like the word âAmericana,â though. Weâre songsters. Doing all the stuff we like. Thatâs it.â
âI think of myself as a kind of a song connoisseur,â Deluxe said. âWhether itâs my material that Iâm writing or covers that Iâm doing. And I take exception to the word âcover,â at least as it applies to me. What I do is interpret. I interpret my own songs differently almost every time I play.â
The act is in a class of its own, for many reasons.
âWe think like a jazz band,â as Deluxe put it. âI might call a different tempo at any different time, Iâll play an introduction different, Iâll do an endingânone of the endings are ever really the same. Weâre improvising.â
Photo by Christian Banfield, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
Photo by Christian Banfield, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
âTo really know a song,â he explained, âyouâve got to have it hardwired into you. Then you can interpret it. If youâre worried about the lyrics, or reading it off a sheet of paper, youâre not gonna be digging deep. Which is one of the reasons Iâm such a stickler for being vocationally sound. I can play the bass part and sing all the parts, and, you know, I could play the drums if necessary. Thatâs when I feel like I really know a song.â
âI tailor my songs to my musicians too,â he went on. âSo, if I have a more of a âjazz guyâ like Ryan [Donohue], I can be free to play anything I know how to play, with some pretty sophisticated chord changes. The thing that makes me employable as a leader is that Iâm pretty good at selecting. Thereâs a talent ceiling, but thereâs also a taste ceiling, and a choice ceiling.â
âItâs the knothole theory,â he grinned. âI always wanna be the knothole. If Iâm the knothole, Iâm in a pretty good place.â
As much as he relishes being the âknotholeâ within a band of exemplary musicians (although itâs hard to imagine that being the case very often), he digs his solo gigs too. âI have total freedom then,â he explained. âItâs more of an intimate, personal thing.â
His solo acoustic act is also a great showcase for a quite distinctive fingerpicking style. Its rich, pianist quality marks Deluxe as a truly remarkable musician to anyone with a trained ear. That being said, you donât have to be a trained musician to appreciate his talent.
He can interpret Hank Williams, followed by Earl King, followed by Stephen Foster, and he nails the vibe each time.
âIf you put me in a room full of people, Iâll entertain the motherfuckers,â he laughed.
Deluxe has had a lot of success over the years playing with jazz and blues bands because, as he admitted with a modest shrug, âI can swing pretty much anything. And that, to me, isâI donât care if youâre playing rock, punk rock, polkas, whatever. Itâs still gotta swing.â
Photo by Irene Sage, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
Photo by Irene Sage, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
The versatile song connoisseur can also be found jamming at the Old Arabi Bar, playing bass with Mike Darbyâs House of Cards, or performing with Jonny Two-Timeâs noise/punk band.
âYouâve seen me doing that silly punk stuff, right?â he asked. âAnd itâs laughable, but I love it. And I think itâs pretty cool! I mean, weâre not gonna win any Pulitzer Prize for being in tune or anything, but it allows us to just be completely nutty.â
He also puts together various duos around town, usually playing guitar but occasionally bass or mandolin. The âDick and Rod Show,â with the Iguanasâ Rod Hodges, is a particular favorite.
âRodâs a great country and blues guy,â Deluxe said. âI can pull out my most obscure stuff, and he loves it, and he does the same. Thatâs always total fun.â
Of all the performers he admires in New Orleans, âWashboardâ Lissa Driscoll (who OffBeat featured this past spring in our Faces of Frenchmen video series) is up at the very top of the list.
âSheâs something. I love playing with her,â he emphasized. âSheâs got the most authentic feel for country blues Iâve ever heard, even from the people sheâs learning it from. SheâI mean, youâd swear Jessie Mae Hemphill was there, or Etta Baker. The way she plays time. I would argue sheâs a genius, you know?â
âI mean, sheâs crazy as fuck,â he continued with a grin, âbut her feel is so strong. I think sheâs right there with Lucinda Williams. I really do.â
He would know, having certainly studied under and played with his fair share of genius over the course of his career. Bill Barrett, Joe Paquin, Danny Ott, and John Perry are just the beginning.
While living in San Francisco, Deluxe also spent a decade playing with Richard Marriottâs modern jazz outfit âClub Foot Orchestra,â a Ralph Records act that provided the soundtracks to silent films.
âWe played live in the theaters, and we used to dress up as characters,â Deluxe explained. âWe were kind of a real critics-pick hipster band, but we didnât work that much relatively speaking, so I was also in a zydeco band called the Sun Dogs.â
He doesnât play much modern jazz these days, though. âIâm just not interested anymore,â he admitted. âI mean, if I hear James Singleton and those guys play, I can listen to a set and enjoy it, but for the most part, itâs just so self indulgent, so obscure, and itâs justâI like entertaining people. I like singing a lot. I like songs. I think I think like a jazz player, but I play the repertoire I play.â
Even more out there, Deluxe was also involved from the very beginning in San Franciscoâs storied punk scene.
