Americana supergroup The Delines are currently on the road in support of debut album Colfax. We spoke to guitarist and Richmond Fontaine vocalist Willy Vlautin about the Amy Boone-fronted project and his other activities.
“My dream has always been to be in a band with a really great singer!” says Willy Vlautin in typical self-deprecating style. “I have known The Damnations for years and had always loved the voices of Deborah Kelly and her sister Amy Boone. Deborah sang on the (Richmond Fontaine) album Post To Wire. When she got pregnant she couldn’t come on tour with us so Amy did. She used to jokingly ask me to write an album for her so I did!”
The resulting collection, Colfax, brings Boone and Vlautin together with Richmond Fontaine drummer Sean Oldham, Jenny Conlee from The Decemberists, pedal steel maestro Tucker Jackson and bassist Freddy Trujillo.
“They’re all great musicians,” enthuses Vlautin. “I was trying to write songs that edged more towards country and soul, that late night feel that had a groove to it.”
The Irish dates mark the first official batch of gigs for the troupe.
“We’ve done a couple of warm-up shows but not much,” he laughs. "We’re being thrown in at the deep end on this Irish tour which is both horrifying and very exciting. We’ve been practicing an awful lot so I think we’ll be alright!”Vlautin’s award-winning debut novel The Motel Life has been made into a feature film, which is currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit. Is he happy with the final product?
“It is a beautiful looking film,” he says. “I really like the fact that they shot it where I grew up, they were really loyal to the places in the book and the cinematographer was amazing. They also used brilliant animation, when one brother is telling the other crazy stories it’s all in hand-drawn animation. I’m really happy with it, I definitely couldn’t have done it better, that’s for sure.”
In related news one of his other literary outings has also been optioned for the silver screen.
“Lean On Pete is supposedly going to get made next year,” he reveals. “I don’t have any information yet but it should but work should be starting in 2015.”
Currently Vlautin is receiving many plaudits for latest novel The Free , which was given an official Irish launch in The Gutter Bookshop in Dublin earlier this year by Roddy Doyle.
“That was one of the best nights I have ever had,” he gushes. “It meant so much to me that he would take the time to do that and I had the chance to have a drink with him after. I tried not to be too much of a fan!”
The Delines play The Errigle Inn, Belfast tonight, Whelan’s, Dublin (June 4);Cleere’s, Kilkenny (5); Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick (6) and Roisin Dubh, Galway (7).