Paul Gallucci and John Brauchler have been friends and playing music together since their high school days. Based in the Boston area, they were an acoustic duo for years. In 2017, they formed ONE DIME BAND and with the release of their second album, Hoodoo and Holy Water, have popped up on the blues radar for a lot of listeners around the world. I was fortunate to get to chat with Paul on social media recently and ask him some questions. But first…about the music and the band.
The title cut is some badass contemporary blues…a catchy and upbeat tune that is getting a lot of airplay during my roadhouse blues shows. Witch Child is some sultry funk with great horns accompaniment. Salaryman has a Steely Dan feel to it with great vocals and a nice touch of wah wah on guitar. I loved the ‘remembrance’ tune, Mama’s Chair with it’s charming reminder of gentler times with our mothers. Something Good opens with a cool organ solo and then glides through a rhythmic reminder to us all to do something good everyday. I also loved the roots blues tune, Facing Yourself, and the fifties style blues rock & roller, Hard Luck Daddy. And the tune, Nobody’s Dog, is a tasty little ‘down the bayou’ blues number.
ONE DIME BAND’s diverse sound is crafted with Paul on lead vocals and harmonica, and John on lead guitars as well as the resonator and banjo. Supporting them on various tracks are Alizon Lissance (keyboards and accordion), drummers Chris Anzalone and Jay Gillies, Paul Konchanski and John Grube (bass), David Gordon Jr. (organ), Jackie Damsky (violin), Donna Tritico (vocals), John ‘Blue Horn’ Moriconi (trumpet) and Mario Perrett (tenor sax). As you can see from the band member instrument list, this is not your typical blues quartet just crankin’ out an album. The songs were written by Paul and John with one notable exception. Author Tim Curry sits in on one track playing acoustic guitar and singing for Hard Luck Daddy.
To me, it is always interesting to get band members perspectives on music and learn about the groups that influence them. Below are some questions I put to Paul and his answers:
- There is a delightful little tune on the new album entitled Little Time. During the pandemic, how have you all been spending your time? Writing new tunes? Reconnecting with family and friends? WE’VE DEFINITELY BEEN WRITING AND RECORDING DEMOS OF NEW MATERIAL AS WELL AS DOING SOME OUTDOOR LOCATION LIVE VIDEO THAT WE’VE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA…WE’VE ALL BEEN ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH FAMILY, TOO – THANK GOD!
- The song Mama’s Chair is about the simpler times of our childhood and our mothers. Who wrote the song? EXACTLY! IT WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN BRAUCHLER AND MYSELF.
- The keyboard interplay with the harmonica on Nobody’s Dog is pretty badass. Who is playing keyboards and harmonica? ALIZON LISSANCE IS THE INCREDIBLE PIANO PLAYER ON THAT NUMBER – SHE ALSO PLAYS HAMMOND ORGAN AND ACCORDION ON THE ALBUM…I’M PLAYING ALL THE HARMONICA ON THE ALBUM.
- Can you talk about some artists that have influenced the band since you all first started playing together back in the 1980’s. WELL, THAT’S A LONG LIST – LOL! WE’RE LOVERS OF SUCH A VARIETY OF ROOTS MUSIC FROM DELTA AND URBAN BLUES TO SOUL, R&B, ROOTS COUNTRY AND ROCKABILLY BUT WE WERE VERY INFLUENCED BY ARTISTS LIKE TAJ MAHAL, MUDDY WATERS, HOWLING WOLF, BUDDY GUY, JUNIOR WELLS, WILLIE DIXON, LITTLE WALTER, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON, CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE, ELMORE JAMES, JIMMY REED, LIGHTNING HOPKINS, SON HOUSE, ALBERT, FREDDIE AND B.B. KING, SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE MCGEE, JOHNNY WINTER, LONNIE MACK, JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN – JUST TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE!
- Are there any other contemporary blues artists out there that you all really enjoy listening to? OH YES! JUST A FEW FAVORITES ARE GARY CLARK JR., CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM, JONTAVIOUS WILLIS, RUTHIE FOSTER, TAB BENOIT, ERIC GALES, PROFESSOR HARP, AND GA-20
- With so many venues closed now by government mandate, how do you try to stay in touch with your fanbase? WE’VE BEEN POSTING VIDEOS AND LINKS TO OUR MUSIC ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE. HOPING TO DO SOME FACEBOOK LIVE PERFORMANCES SOON!
- What has been your favorite venue to play over the years? Any one that is special to the group? UNFORTUNATELY SO MANY ARE CLOSING DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT HOPEFULLY A FEW CAN RECOVER…THE CANTAB, JOHNNY D’s, HARPER’S FERRY, THE NEXT PAGE, THE C NOTE, JASPER HILL – BUT ONE THAT WAS A SPECIAL VENUE FOR US WAS THE BRIGHTON, MA LOCATION OF JONATHAN SWIFT’S WHERE WE HOSTED A BLUES JAM MANY YEARS AGO.
Hoodoo and Holy Water turns out to be quite a bluzin’ combination………..download and give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed!!!
One Dime Band – Hoodoo and Holy Water (2019 Toneblanket Records)
Ben Vee is an internet DJ and writer from New Orleans that now lives in Connecticut with his wife Annette. He started spinning records back in the 1970’s and has been writing about the roadhouse blues since 2011. He does two roadhouse blues shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and he writes about the blues when the urge strikes on http://www.benveeblues.com.