âI was around when punk rock started, in 1976. Right before the 4th of July,â he remembered. âAnd Iâm coming back on the train from Berkeley, and thereâs these two girls, and theyâve got safety pins in their cheeks. I was like, âWhat the fuck? Is this, like, Halloween?â They were from New Zealand, and they were like, âOh, no, no, havenât you heard of punk rock?â And Iâm thinking, âWhat the fuck is going on?â So about three or four, maybe six months later, my next door neighborâhe was this guy who played Coltrane-style modern jazz, heâd always wear, like, a suit, he was super seriousâhe shows up at the house with a mohawk and a leather jacket. Iâm like, âWhat the fuck?â and he says, âItâs called punk rock. Thereâs this band called the RamonesâŚââ
âSo, I jumped right into it. I was a little overqualified,â he chuckled, âbut I got to do a bunch of fun, goofy stuff. I did a handful of gigs substituting in Paul Revere and the Raiders⌠I backed up the Coasters once, by accident.â
San Francisco, he explained, âwas the first place I played where I played seven nights a week. And vocationally speaking, you canât beat that. I think Iâm old-school in the sense that Iâm really a big vocational guy.â
He eventually relocated to Bellingham, where âit was more playing Grateful Dead songs, or the Allman Brothers, or R&B stuff,â and lived in L.A., a city which he found to have the highest concentration of âreal polymath geniusâ session musicians heâs ever encountered.
He played music vocationally until he was 32, when his daughter was born. He took a brief, 20-year hiatus from music and went into the business world. He worked for Microsoft companies in Seattle, Silicon Valley, and beyond while raising his daughter and putting her through college. Afterwards, he moved back to California to get back into music and finally settled down in New Orleans.
Photo by Kat Hebbler, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
Photo by Kat Hebbler, courtesy of Dick Deluxe
Now that heâs well-situated in the cityâs music scene, Dick Deluxe is laying down big plans for the future.
âIâm actually now just starting to think of this as an actual career again instead of⌠what my hustle is,â he grinned. âAnd the reason Iâm really interested in taking it up to the next level is that I think Iâve got a bunch of great songs. I kind of think of them like kids after a while.â
âIâve got 50 or 60 that are really, really strong on recordings already,â he went on, âand Iâve got another hundred songs Iâd like to record. Iâm hoping if things go right, we can release some of my backlog and get out some of the new stuff soon.â
Heâs already released two albums of previously-recorded material, and he and Sweetwater are currently working on a SweetDeluxe recording. Theyâve booked two tours (in the Midwest and in Florida) this fall, and theyâre working on getting together a European tour within the next couple years as well.
âMoving up in the festival circuit⌠I never really tried before,â Deluxe said with a shrug. âPeople donât just come up to you and tap you on the shoulder. You gotta really hustle. And if you build momentum, thatâs when other people jump on the train.â
Thereâs little doubt that theyâll be able to build up the momentum. Case in point: after the applause died down at a recent SweetDeluxe set at the Apple Barrel, a one tourist summed things up neatly, wondering aloud in an only-semi-inebriated stage whisper, âWho the fuck are these guys? They blow every single one of those other assholes weâve heard on this goddam, frat-boy street out of the fucking water.â
He paused, considering.
âBy, like, a lot.â
Praise for SweetDeluxe has been phrased more gracefully, for sure, but this guy definitely had the right idea. - Offbeat
My Music: Dick Deluxe
OCTOBER 28, 2015by: LAURA DEFAZIOLEAVE A COMMENT
To really know a song, youâve got to have it hardwired into you. Then you can interpret it. If youâre worried about the lyrics, or reading it off a sheet of paper, youâre not gonna be digging deepâwhich is one of the reasons Iâm such a stickler for being vocationally sound. I can play the bass part and sing all the parts, and, you know, I could play the drums if necessary. Thatâs when I feel like I really know a song.
I think of myself as a kind of song connoisseurâwhether itâs my material that Iâm writing or covers that Iâm doing. And I take exception to the word âcover,â at least as it applies to me. Whether Iâm playing an Earl King song or a Dick Deluxe song, what I do is interpret.
Until I was 32, I played vocationally, although I also had a bunch of day jobs. And in 1989 when my daughter was conceived and bornâ well, everything changed! Iâm actually now just starting to think of this as an actual career again.
What keeps me fresh is mixing it up. I feel really fortunate that Jimmy [Sweetwater] and I have a great duo [âSweet Deluxeâ] that can also be a trio or a quartet.
We think like a jazz band and not like a blues band. Like, I might call a different tempo at any different time. Iâll play an introduction different, Iâll do an endingânone of the endings are ever really the same. Weâre improvising. I view myself as kind of like Peyton Manning, going up to the line of scrimmage with a book full of plays.
And Iâve always loved doing duos. Rod [Hodges, of the Iguanas] is a great country and blues guy. I can pull out my most obscure stuff, and he loves it, and he does the same. Thatâs always total fun. If Iâm playing with Alex McMurray, I can play pretty much anything, âcause heâs all over. Heâs someone who I admire greatly. And [âWashboardâ Lissa Driscoll] is something. I love playing with her. Sheâs got the most authentic feel for country blues Iâve ever heard. I would argue sheâs a genius, you know?
I like playing solo a lot too. I have total freedom then.
I tailor my songs to my musicians. The thing that makes me a leader is that Iâm pretty good at selecting. Thereâs a talent ceiling, but thereâs also a taste ceiling, and a choice ceiling. You know, itâs the knothole theory. I always wanna be the knothole. If Iâm the knothole, Iâm in a pretty good place.â - Offbeat
Dick Deluxe Hits The Spot At 13
OCTOBER 1, 2014by: CARLY LEVENSHONLEAVE A COMMENT
Dick Deluxe, Photo by Carly Levenshon, OffBeat Magazine, October 2014
Photo by Carly Levenshon
What did you order?
I ordered the Ruben Dog. I have never eaten here before, except for daiquiris, but I play on Frenchmen Street mulitple times a week and Iâm excited to try the food here.
Since you work on this street, do you eat out here often?
Almost every day. I always grab a bite when Iâm working, or going to see a friend performing on the block. My favorite spot is Yuki.
What do you do when youâre not on Frenchmen?
Iâm and obsessive walker and reader. I love history. I have probably read over 25,000 pages on New Orleans History.
Once I wrote down all of the addresses where Lee Harvey Oswald lived and then walked around the city to check them out and take pictures.
I love walking. I even walked here today all the way from the Maple Leaf! - Offbeat
Best Blues Album
Bobby Rush: Porcupine Meat (Rounder)
Dick Deluxe: Turning 61 on Highway 61 (Independent)
Gregg Martinez: Soul of the Bayou (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
Kenny Neal: Bloodline (Cleopatra Blues)
Luke Winslow-King: Iâm Glad Trouble Donât Last Always (Bloodshot Records)
Mike Zito: Make Blues Not War (Ruf Records) - OffBeat New Orleans
(in alphabetical order)
Alexis & the Samurai: Move Into View (Independent)
âreviewed July 2016 by Brett Milano
Amanda Shaw: Amanda Shaw (Independent)
âreviewed December 2016 by Robert Fontenot
Anders Osborne: Flower Box (Back on Dumaine)
âreviewed November 2016 by Brett Milano
Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses: Comeback Children (Independent)
âreviewed May 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Barry Jean Ancelet & Sam Broussard: Broken Promised Land (Swallow Records)
âreviewed October 2016 by Dan Willging
Batture Boys: Muddy Water (Independent)
âreviewed July 2016 by Robert Fontenot
Brass Bed: In the Yellow Leaf (Modern Outsider)
âreviewed June 2016 by Nick Pittman
Bruce Daigrepont: Bienvenue Dans le Sud de la Louisiane (Bayou Pon Pon)
âreviewed September 2016 by Dan Willging
Cha Wa: Funk ânâ Feathers (UPT)
âreviewed Jazz Fest Bible 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Charlie Halloran & the Quality 6: Charlie Halloran & the Quality 6 (Independent)
âreviewed January 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Corey Henry: Lapeitah (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
âreviewed July 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Courtney Granger: Beneath Still Waters (Valcour Records)
âreviewed November 2016 by Dan Willging
Creole String Beans: Golden Crown (Independent)
âreviewed July 2016 by Robert Fontenot
Darcy Malone & the Tangle: Still Life (Independent)
âreviewed Jazz Fest Bible 2016 by Brett Milano
Dave Jordan and the NIA: No Losers Tonight (Independent)
âreviewed July 2016 by Robert Fontenot
Davell Crawford: Piano in the Vaults, Vol. 1 (Basin Street Records)
âreviewed July 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra: Make America Great Again! (Troubadour Jazz Records)
âreviewed November 2016 by Geraldine Wyckoff
Dick Deluxe: Turning 61 on Highway 61 (Independent)
âreviewed August 2016 by Robert Fontenot - OffBeat New Orleans
Discography
2013...."Great American Music".....content conduit...featuring myself on guitar and vocals, BIll Barrett on chromatic harp and vox and Ryan Donohue double bass......interpretations of great American music!
