About Me
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Outlaw rock and roll. The phrase instantly conjures up imagery of Cash, Jennings, Haggard. In its highest form, the music is heart-wrenching, regaling the listener with tales of tragic loss allowing them to see these hardships through the eyes of the story teller. But in addition, at its very core there exists a faint message of hope. That through it all, the protagonist possesses the ability to persevere through any and all obstacles laid before them. If then, the word that best describes outlaw rock music is perseverance, the Del Bombers are the very embodiment of the genre. Upon first listening to either of the Del Bombers full length albums (Life is Pain 1998, Time Wont Wait 2003) it becomes readily apparent they are no strangers to loss. And the collective experiences of the bands members qualifies them as world-class story tellers. The songs are true, honest reflections of life, and paint a real, and frightening portrait of the world we live in. ..
The band originally formed in 1996, when Stephen Grillos (vocals and guitar) and Bob James (drums) began collaborating. The two were of a similar vision: to create American rock and roll that centered around the story. They relied heavily on their travels across America: James, a very accomplished touring artist (opening for acts like Social Distortion, and touring throughout the country opening for AC/DC on their Ballbreaker tour); and Grillos, a free-wheeling wanderer, who had spent time in New York, D.C., Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and many of the highways and byways that connect them. Within months the duo went into the recording studio, releasing their first full length CD Life is Pain. The album spoke with authority about lifes great tragedies and triumphs. Songs like the Road, about a wanderer's quest for self worth in a society that negates him, La Pistola a man's battle to overcome his own self destruction, and Fading Fast, a faithful portrait of a criminal's tenuous hold on his faith in God, created a strong, visual fabric to accompany the somber and emotive musical foundation. With their first studio album released to rave reviews, the band was completed with the addition of Daniel Nolan on bass, a multi-instrumentalist and highly respected Bay Area artist, and Scott Sneddon on lead guitar, a guitarist James had toured with extensively (including the Ballbreaker outing with AC/DC).
With a completed lineup, the Del Bombers focused on live performance. After a few years of collaborating with Nolan and Sneddon, the group entered the recording studio to record their second album Time Wont Wait. Tracking and mixing took over a year, but when it was completed Time Wont Wait had taken the formula of Life is Pain to the next level. The album had a more raw live essence drawing heavily on the groups roots influences while at the same time demonstrated a maturation in the song writing and lyrical crafting of the band. Just when the band readied itself to release the album tragedy struck far to close to home. James daughter Scarlett, who suffers from RETT Syndrome, began having epileptic seizures, as many as one hundred times a day, leading to week and month-long stays in the hospital. James and his family spent the next few years in and out of the emergency room, with doctors giving them little hope. With the band hanging in limbo, Grillos turned towards academia, studying in New York and Chicago. Still, during this horrific time in James life, the two kept in constant contact, writing songs over thousands of miles distance. James desperately needed the outlet, and pored all of his pain and frustration into his haunting lyrics. Grillos responded with some of the most heart-felt and powerful music he had ever crafted.
In early 2005 Del Bombers appeared on two compilation albums released by Shut Eye Records, The United States of Americana, and Buzzlighter 10. The Del Bombers enjoyed significant radio play throughout the country due to the two compilations. By the summer of 2005 Grillos returned to San Francisco, and James daughter had made some recovery. They began writing music again with Nolan and Sneddon, and are nearing completion of preproduction for their third album Saints and Heathens. Mike Ness of Social Distortion has signed on to produce the album, which will begin recording in early 2007. The future looks brighter than ever for the Del Bombers. Like the people they sing about, they have suffered, hit absolute bottom, but have managed to overcome all obstacles, to do what they were put on this earth to do. They have not recreated the wheel, they are not attempting a new musical genre that will disappear as quickly as it surfaced. What they are doing is creating some of the most honest and heart-felt American music that would make their predecessors proud to call outlaw rock and roll.
