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Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio Interview: Fo Sho

Photo by Francis A Willey

BY JORDAN MAINZER

No album from 2021 so far has me anticipating the return of live music more than Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio’s (DLO3, for the insiders) I Told You So (Colemine Records). The band’s second full-length expands upon their first LP Close But No Cigar in all the best ways: propulsive grooves, soulful moods, and an active imagination. Opener “Hole In One” introduces all the elements--funky, prickly guitar lines, confident drumming, and soulful organ--before first single and second track “Call Your Mom” and third track “Girly Face” reveal a gentler kind of sway without losing any of the sharpness. After “From The Streets” slows things down even more with a lurching rhythm and trailing reverb, the album turns it up a notch again with “Fo Sho” and “Aces”, upbeat struts with guitar and drum solos. In between that and the Stax-inspired closer “I Don’t Know” are perhaps the album’s two best tracks: a remarkably faithful, emotive cover of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” and “Right Place, Right Time”, a solo-laden jam that begins with spontaneous studio chatter embracing the chaos of live recording. Moreover, the album contains all the elements of and is almost structured like a terrific live set, with ample virtuosic dynamism and ideal pacing.

The band on I Told You So is founding members Lamarr, on organ, and Jimmy James, on guitar, with drummer Grant Schroff (The Polyrhythmics) filling in for what was at the time a permanent drummer to be named later. (Schroff went on a European tour with DLO3 right before the recording of this album, so they decided to go with him.) Since then, drummer Dan Weiss has entered the fold; he joined as a permanent drummer last year and even toured a little bit in Canada and Montana before COVID-19 abruptly ended the tour. But while the drummers have rotated, it’s James’ guitar and especially Lamarr’s organ that have remained the foundation of DLO3, one that gives me confidence they could switch drummers every time and still one-up themselves.

I spoke with Lamarr earlier this year from his home in Spokane, WA about the various releases under the DLO3 belt (two albums and singles/live releases) as well as working virtually with a new drummer, Colemine Records, and Chick Corea (who passed away right before our conversation). Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: What about I Told You So is unique as compared to anything else you’ve ever released under this trio?

Delvon Lamarr: We have more musical influences in I Told You So. The reason why Close But No Cigar felt kind of reserved--we weren’t getting too deep into it--was because it was unplanned. We didn’t even have music to record at the time. But this one features more diverse musical influences of ours. “From The Streets” has that hip hop, Ohio Players feel. “Careless Whisper”--you never hear an an organ trio play that. It digs deeper into our musical knowledge.

SILY: What was the process for composing and arranging these tracks? How much improvisation was there?

DL: It’s like 90% improvisational. Pre-pandemic, we toured a lot, so we hardly ever had a chance to get in a room and write music. Plus, we all live pretty far away from each other. We basically write music during soundchecks, and when we’re on the road, we come up with these ideas and put them together. Usually, we write these melodies, and things like that, but outside of the melody, the solo areas are pretty much gloves off. Whatever happens happens. One of the things we’re known for is intertwining music with other music, different genres of music within the one song. It keeps the music fresh and keeps people engaged. It’s a free for all for most of it. [laughs]

SILY: There’s a good balance on here of songs where everyone has equal weight versus songs really led by one person or instrument. Was it important for you to achieve that balance across the whole album, or did it just end up naturally like that?

DL: It’s just how it ended up. When we write music, we pretty much write grooves. Take “Call Your Mom”: That whole song was built around Jimmy’s guitar riff, so that is the melody. When we wrote that, we actually wrote it on the road during soundcheck. I think it just naturally happens. Whatever instrument we think sounds good, we’ll play that melody.

SILY: Has Dan been learning the tracks?

DL: Oh yeah. We’ve been writing music together. Right now, we multi-track our ideas or sing it into a phone and try to build it that way. A lot of these new tunes we haven’t actually played, because we can’t get in the same room, so we just go for it, man.

SILY: What about “Call Your Mom” and “Careless Whisper” made you want to release them as singles?

DL: That was a decision between my wife [and manager Amy Novo] and Colemine Records. I probably would’ve chosen “Call Your Mom”, too. It has a certain feel and groove to it, man. [laughs] “Careless Whisper” is funny, too, because I wasn’t even gonna record that tune. My wife really likes when we play it--she requests it at the end of shows. She convinced us to record that. I was like, “Nobody wants to hear ‘Careless Whisper’ by an organ trio.” She said, “Dude, just do it, it’s gonna be really good.” We did it, and I was wrong. The reception from that tune has been pretty amazing, actually. I thank her. She’s the reason we recorded it.

SILY: You play a lot of covers live--on the KEXP release, you did “Move On Up”, and last year, you released a cover of “Inner City Blues”. What’s your general approach to covers: Be faithful, or put your own spin on it?

DL: The spin of playing a cover tune just happens naturally. Take “Careless Whisper”: We try to play it like the recording, like the original. I work on phrasing the melodies like George Michael sings it. The way we end up doing that automatically puts a certain feel to it that naturally happens. I feel that way about all of them, even when we do “Move On Up”. I play the melody like Curtis Mayfield sang it. I try to get all of his nuances.

SILY: “Fo Sho” was released on the same single as “Inner City Blues”. Why didn’t you include “Inner City Blues” on the record? Is two covers too many?