2013....."Craquelure".......content conduit...14 new original copyrights performed and recorded by myself on guitar and vocals, Bill Barrett chromatic harp and harmony vocals, Ryan Donohue on double bass, Wayne Peet B3 and Anthony Antoine Arvizu drums..........dark Americana dealing with topics from love to post Civil War era to Civil rights era American South....waltzes, ballads and a few uptempo pieces...
2012........"North Beach Jazz" After Music......Steve Mackay (Stooges) release featuring my writing and guitar playing. Mike Watt of Stooges and Minutemen on bass.....Coltrane inspired session that is a hit on college jazz radio as of this writing.
2006 ....."Don't Borax the Borax Man"....content conduit ......featuring 13 of my original copyrights......swinging Texas blues, moody folk, greasy funk and more!
1984...."New Duets"....DDB.....featuring myself (as Dick Egner) and Bruce Macleod playing an all original program of instrumental jazz. My debut release as a leader. "should be heard"...Derk Richardson/ Bay Area Guardian
2011......."Absolutely Great!" .....Leo....with Clubfoot Orchestra live in concert with the late Soviet avant pianist Sergey.Kuryokin.....live improvisation recorded in 1987.......4 CD set......featuring my guitar work under the misspelled name "Dave" Egner....ha!
1986........"Wild Beasts"...Ralph......with Clubfoot Orchestra featuring my bass and guitar work.....leading SF avant band of the 80's til present
1987 ..... "Kidnapped Co-Ed".....Ralph.....with Clubfoot Orchestra....featuring my bass, guitar and "nail file guitar" work......
1987........"The Soundtrack to the Cabinet of Dr Caligari"....Ralph....Clubfoot Orchestra of the original score we toured the USA with performing the score live to the film. Featuring my electric guitar work.
1986........"Rigo",,,,,,Takoma......Tom Rigney's solo debut featuring my bass playing and arranging. Representative of my years with the Sundogs.......
plus literally hundreds of sessions over the years, compilations, et al.....
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Bio
Blues-informed, far-reaching American songster Dick Deluxe has a distinctive approach to music. The Deluxe sound is sunny, technically flawless yet loaded with a soulful dog-eared appeal. He displays such rich, fluid atmospherics and unerringly creative musical instinct that, whenever he performs, itâs a compelling display of spontaneous combustion that demands attentionâyou canât not listen.
A soloist of impressive facility, a vocalist of gently rumpled conviction and composer of rare individualistic quality, Deluxeâs original songs are gorgeously rendered gems that commemorate and elevate the best of Americaâs musical lexicon even as they express deeply felt, personal truths. Deluxe operates at a stratospheric altitude and as his brilliant âSouthern Gothic,â an ambitious theatrical music book-in-progress, full of striking numbers fueled by his alchemical, empathetic magnetism, makes emphatically clear.
Itâs a sound informed by a series of remarkable alliances and four decade musical odyssey worthy of a Homerian epic. From his native launching pad of Texas City Texas to Memphis where he consorted with a teenage Alex Chilton back to Austin where he made his musical bones (including a stint as Bob Wills âwheel chair driverâ) to a mid-west sojourn with Robert Lockwood Jr., out toOregion with Rowdy Roddy Piper down to San Francisco for long term mentoring from jazz legend Bishop Norman Williams and bandstand alliances in the rough and tumble blues clubs of Oakland with Blues icons Lowell Fulson, Jimmy McCracklin and, along the way, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, who affectionately bestowed the âDick Deluxe sobriquet upon him. A lengthy stay in Southern California found Deluxe working with everyone from R&B sax legend Joe Houston to gender-defying lounge legend Troy Walker, even, in a characteristically unexpected twist, accompanying Pat Boone and Little Richardâs original drummer Charles âKeep a-Knockinââ Connor on an epic 10 minute version of âTutti Frutti.â
Now based in New Orleans, he continually expands and enhances his scope, reach and depth. The Deluxe musicality gleams with multiple facetsâsoulful street singer, honky tonk blues prophet, flat-get-it rocker, complex, cerebral jazz head, strikingly individualistic communicative composerâand his illimitable repertoire is second to none. As he recently said, âI am guessing we may be the only act who covered Charley Pride, Hank Williams, Ray Price, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis and Horace Silver in a single night. From triads to stacked 4ths, it's all great American music to me.â
New Album "Turning 61 on Highway 61" to be released mid May 2016!
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