Not all rocker musicians get to perform in their hometown, let alone sing about it.
Having fallen in love with Montauk more than 20 years ago, rocker musician Joe Delia and his new band have penned a song as a tribute to the beauty of Montauk. When Delia & Thieves take to the stage this weekend, they will perform, “."
Delia started coming out to Montauk about 20 years ago and met his wife PJ Delia there in 1995. They split their time between Montauk and upstate New York.
She described him as a man of the community. “Joe knows all of the shopkeepers. At first, it was because they thought he was Mick Jagger,” she said. He does in fact have striking resemblance to the lead singer of the Rolling Stones.
Prior to his new band, Joe Delia & Thieves, he had toured extensively with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Pat Benatar, Chuck Berry, David Johansen and more. He even created the arrangement for the popular song “Hot, Hot, Hot.”
The South Fork has accepted Delia with open arms as well. Michael Clark, owner of , said when he met Delia, “We had a great conversation about the East End music scene . . . He is a total professional and his music speaks for itself. The East End of Long Island has quickly become a 'Who’s Who' of musicians with Joe Delia right there with the best of them.”
After a long career of touring and studio recording, he decided on putting together a band and in April, Joe Delia & Thieves was born.
The band was based in the idea that each member had some blues roots. Joe Delia said Steven ‘Muddy” Roues, who is harp, bass and songwriter for the band, “was really the first one to come in who was really into it.” And when his brother, Billy Roues joined later on as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, “the band really started jelling together.”
According to Delia, besides pure talent, the band works because all the members are “like-minded people.” He said once they realized the band had chemistry together they started writing a lot. “We started recording and now we have a large body of work.”
About a third of their repertoire is original and they try to keep the covers obscure. “We do stuff from Booker T to ska and reggae to stoneish [The Rolling Stones] rock stuff.” All of the music is blues based rock 'n’ roll.
They are now making a music video showcasing that beauty, and have been asking for photograph submissions of the East End from fans in the area. The video will basically be a slideshow of these photos and a few video clips. According to Delia’s wife, who is also the manager, “We wanted people who were fans of the song to be apart of the video.”
“We are getting a lot of great submissions," she said, adding the video should be completed in a month or so.
Joe Delia & Thieves, will make a few appearances in the area this weekend, including at Clark’s store for , hosted by Cynthia Daniels on Saturday at 8 p.m. Right after that they will head over to for a at .
“We are hoping for a good turn-out," Delia said. "The last we played out here we did really well. People came out and it was really cold and nasty. We realize that it is tough in the winter.”
