Sweet Sweet Food Coma

The spirit of the current, or just past holiday season.. And in following the tired generalization that all musicians are late and unreliable, We want to extend to all of you our appreciation. We've been blessed with better friends than we deserve, and each and every one of you should know that we are not only thankful for your support of our music, but also for your support as our friends. The last 2 years have been more fun than should be allowed, and that is all thanks to the people who have come out and sat through the good shows, and more importantly...the questionable performances. Anyways..
It's been a little while since our last update (i'm sure that all 3.5 of you who read this have been worried). But alas, we are alive and kicking. The last month and a half have been great as we've played some great shows in some new cities. Last weekend we had the opportunity to play in Florence, AL and Knoxville, TN. Both were great to us, and we got a chance to see old friends again and meet a lot of new friends as well. The boys at Swamp Works Amps came out and back-lined the Florence show. It's always good to see them, and was an honor to play through their amps. Check them out at (swampworksamps.com), you won't be disappointed.
We have a couple of shows left to finish off the year. On December 5th we will be in Louisville, KY at the BBC Brewery (St. Matthews). They will be having their annual Prohibition Party, which should be a silly good time. If you're in the area, come out dressed in your best flapper dress or swinger suit and party with us. I've heard rumors of nickle beers, a soup line, and some loud music courtesy of us. We will be back in Nashville on December 8th for a dead-day-eve show at the Mercy Lounge. The line up for this show is unreal.. The evening will start off with the world renowned Westbound Rangers at around 9:30. Then come the earth shattering Hollywood Ten at about 10:15. We will be playing at around 11. And the incredibly talented Steve Moakler will take the stage around midnight. Doors are at 9pm, $5 cover, and the show is 18+. We will also have the boys from Swamp Works Amps back-lining this show as well, so if you'd like to hear some killer tone, or want to check out the amps, they will be there to talk shop.
And finally, there is some exciting things on the horizon for next year. We are on the tail end of the writing process for the new record. We are hoping to record sometime in January, and release the album around April or May. We'd like to end our extended college careers with a bang, and party with all of you to celebrate it. Well, that's all from this side of the table. I do hope that everyone is enjoying their food hangovers as much as I am. Just remember, it's not gluttony if it's nationally celebrated.. Much love, peace, and pie

_Ben Ringel

With Regards to Friday Night..

It is generally not the case that all 5 members of the band are simultaneously speechless... I mean, between John's well placed deep south mannerisms, Greg's "Gregisms", and Ben Azzi's squeals of joy, we can generally fill an occurrence with plenty of sound (whether appropriate or not). This past friday night was the absolute exception. We couldn't have asked for a better evening and a better party. A simple thanks comes nowhere near doing justice to everyone who came out. It was one of the best feelings in the world to be able to be on stage in front of so many friends and to be able to share such a great evening with all of you. I said it Friday night, but feel the need to reiterate the point. Friday night was an unmeasurable amount of fun for us as a band, but the really important people that evening were all of the friends that came out to party with us. You all have been some of the best friends (old and new) and greatest supporters that we could have ever hoped for. It was a silly feeling to see so many of you at the venue so early, ready to hear all the great music that the night held, and most importantly ready to party. Thank you, Thank you , Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts thank you. It is still and will remain a humbling feeling to know that there is so much support for what we are doing. And for those who were turned away at the door, we appreciate you all coming out and are sorry that we couldn't accommodate everyone. Honestly, we had no idea that we'd even come close to having so many of you out that evening. We expected about 1/3 of the number that came out, so it was very bittersweet. Now that we know how many of you like to get rowdy, we'll make sure that next time we'll find a place with a bigger capacity. For those who couldn't get in, if you send us an email (thedeltasaints@gmail.com) we'll send you some tracks to help make up for Friday night. I must also convey our appreciation to the gentlemen who we had the privilege of sharing the stage with. Braden Land is an incredible talent, whom I have just been introduced to. He's one hell of a nice guy, an incredible song writer, and a great performer. Check him out at (http://www.myspace.com/bradenland). The Hogslop String Band are some of the most genuinely nice guys that I've met since moving to Nashville. These guys put on a silly good show and I can't think of a better group of fellers to close the night. You can check these guys out every Weds over at the 5 spot in East Nashville. Finally, I can't say enough about them Westbound Rangers. These boys are some of our best friends here in Nashville, and are a group that I'm continually amazed with their talent and kindness. They are among my favorite groups and I'm not just blowing smoke. If you haven't already, please check them out (http://www.myspace.com/thewestboundrangers). Once again, thank you. We are humbled, thankful, and excited to party again soon.

