Paul deLay retrospective with Grant Dermody, Ross Garren and Pete Dammann

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Grant Dermody, Ross Garren and Pete Dammann join me on episode 120 for a retrospective on Paul DeLay.
Paul is a harmonica player who may go under the radar for some but his unique approach to both the diatonic and chromatic harmonica, as well as his powerful vocals and his insightful and humorous songwriting have placed him firmly in the hearts of harmonica and music fans in the know.
Paul was from Portland, Oregon in the north west United States where his first outfit was the Brown Sugar Blues band. He formed The Paul deLay Blues band in the early 1980s releasing four albums before a period of incarceration in the early 1990s saw him breakout with his highly original blues based material, all laced with harmonica playing quite unlike any other. His passing in 2007 has left a Paul deLay shaped hole which has never been filled.
Links:
Paul deLay website:
http://www.pauldelay.com/
Grant Dermody interview:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/grant-dermody-interview/
Pete Dammann LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-dammann-4777b916/
Videos:
Brown Sugar Blues Band - I Know My Baby Been Cheating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IdB1HuB9so
Burnin’ album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGa0DQNJ2ao
Fourteen Dollars In The Bank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzqF1jNhO-Y
deLay Does Chicago album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaI0T2rhQQM
Ocean of Tears album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE1u-RBPfmI
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

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1. Paul deLay retrospective with Grant Dermody, Ross Garren and Pete Dammann (00:00:00)

2. Grant Dermody joins the podcast again, from his last appearance in 2020 (00:01:33)

3. Ross Garren is a harmonica player, composer and Paul deLay superman (00:01:50)

4. Pete Dammann completes the guests. Pete was band manager and guitarist in The Paul deLay band for twenty-five years (00:02:22)

5. 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 (00:03:16)

6. Robert Cray was also based in the North West of the US and Paul was reporting on the blues scene in the area (00:04:36)

7. Pete was blown away when he first heard The Paul deLay Blues band (00:04:57)

8. Grant met Paul when he took a couple of lessons from him (00:05:35)

9. Grant grew to appreciate his phrasing and his unique approach to the harmonica, vocals and songwriter (00:06:14)

10. Ross saw Paul play on a few occasions in the late 1990s, early 2000s (00:07:36)

11. Ross gave Paul a demo tape and was amazed when Paul gave him some feedback some months later (00:08:49)

12. Had a unique style of playing harmonica, and where he developed this (00:09:24)

13. 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 (00:10:03)

14. His songwriting probably dictated his unique approach to playing the harmonica (00:10:38)

15. Paul didn’t start writing songs until around 1990, after being busted and cleaned-up from substance abuse (00:10:45)

16. Pete describes how Paul was an interesting intellectual guy and had eclectic tastes that fed into his aesthetic (00:11:18)

17. Paul always pushed to be original and expected Pete’s guitar playing to be the same (00:12:15)

18. Although blues based, he brought a jazzy edge that some of the purist blues fans resisted (00:12:55)

19. 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 (00:13:40)

20. He pushed in his eccentric directions from the get go during his Brown Sugar days (00:14:34)

21. Louis Pane brought the jazz organ sound to the band (00:15:10)

22. Paul’s music just clicked with Ross as soon as he heard it and he identified with him as a person he could access (00:15:53)

23. Ross saw Paul as the complete package (00:17:45)

24. Paul offers something unique and every song and pushed the harmonica in new directions (00:18:31)

25. Ross thinks he’s heard Paul play on unusual harmonicas (00:19:03)

26. Paul had his own sound, like all the greats do (00:19:37)

27. Great songwriter with some very funny lyrics (00:21:27)

28. Paul spent 41 months in jail and his prolific songwriting period around this time (00:22:30)

29. Sense of urgency from impending jail time spurned him into action (00:23:34)

30. Two great albums: The Other One and Paulzilla albums were put out in this time, with all original songs (00:23:52)

31. First album Pete played with the band was Burnin’ in 1988 (00:24:42)

32. The song arrangements were made in a collaborative way with the band, except for the lyrics which were all Paul (00:25:17)

33. Paul was born in 1952, played with the Brown Sugar band through the 1970s and then formed The Paul deLay band in 1982 (00:26:36)

34. Made great use of the chromatic and had a unique approach to that too (00:26:56)

35. Someone advised Paul to pick up the chromatic and how he developed his sound on it (00:28:07)

36. Played chromatic on the first Paul deLay band album in 1982, Teasin’ (00:29:09)

37. Released Ocean Of Tears album in 1996 (00:29:38)

38. Nice and Strong had the song Fourteen Dollars In The Bank, nominated for a WC Handy Award for Best Song (00:29:45)

39. Not all Paul’s albums are not easily available, such as on streaming services, something which will hopefully improve (00:31:48)

40. Some good compilation albums, including Last Of The Best, released following Paul’s death in 2007 (00:33:21)

41. Later in his life Paul returned more to playing traditional blues, partly down to line-up of band (00:34:20)

42. Live at Notodden ’97 was released ten years after Paul’s passing and how the live recordings were uncovered years later (00:34:55)

43. Discussion on the sorts of harmonicas Paul played to get some of the unusual sounds he did (00:36:47)

44. Grant discusses how Paul was always original, his use of space and how he always‘served the song’ (00:38:48)

45. Fan songs of Pauls from the panel, starting with Ross, whose favourite album is deLay Does Chicago (00:41:02)

46. Grant’s favourite albums are The Other One and Paulzilla, and two favourite songs off each of those albums (00:45:42)

47. 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 (00:46:43)

48. Paul died after a short illness on March 7th, 2007, from leukaemia, and Pete’s memories from his last show (00:50:00)

49. There were some memorial concerts following his death attended by the north west blues players (00:54:42)

50. Paul’s departure left a hole which has never been filled in Pete’s eyes (00:55:16)

51. Gear Paul used, helped by a great entry on harp-l by Drori Hammer (00:56:07)

52. Played Hohner Big River harps (00:56:34)

53. Chromatics probably played Hohner Chromonica, and certainly used 16 holes at times (00:57:19)

54. Used a ‘space case’: a briefcase with pedals he would change over and plug into the PA (00:58:37)

55. Mainly played through a PA but did use a Fender Tremolux amp earlier on (01:00:55)

56. Mainly used a vocal mic, but used a JT30 for more traditional blues songs (01:01:29)

57. Ross asks how the band recorded the excellent albums they did (01:02:23)

58. 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 (01:04:43)

59. The deLay Does Chicago recording (01:05:54)

60. Paul didn’t play much, if any, as a sideman, although he did often sit in with other people (01:08:27)

61. He had amazing ears and was there in the moment and really came alive on stage (01:11:27)

62. Grant’s final words on Paul including the words of advice: ‘beware the gratuitous vibrato’ (01:12:44)

63. He was super musical despite not knowing much musical theory (01:13:35)

64. Ross’s final words on Paul include his view that Paul was a genius and architect of his own harmonica style (01:15:24)

65. Ross compare Paul to Thelonious Monk, turning the idiom of blues on it’s head, and it still works (01:16:11)

66. The wide variety of emotions that Paul expresses and the different tones he produces (01:18:20)

67. Pete’s final words on Paul include that he was full of surprises and he drew on all sorts of influences for his music (01:20:27)

68. Takes an enormous artistic talent to paint outside the lines, especially in blues music (01:22:02)