Rocco DeLuca and the Burden
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| Rocco DeLuca | |
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 Rocco DeLuca at the Commodore Ballroom, February 2011 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Long Beach, California |
| Genres | Indie rock, Alternative Rock, Blues rock |
| Years active | 2005–2009 |
| Labels | Ironworks (USA) |
| Associated acts | Slash, Tom Chaplin, Daniel Lanois, Black Dub |
| Website | http://www.roccodeluca.com |
| Members | |
| Rocco DeLuca | |
| Past members | |
| Dave Beste Brett Bixby† Ryan Carman Greg Velasquez † live only |
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The California-based Rocco DeLuca and the Burden was originally formed as a four-piece American indie rock band in late 2005. The band no longer plays together, though DeLuca remains a solo artist and sometimes plays with close friends in concert.
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[edit] Rocco DeLuca
Rocco DeLuca (born December 27, 1975 in Torrance, California) is a half Italian, half German rock artist. He grew up in Lake Elsinore, CA and Long Beach, CA.[1] DeLuca is known for his use of the Dobro, a trade name now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar. DeLuca began his career as a solo artist opening for artists like Taj Mahal, John Mayer and John Lee Hooker, and has had the opportunity to play with Johnny Cash.[2] Starting in 2003, he had a residency at the Gypsy Lounge in Lake Forest, California nearly every Tuesday, running until 2006. In 2005 DeLuca was recognized by independent record label Ironworks. From 2005 to 2009 he led the band Rocco DeLuca and the Burden and signed with Ironworks. After the band's last performances in 2009, DeLuca continued as a solo artist, and working on projects with Slash and Robbie Robertson.
"My initial meeting with Rocco - It was pure and centered and seemed to have a sense of purpose, and I felt that there was something burning in his heart that I could be helpful to. It had that kind of truth in it that I decided to run with. I like the street corner aspect of working with Rocco, it woke up a certain part of my renegade ways I’m trying to keep alive these days. I fully believe in DeLuca. I think that he’s got the power to be a contemporary troubadour, as I see it, and I hope I can be his friend for a long time, whether I am operating in the same limelight, ahead of him, behind him, in his shadow, whatever it takes, I’ll be there. The one thing that I love about Rocco DeLuca is he is driven by his own heart." - Daniel Lanois
Rocco Deluca was born in the winter in Southern California. Like other Angelenos he was surrounded by local literature, Latino art, motorcycles, film and music. His early years were spent studying the likes of Billy Holiday and Nina Simone as well as the darker and raw Delta Blues heroes of the 1920's. At the age of seven, he taught himself to play listening to these records. By the time he was a teenager, Rocco had developed the skills and the confidence to start performing for others. For the first few years, he played only specific instruments. It wasn't until later he discovered he had a voice. Street busking, clubs, theatres and festivals, Rocco has performed around the world many times over with his 1931 National by his side. His authentic and unusual lyric and voice has since garnered him international attention and acclaim.
Rocco has had the good fortune to cross paths with and gain inspiration from various legends. John Lee Hooker gave DeLuca the opportunity to support his live shows. And later, Johnny Cash and June Carter were kind enough to invite him into their Hendersonville home, where values and excellence were displayed. Most recently, Deluca was recorded by and toured with Daniel Lanois, where he learned great lessons in work and experimentation.
[edit] I Trust You to Kill Me album and documentary
Rocco DeLuca and the Burden's debut album, I Trust You to Kill Me was released on CD on March 21, 2006 on the Ironworks label. The album was produced by Jude Cole and mixed by Florian Ammon, except for tracks 2, 7 and 10 which were mixed by Dave Reed. The album was engineered by Florian Ammon and Dave Reed.[citation needed]
I Trust You to Kill Me is also the name of the bands' behind-the-scenes documentary.[3] It coincided with the release of the debut album of the same name, which the band promoted in 2005.
On Friday May 5, 2006 Kiefer Sutherland appeared on the UK chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross to discuss 24 and the I Trust You to Kill Me documentary. The band toured Europe from late 2005 to early 2006.
According to the film's official website, public screenings of the film were held in New York City, West Hollywood, California, and San Francisco in September 2006.