DL: Not at all. Close But No Cigar had 4 covers on it.

SILY: That’s true.

DL: We just had a lot of original music we wanted to get out. I Told You So is part of a session that had 27-28 songs recorded. We have another album or two, or an album and a couple 45s worth of music just in that recording alone. We’ve done more recording since then, so we have more music in the can right now. We just wanted to get original tunes out. We did record some more covers that will be out later on, either as 45s or something else.

SILY: The record’s really crisp, but on “From The Streets”, the trailing reverb of the guitar is a hazy contrast to the rest of the album. Can you talk about that track?

DL: The history of that track--basically, I grew up in the streets. I was a rough child. [laughs] I had that music in my head that reminded me of my childhood of running the streets. When we recorded that, you never really hear an organist in an organ trio play a bass line. I don’t play chords in that tune at all. A lot of that magic is Jimmy James. He doesn’t use guitar effects. I actually recently got him to use a wah in a show, and it took him five years to do that. He’s straight guitar and amp. He’s always been that guitar player. That tone, that sound, that reverb is just him and his amp.

SILY: Was that actual studio chatter at the beginning of “Right Place Right Time”?

DL: [laughs] I was wondering when somebody was gonna ask me about that. The song we recorded before, we played the whole thing start to finish, absolutely perfect, without a single flaw. Grant, maybe the last four or five seconds, completely bites it. We were playing, and he forgot to do a break right at the end and kept playing, so it was an unusable take, so he screamed, “Fuuuuuuuuck! Fuuuuuuck!” That’s what we were referencing at the front of it. Jimmy James was like, “Remember that time you were like, ‘Fuuuuuuuuck,’ and then I started copying Jimmy.” It was pretty funny. We listened back to it, and my wife was like, “We gotta leave that in there.”

SILY: Is there an extra guitar on that track?

DL: There is. The guitar player from the Polyrhythmics, Ben Bloom. It’s funny how that worked, because he came to see Jason [Gray], our studio engineer, and I asked him whether he had his guitar with him, and he did, so I said, “Grab it, let’s record something!” He said, “I got about 20 minutes, I gotta be somewhere.” I just started messing around with this bass line, and everything started falling into place. We did two takes of that song. Over about 15 minutes, we wrote that entire song and recorded it. At first, it was just one quick bass line, like a short bass line that I had the idea for, and we started building on it. Ben came in, put his magic on it, and it was a wrap, man. I love that solo, too. It’s dope.

SILY: What’s the story behind the record title?

DL: When our original drummer left the band, people were worried about the sound of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, because he had such a distinct style of playing. People assumed we’d sound different. I kept telling people, “As long as the music is good, people are gonna like it. It might feel different, but it’s gonna feel good and sound good.” That’s why I called the album I Told You So. Because it sounds good!

SILY: What about the album art?

DL: People are always wondering what I’m doing on the front of that album. I was shadowboxing--I used to be a boxer in my youth. We were taking photos in Cincinnati, and it was one of the photos everybody liked.

SILY: What does it mean to you to be on a label like Colemine Records, diverse in terms of genres but a wholly old school vibe.

DL: Our relationship is really good. They’re cool cats, man. It’s truly an honor to be a part of what they do. Since we’ve been with that label, I’ve met a lot of the artists on that label. It’s a gift to be a part of what they do. One of the big reasons I really like them is that it’s managed by two brothers that run it who are just normal dudes. They ain’t corporate. I talk to them like we talk to each other. It’s like family. I really respect these guys and what they do. It’s amazing being a part of what they do.

SILY: For sure.

DL: That’s “Fo Sho”. Just kidding.

SILY: Are you planning on doing any live streams or socially distant shows down the line, or are you waiting for things to calm down more?

DL: We’ve done a few live streams so far. We have more coming up. We’re working on some stuff. A lot of the tours we had scheduled last year got rescheduled to this year, so we’re seeing what happens, but right now, we’re still trying to book shows and see if it can be done safely. If it ain’t gonna be safe, we’re not gonna do it. We’re just hanging in there still, trying to keep things on the books.

SILY: What else is next for the Trio?

DL: We’re working on a new project that we’re gonna call DLO3 and Friends. Basically, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio is gonna be the basis for the band but we’re gonna incorporate musicians we’ve met on the road all over the world that we’ve liked and start collaborating with people. We just went in the studio a couple weeks ago and laid the foundation. It’s comin!

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

DL: I’ve been back in my old school traditional swinging jazz, Kenny Dorham, Johnny Griffin, Coltrane, Miles, all those guys. I was originally a straight up swinging bebop player and haven’t been able to do that in a while.

SILY: Speaking of Miles, did you hear that Chick Corea passed away?

DL: I did. That was a pretty sad moment. We have the same booking agent. I never got to meet him. I was hoping to.

SILY: Do you have a favorite piece or recording of his?

DL: Yes. The Blue Mitchell album The Thing To Do. I remember listening to it; Chick was burning on it. One of the other things I realized on that album was how high pitched Al Foster’s toms are. But yeah: huge loss for the scene.

SILY: Anything else I didn’t ask about you want to say?

DL: Support your local record stores. There may or may not still be our limited pink vinyl at your local store, since those were only sold at record stores. Support your local record stores and local music.

I Told You So by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio