Dellacoma: Interview with Dellacoma Rio

DELLACOMA: Back to the U.S.!

by Robin Ervolina
I can't talk about the band Dellacoma without talking about it's frontman, Dellacóma Rio. The absolute Pictionary definition of a rockstar, Dellacoma caught my attention in 2015 at Rock on the Range. After a brief chat and a few selfies, I kept up with his comings and goings. This hard rocking, hard touring Aussie has made his way to the states many times, playing festivals, a Kiss Cruise Pre-party, and (perhaps my favorite of all time), an intimate acoustic tour with Jasin Todd (Shinedown, Fuel) in 2016. Last week Dellacóma told me he was coming back to the states to tour and record with his new lineup. Cue the angels, and check out our convo below!

Shockwave Magazine Chats with Dellacóma Rio

Shockwave Magazine: It's been awhile since Dellacoma toured the U.S. You've had some band member changes! Can you introduce us to the new members, and tell us a bit about how you came together?
Dellacóma Rio: Yes, it's definitely been a turbulent 12 months but the lineup we now have is incredible on so many fronts. The first to join was Tommy Sunset on bass. Tommy has been a good mate of mine for many years now and was actually involved with the writing of "Change" and "Under My Skin" on the first album before I'd met Matt and Art (original guitarist and drummer). He's from Melbourne, Australia and has a long history of local Melbourne bands including Kill Shott and Atomic Riot.
Jarrod Medwin on drums was second to join. He's also from Melbourne and is quite a talented pianist as well. His most recent band was called Massive who were signed to Earache Records in the UK and have done a stack of touring across Europe. Both Tommy and Jarrod filled in on my last European tour and I asked them to join permanently as soon as we all got home.
Jasin Todd was the final piece of the puzzle and has only done a handful of shows in Australia to this point with us. I met Jasin a couple of years ago and we have become good mates. He was the original guitarist in Shinedown and has also been a member of Fuel and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster so he's quite experienced and has been a wise head to have around the group.

"We are still a hard rock band, but you can expect a lot of new textures and flavours on this album."

How have the new members changed your sound? Has it pushed your music in a different direction?
I guess that'll be up to the listener at the end of the day, but I do feel that we are more expansive now with our sound. I already wanted to be broader with the second record, but having the new lineup has definitely helped that to happen. Jasin has a lot of soul and blues in his playing and writing and Jarrod plays keys so that brings a different feel to the writing process. We are still a hard rock band, but you can expect a lot of new textures and flavours on this album. It's been a truly collaborative writing effort.
You did some pretty extensive touring both as a band and as a solo artist last year. There's no easy way to recap the whole thing, but what were some highlights of your time both at home in Australia, and abroad?
Last year was such a blur with everything going on but I reckon I would have to say our first nightliner tour across Finland and Sweden with Jeff Scott Soto and his band SOTO was at the top of the list along with getting to headline the second stage at Hard Rock Hell in the UK.

"It will be broad and expansive, light and dark, heavy and soft -- the broadest musical composition I've ever been a part of creating."

A little birdie tells me you're coming to the states soon to record your new album. What's the concept for the new project?
The concept will continue the loose concept of Dellacoma musically which is rebuilding and restoring/remodeling something that feels like home. We want to write music that we want to play live so it all comes from a deep personal desire to create something that moves us individually. It will be broad and expansive, light and dark, heavy and soft -- the broadest musical composition I've ever been a part of creating.
Will it be a full EP, or an LP to get out quickly?
It will be a full album. I know so many bands and artists that don't make albums any more, but I love the process of creating stories (songs) within the bigger story (album) and taking the listener on a journey.
Have you selected a name for it?
I think we're on our 4th working title so far haha
Any hints on content or song titles you want to throw out?
We haven't selected the songs yet but some of the songs in the mix are "Til We All Belong" "Vampires" "Leave a Light On" and "I Don't Want It".

"There is a live video of Jasin and I playing "Vampires" acoustic from my house a couple of months ago."

Any clips floating around or samples of new music we can direct the readers to?
There is a live video of Jasin and I playing "Vampires" acoustic from my house a couple of months ago.
Stories behind any of the songs?
Plenty of stories behind the songs. I always write from a very personal place, either stories or feelings I have experienced or observed.
What are your tour plans for the U.S. and beyond?
We will be touring the US in April, June and July, Australian dates will be in May and June and we are looking at a return to the UK and Europe in Sept/Oct.
Tour van or bus?
Would love a bus but the bank account tells me it’s going to be a van tour haha
Who drives?
Mostly me but Jarrod and Jasin will jump when needed. We're looking at bringing a road manager with us this tour to help with driving, load in/load out and merchandising etc.
What kind of music will you be listening to and who gets to choose it?
I guess we'll see! We've never actually been in a van together as this lineup so it’s all fresh and new!

"Topeka has always been a special place for me."

What is the story behind your strong bond with Topeka?
Topeka has always been a special place for me. I have been touring there since 2011 and I have played the venue there (The Legendary Boobie Trap Bar) more than any other venue in the world!!
Will you be playing songs off the new album soon?
Absolutely! We will be playing new songs from the first show of the next tour.
What will your set list look like?
We will have songs from our debut album in the set but there will be a heavy focus on playing new music. We will throw in a few covers that we enjoy to play and we've also included a few Shinedown classics.
 Other than reading Shockwave's exclusive content as we follow your adventures, how can we keep up with all things Dellacoma?
Our website (www.dellacoma.com) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/dellacoma) are always up to date with everything we have going on
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Dellacoma will be touring April 12-24, 2018, east coast up through Ohio to Wisconsin, and finishing in Topeka. Stay tuned for dates and locations as they become available. Make sure you follow Shockwave on all our socials as we jump in the studio and on the road with Dellacoma to bring you exclusive behind the scenes coverage!