The Delfields A little Q&A with Joseph Fekete, singer and guitarist of The Delfields. Leicester Bangs: Joseph, tell us a little about yourself, and your band. Joseph: I've been playing music since my parents signed me up for piano lessons when I was 7 years old. My father taught me to play guitar when I was 12 and I absolutely fell in love with the instrument. The Delfields have been a band for about 3 years. Ryan plays bass and his twin brother Kyle plays drums. I've played with a lot of different musicians but no one that can hold a candle to these guys. Ryan's bass lines are often little songs in and of themselves and Kyle plays the drums in a way that I can only describe as melodious. LB: How did you start out making music? Joseph: When I was 9 I had a Sony tape recorder that I used to record songs that I had written on the piano. I would record the piano and vocal part on one tape, take it out and put it in another tape player, press play and use my Sony to record an overdub. Truly sound on sound. LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Joseph: I was very lucky to have a father who listened to a variety of music and was always sure to tell me why everything we listened to was important in its own right. The spectrum range from Erik Satie, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven to The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Ventures, Donovan, and everything in between. I remember when I heard "Good Vibrations" for the first time and he told me that the ghostly noise in the background was a theremin and before appearing in that song had predominantly been used in horror films. That song has never ceased to completely blow my mind. Of all the music I listened to growing up I would always find myself the most fascinated with beautifully unexpected melodies and interesting sounds. LB: Tell us about your latest release. Joseph: Ogres was tracked using a 1/2" 8-track tape machine; a decision we made in an attempt to keep the tinkering on the album to a minimum. We did a few bounces but certainly no song on the album has more than 14 or so total tracks. We had recorded onto computers for a while and were always unsatisfied with the way it came out. The work flow on tape is much more musical and really makes you think about everything you want to put into the song; when you're working with a limited number of tracks whatever you want to record had better really add something important. The album was recorded in a little studio here in New Jersey, which despite its rather unfortunate bad rap is I think one of the most beautiful states in the US. I didn't always think this way; when I was living in my last house I have this vivid memory of being totally frustrated with my living arrangements, the town I was in, the girl I was after, and the place that I was at in life. In my basement there was something like 200 liquor bottles underneath the porch collected by the previous tenants, which I always thought to be an eyesore but for some reason, had never bothered to throw away. I was in my basement on a rather gloomy day working on some music when I noticed this beautiful pattern of light on the wall behind me; it was a ray of sunshine that had beaten through the clouds to find its way through the bottles and onto my wall. I walked out of the basement through these giant bilco doors and upon stepping into my backyard saw that all of the clouds and rain had left and the sky was a deep blue with the sun just peeking over the tops of the row houses behind mine. Ogres was my attempt to turn the feeling that I took from that experience into something sonic. LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Joseph: We try to play out every chance we get. We are a very different thing live than we are on your stereo system. Only being a three-piece band limits us in some ways but really allows us to change and rearrange the songs from the album into more raw nuts and bolts arrangements. The stark instrumentals really help highlight the intricate melodies in our music. LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Joseph: My favorite part of recording music is the unexpected. When I start out with an idea it often takes turns and twists that I hadn't anticipated but in many cases make the song. LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Joseph: CD Baby, iTunes and MySpace (links below). www.myspace.com/thedelfields www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=the+delfields