I recently had the immense pleasure of having a chat with Michael “Monte” Tremonte, of the Aussie Indy rock band “The Delta Riggs.” Monte, who apparently has an alter ego named “Micky Sunset,” a character in an upcoming spoof detective novel being penned by Monte. I inquired as to the origins of the band name..

“I joined a year after the band was formed, so I wasn’t present when the name was chosen. There are many iterations of the name. Some say it was a tip of the hat to Delta Goodrem, some say it paid homage to Delta Blues, and some say it means nothing. You can choose your weapon among those or more options.”

The band consists of Elliot Hammond on vocals, Michael Tremonte on bass, Alex Markwell on guitar and vocals, Jesse J Pattinson on guitar, and Simon McConnell on the skins. When asked about the challenges of touring in a post -Covid landscape, he said “We have been blessed to be able to keep doing this thing. Thats not to say it’s been easy. It’s been hard sometimes, especially post Covid, where everything is a lot more expensive to do, and theres a lot more saturation in the market. There are so many shows, and tickets arent selling like they used to for anyone. We are fortunate enough to have had some wins along the way , and its helped us keep some skin in the game”

Some of those wins include being booked for the Kiss final show , alongside Weezer when Kiss tours later this year. Given the theatrical, flamboyant nature of Kiss shows, as a counterpoint to the more earthy, music centered shows that Delta Riggs are known for, it seemed like an unusual pairing. “Yes, it is a very unusual pairing, but we weren’t gonna say no.” This positive attitude is reflected in their lyrics. The song that was the breakthrough for them was “Supersonic Casualties”.

“We were marching along
In our Marmalade shoes
In the Peppermint rain
Washing away all our blues”

The song is reminiscent of the psychedelic era of The Beatles, especially Yellow Submarine and Sgt Peppers. “Elliot and my brother were at Queenscliffe festival. I think they may have taken some mushrooms, and were just dancing around and doing a ‘bit’.” This evolved into the lyrics for the song.

“That song really let us ‘Olly up’ to the next level. It got flogged on Triple J, we picked up the Kasabian tour, we got Primal Scream, we did Splendour the next year, so yeah, it was the one that really put us on the map.” Songwriting duties fall to Elliot, a multi instrumentalist and main lyricist, with Monte and Alex contributing substantially to music and arrangements.

Their latest offering, “Solutions” has a slightly more serious message. Although delivering an upbeat and positive outlook, it draws on a darker event for inspiration. “I was sitting with a vagrant, he was drifting in the dark, He pulled a knife on my friend Fletcher, rolled a beggar in the park
You’re not here to judge me, it hurts me when you stare,” actually reflects a real life event where a friend of the group, James Fletcher , was stabbed in the chest in a park on the Gold Coast.

“The knife lodged in his chest. It just missed his heart , it was mental” You can hear the emotion in Monte’s voice as he relays this story to me..
“Afterwards, James was adamant that the man had some serious mental health issues, and that was what needed to be talked about. “

That compassionate and forgiving outlook is reflective of the purveying sentiment of the song, and the ethos of the band generally. They are referred to as ‘The nice guys of Rock n Roll.’

In 2015, they were chosen to support “Foo Fighters,” after a member of “Team Foo” saw them perform in a venue in L.A. “We still remain good friends with those guys. Chris Shiflett, the guitarist, is doing a solo on one of our new recordings. It was an amazing experience.”

The latest feather in their cap is a support gig for, “Eagles of Death Metal” at the forum on the Wednesday prior to the Cairns outing.
“We haven’t played in a minute , so it’ll be the first time on stage . We haven’t played live in months. It will be fresh”

Considering their reputation for energetic, fun Rock n Roll performances, the Tanks show is shaping up to be a cracker.
“We are just going to put on our classic, fun show. We have only played in Cairns once before, so we aren’t sure what to expect. We will just do our best to make people’s night.”

The Delta Riggs have cemented a place in the Aussie music scene, and are set to be one of those bands that the cool people have in their record collection, so don’t miss the show. It’s better to say “I saw those guys “ than, “I wish I saw those guys”.

The show is this Thursday, the 27th of July, with doors opening at 7pm.
Tickets are available through Ticket Link, or at The Tanks Art Centre on the night, if they haven’t sold out.

Noel Keid

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