_Ben Ringel

I like them French Fried Potaters

I made it through my 8-hour journey in a flying Pringles can, and have since started our collective last fall semester (knock on wood) as students. Lately I’ve been on a kick of watching the great mid 90’s movies that I hold so dear to my heart. One such heartfelt flick that I’ve been wanting to see is the great Sling Blade. Easily one of Billy Bob’s best performances, mostly because it was so easy to believe he was a redneck psychopath, with a soft spot for children. Don’t get me wrong, I really dig Billy Bob. If for no other reason than his ability to play really skuzzy roles brilliantly. And any guy who can put Brad Pitt in the “sloppy seconds” crowd deserves a certain bit of respect. He was pretty good in Bad Santa, the writing wasn’t top notch, but again believable.. (Billy Bob as a creepy mall Santa with a drinking problem.) But I have strayed from my original point. Sling Blade was a great movie and character. He was just misunderstood. I mean damn, he wasn’t retarded, he just wanted so biscuits and mustard. Is that so wrong? What stems this thought is this.. I’m sitting in my International Music Business class, trying to pay attention and write this, and I am being distracted by the professor who I can’t help but think is Karl Childer’s (Sling Blade’s) brother. He’s tall, bald, has a bit of an under-bite, stands oddly erect, and his vocal inflection is dead on. His sense of humor just about sends me over the edge. Karl’s (Billy Bob’s character) sense of humor was great, awkward and creepy, but great. He laughed at his own jokes, and seemed quite entertained with himself. My professor could sit down at a family reunion with ol’ Karl, throw back a few Dixie cups of O.J. and the morning sedatives, all the while entertaining each other with their whit and intellect. I’m looking quite forward to this semester… I wonder if he knows how to fix lawn mowers like his brother?

For all three of you readers, we are playing 2 shows on Friday (August 28). The first being at Belmont at 9:15pm on Belmont Blvd, and the second being at The Closing Bell on Demonbruen at around 10:15. The Closing Bell is 21+, but should be a lot of fun and will have some sweet drink specials. Come out and drink with us.

_Ben Ringel

Welcome to what we hope will be mildly entertaining, somewhat educational, and only moderately incriminating.

Many times over the past year and a half, we've been asked the question "what the hell were you thinking?" Well, this is our reply. A blog that will allow what would otherwise be useless thoughts and ramblings to see the light of day and allow for the possibilities of enjoyment. Please enjoy, and let us know what you think.

_The Delta Saints

The dividing curtain between first and “economy” class.

Written on 8/18/09

I’m currently at 36,000 feet, traveling 454 mph, sitting in seat 16D, and am 2 hours and 20 minutes into this lovely 4 hour and 45 minute flight. It just so happens that my seat does not recline, so my brief and frustrating catnaps have come to an end. A fun traveling tid-bit for all you frequent fliers out there, the seats in front of an exit row do not recline, no matter how hard you push, or how many flight attendants you ask. The reclining of my seat is a potential safety concern should we have to use the emergency exits and I some how sleep through the screaming and or the large boom of impact. I digress. Somewhere between my semi-conscious state between naps and the riveting in-flight movie about a travel guide falling in love with the tour bus driver, I noticed yet another interesting perk of flying first class. Just to clarify, I’m currently sitting in “economy”, joining the 150-200 people behind me with jealous hearts who are staring up into this exclusive club of “first classers”. They have the usual perks, food, booze, a hot towel or two. Now the folks here at Delta must have really thought this one through. In an effort to reign in control over possible riot activity from the hoodlums back in economy, they thought it best to add a privacy curtain to further show us the full truth that we are definitely not invited to that party, and to give them the impression that we are definitely not invited to their party. What seems most comical about this is that the aisle way is a total of 4.5 feet wide. Of that 4.5 feet, the curtain only covers about 3 feet of the total “privacy wall” area. What makes this even better is that the damn curtain is completely see thru. It’s like teasing a dog with a bone through a glass window. My face is hard pressed against this invisible privacy wall, and I’m licking the glass.

A guilty pleasure of mine while flying is the SkyMall magazine. There is a small part of me that looks forward to the first 30 minutes of each flight for the simple reason of flipping through and finding the things that will make my life more livable. It reminds me of walking into what once was The Sharper Image and being amazed that there was so much amazing things that I needed. How could I have survived so many years with out this wind and solar charger for my small electronic devices? And my poor dogs, living all these years with out a step ladder to assist them with getting up on furniture or the safety ramp that assists them in getting in and out of the pool. I feel so incomplete. I seriously love this magazine; I’m contemplating getting a home subscription. I just found an add for the “Slanket”, SkyMall’s answer to the ever popular “Snuggie”. With all of this great stuff to buy it amazes me that we are still in a recession.

I think that altitude drastically effects the portion of my brain that controls the sarcasm. I also think that the sarcasm section is neighbors with the part that controls my ability to charm older women. As we got higher and higher, I became quite the charming fellow to the older broad sitting in 16E. (Sigh…) if only I were 40 years older. I think I’m going to return to whatever music is on my iPhone and maybe try for one of those catnaps again. To all you upper cuff yuppies beyond that curtain, I have but one thing to say to you.. Enjoy it while it lasts, because soon I will be joining you, and bringing as much hoodlum economy class shenanigans as I can hold. Your days of quiet dis-concern for all of us back in the ghetto are numbered.

_Ben Ringel