[edit] Promotion
Kiefer Sutherland, along with Jude Cole through their co-owned record label, Ironworks, was the biggest promoter of the band. Sutherland offered such support as playing the role of the band's tour promoter and manager and helping produce the TV documentary I Trust You To Kill Me, where they traveled the world promoting the band in 2005. Later, in the first week of May 2006, the band and Sutherland hit the United Kingdom to promote their new release by playing some live shows. In summer 2007, the band also did the first part of the English band Keane Under the Iron Sea Tour in North America.
The band appeared on several TV shows, such as the Jimmy Kimmel TV show, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Kastljós in Iceland,[4] and Top of the Pops in the UK on May 22, 2006.[5]
In March 2008, DeLuca became the first of four featured artists in Hotel Indigo's Artists in the Spotlight program. www.hotelindigo.com/podcast
[edit] Mercy
On March 10, 2009, Deluca released his second full-length album, entitled Mercy. This time, working with U2 producer Daniel Lanois on the album.[6] For "Mercy", Deluca decided to strip down the setup to make the live experience "more personal," as he explains, and shortly after the album's completion Deluca and drummer Ryan Carman toured as a duo without bassist Dave Beste and percussionist Greg Velasquez. Despite the downsizing of the act, Beste and Velasques were still both featured in the studio recordings for the album and relationships with them remained intact. Celebrity promoter Kiefer Sutherland directed the music video for the album's most-promoted single "Save Yourself", which was used as the promo for the television movie 24: Redemption.[citation needed] Producer Daniel Lanois played a big role in the methods used in the studio recordings. Deluca has cited Lanois as a hero of his and Lanois has many times made guest appearances with him on stage.
[edit] Band member contributions
The band's material was almost exclusively written by Rocco DeLuca himself. He was also the only primary band member who was a determining force in the project. Besides his shrill, unique voice and unique implementation of his resonator guitar, he also played glockenspiel, piano, organ, and banjo in the studio recordings. Long-time friend, Ryan Carman played the drums, glockenspiel, cajón, and bells among other percussion instruments. Original percussionist Greg Velasquez has also been credited for keyboards, and original bassist Davis Beste has been credited for glockenspiel, piano and organ. Producer Daniel Lanois was credited for electric piano, electric guitar, strings, percussion, pedal steel, lowery, and piano in the album "Mercy".
Other band members and featured musicians:
- Brett Bixby - keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (during live performances of 2007 tour)
[edit] Other works and appearances
Rocco DeLuca appears on Slash's self-titled solo album which was released in April 2010. Rocco DeLuca sings on "Saint is a Sinner Too".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- I Trust You to Kill Me (2006)
- Mercy (2009)
- Field Recordings (2010)†
- Drugs and Hymns (2011)
† sold exclusively at live performances
[edit] Singles
- "Colorful"
- "Save Yourself"
- "Open Pages"
- "Saint is a Sinner too" - Slash ft. Rocco DeLuca
[edit] DVD
- I Trust You to Kill Me (2006)
[edit] Chart information
| Year | Album / Single | Peak Chart Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | Top Heatseekers | Independent Albums | ||
| 2006 | I Trust You to Kill Me | 177 [7] | 5 [7] | 12 [7] |
[edit] Popular culture
The song "Swing Low" featured in episode 9 of season 4 of Rescue Me.
[edit] References
- ^ Beers, Joel (2006). "Dream On". http://www.ocweekly.com/. http://www.ocweekly.com/music/music/dream-on/24898/. Retrieved 2006-05-16.
- ^ I Trust You To Kill Me official site (2006). "about the band- Rocco Deluca". MRB Productions. http://itrustyoutokillmethemovie.com/html/rocco_deluca.html. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
- ^ unknown (2006). "Jack Bauer Says "I Trust You To Kill Me!"". http://www.aintitcool.com. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23272. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ Kastljos (2006). "Iceland’s Kastljos interviews Kiefer and DeLuca". http://www.megaupload.com. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TSGKZTD1. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ BBC (2006). "BBC’s Top of the Pops "coming soon"". http://www.bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp/new_releases/soon.shtml. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ (2009) Album notes for Mercy by Rocco DeLuca and the Burden, p. 10 [CD liner]. CA: Ironworks Music.
- ^ a b c "Billboard Chart Listing". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=720132&model.vnuAlbumId=1217400. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
