Trackback | The Delta 72

Gregg Foreman, to say the least, is a pretty well known guy in Philadelphia. Sometime around Thanksgiving this year I was introduced to the new incarnation of his pioneer ’60s and ’70s soul music dance party called Turnaround, which has now joined forces with Philly’s other kick ass soul/psych party, Immediate!. To say the least, the party fucking rocked.

Around 1994 or so, Foreman took his love of Stax soul and Delta blues and formed the bluesy-mod-punk outfit The Delta 72 along with drummer Benjamin Azzara, organist (and roommate at the time) Sarah Stolfa, and later added bassist Kim Thompson (of Cupid Car Club). The name “Delta 72” comes from the stretch of the Mississippi river where the Delta blues originated and the drummer’s birth year, 1972.

The group originally formed in a DC basement but later relocated to Philadelphia and got their break when Dischord head Ian MacKaye caught the group live at a DC spotlight show for up-and-coming bands. Dischord ended up putting out the band’s first 7” titled “On the Rocks.” Azzara left the group in 1995 and was replaced by Jason Kourkounis (Mule) on drums. The new lineup played a night in New York with Girls Against Boys, who pressed Touch & Go label owner Cory Rusk to stick around for their set. The band’s infamous live show won over Rusk and Touch & Go put out The Delta 72’s debut LP, The R&B Of Membership. During the band’s sets, it wasn’t uncommon to see Foreman do splits off of ten foot speaker stacks and other tall structures. Foreman joked in a Philadelphia Weekly interview that “We had an in-band joke: An okay show would be a two-split show, but a really good show would be a 10-split show.”

The diverse The R&B Of Membership bridged barriers between R&B and punk by blending frenzied guitar riffs with soulful farfisa organs and frantic hard-hitting vocals. The record from start to finish abounds with incredible amounts of energy. Following their debut, the band released their sophomore album, The Soul Of A New Machine in 1997, establishing themselves at the forefront of the R&B punk scene. The group put out their final full length, 000 on Touch & Go before disbanding in 2001. Throughout their span, the band toured with the likes of Sonic Youth, Girls against Boys, Modest Mouse, and The Donnas.

Now relocated from Miami to Brooklyn and Philly, Foreman continues to DJ as Mr. Pharmacist and will be playing/touring with Cat Power and The Dirty Delta Blues on piano and organ. Check out “Rich Girls Like To Steal” below.

[MP3]: The Delta 72  ”Rich Girls Like To Steal”
The R&B Of Membership, Touch & Go; 1994

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