Durham's Delta Rae could be considered old souls. Not in the conventional sense — band member Liz Hopkins was as vibrant as ever as she chatted with Diversions Editor Linnie Greene for this week's 5 Questions. But take one listen to Delta Rae's old-school vocals and the term's application becomes more clear. Drawing on intricate, powerful harmonies, gospel and influences that hearken back to the '60s and '70s, Delta Rae is a modern, youthful reincarnation of a vintage style. Here, Hopkins dishes on what it's like to be a twenty-something in the local scene and why Fleetwood Mac-esque love triangles aren't a necessary part of a career in music.
Diversions: How and when did Delta Rae form?
Liz Hopkins: Delta Rae formed about eight months ago. We all moved into a big house in north Durham off of Guess Rd. Three out of four members of the band are actually siblings, and I'm a close family friend who's sung with them a lot in the past. We officially formed as a band around September.
Dive: The local music community is obviously pretty active. As a new band, what do you think you bring to the scene?
LH: I think that one thing Delta Rae brings that hasn't been in the music scene in a long time is that we have four lead singers, so it's very reminiscent of Peter, Paul and Mary and Fleetwood Mac. We have backup harmonies in each song, and we also sing in a very full-throated, gospel way, which often surprises people based on the way we look physically as a band.
Dive: You mentioned Fleetwood Mac — what other influences do you draw upon when you're writing music?
LH: The two who do the writing are the boys, Ian Holljes and Eric Holljes, and they're influenced by James Taylor in terms of their songwriting — in terms of his folkiness. The rock part of us is definitely influenced by Coldplay, Kings of Leon — we combine folk, rock and soul. An artist that we all respect hugely that's contemporary is Brandi Carlisle.
Dive: You're all in your early twenties — do you think your youth has an impact on your music or your recent record?
LH: I think it does. I think that often our audience members are surprised at the profundity of the lyrics and the stories we tell with our songs. The depth of our songs can sound like they came from someone's life who's somewhat older than us. Ian and Eric both write with a lot of romanticism and eloquence. I think our age — I think we have pretty in-depth and intellectual lyrics for a group of people our age. The youngest member is 20 and Ian’s 25, and I’ll be 25 on the day of our cd release party. I also think, a lot of our audience, a lot of our local fans that we’ve made — we’ve got a really large group of people who are fans in their 30's, 40's, 50's and up.
Dive: Would you consider what you're doing a kind of revival, in the sense that a lot of your fans probably haven't had much exposure to Fleetwood Mac or Peter, Paul and Mary?
LH: I do, that’s a really cool way of expressing it — I do think that we’re reviving it in a way. I think that sometimes the way we sound is like a gospel choir, but we just happen to be four people. We are reviving a musical style that hasn’t been happening for awhile. Definitely the Peter, Paul and Mary and Fleetwood Mac are huge influences. Sans the love triangle drama — we’re a clean-cut group.
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