DEEOHGEE (left to right) Dylan Whitow, Zack Murphy and Matthew Paige
Never heard of them? Well you have but not like this. Drawing on a life in music, Matthew along with Dylan Whitlow and Zack Murphy have set out on a new journey and let me tell you it is going to get more and more interesting as time goes on but, we are here near the start of their new journey and it is just full of lush sounding Rock n Roll with a glamorous Nashville twist that is just too good to ignore.
Glam rock for a future age with a luxurious topping of deep south cool let's get onboard right now!
Hey Matthew thanks for joining us here today. OK now you are not forming your first band here but let's get into the story of your new act Deeohgee. You are the guitar player and singer can you tell us who completes the line up and indeed why choose the handle of Deeohgee?
Matthew Paige ; Yeah Dylan Whitlow plays bass, piano, guitar, sings and contributes songs. And Zack Murphy plays drums, percussion, and also writes songs. We learned so much from our last band project that picking the right name was very important to us. We kept circling around something dog related. Not sure why.. we like dogs. We wanted something that wasn’t already filled with history and imagery. We wanted to fill in our own story. So D-O-G was in front of us and we loved it, so we just messed around with how to spell it and made it unique and claimed it for our own. It took way longer that it should’ve, haha!
Haha, yes but it makes a point for sure and gets people's attention so job done there. OK did you have a clear view of what this new band was going to be musically and visually from its inception or did it come about more organically?
M . P ; We have always been exactly who we are. Good, bad or ugly. We can’t be anyone else or try to be something we’re not. So we are pulling from our ever growing musical influences. Visually we wanted to use more art and luckily we met a great artist, Anna Pollock, who had been gracious enough to help us with all kinds of art. She’s amazing. I suppose we wanted to focus on the music and the fun aspects of banding. Not to be too serious. We’re not that serious haha!
Amen to that and so great to hear stick to your guns, and have fun, after all rock n roll is meant to rock n roll and have fun whilst doing it so once again so great to hear in these days of muzak and auto tune. OK so you got together and got the name so what was the first songs you jammed? Did you play some old stuff to get back into it or did you have new material ready to go?
M . P ; We have had our record (coming out in November on WDGO records) done since December 2018 so we were really focusing on getting that released. We believe in those songs and spent everything we had on getting them recorded (at "Sputnik Sound" in Nashville). So our first round of jamming was reproaching those songs without limitation or boundaries. Not that we played to the genera of the old name, but this new name didn’t pigeon hole us at all, so our first jams were just free feeling. We have so many songs on deck it’s ridiculous. So needless to say we are excited about the future. But one step at a time, this album will be worth the wait!
OK so let's go into the songs that are out for people at the moment. "Santa Claus Is Dead" was the first yes?
M . P ; Yeah, that was because our dear friends in The Smoking Flowers prompted us to split a Christmas themed forty five with them so we got right to work. Our friends in The Darkness had an epic Christmas song so we took that as inspiration and just had fun with it. Now we have a Christmas anthem haha!
Indeed every glam rock band needs one true hahaha. Glam Rock comes in many forms and I think you guys ooze it! Ok the next track you released was "A New Way Of Life" definitely a firm favourite for me. Was this one a clearing of the decks for the new band or just a life affirming track that you had?
M . P ; This song, along with lots of songs off the new record sort of went along with of current events.. before they happened. It was kind of freaky. But this one was more of a reckoning of a new way of existing after you lose something or someone. And in a way it was clearing the air for our new band
Yes great tune and great a great philosophy. OK next up is "Going To The Woods", this has a great deep south vibe and then just rocks out into a Redd Kross kind of vibe. Was that the thought when writing this one?
M . P ; This song was in response to getting harassed by cops more than once for dumb stuff. It’ll inspire you to leave here haha! Lots of my favourite songs are just riffing on one chord and that’s pretty much what’s going on here. A hillbilly jam and then you stomp on the fuzz and let it all hang out. It’s a liberating song to play haha!
Excellent work. OK latest release is "I can't take it". Very trippy with almost a Beatles vibe to this one, tell us about this track and will this be the last release before the album comes out?
M . P ; Yes, this song was written by our bass player Dylan Whitlow. He’s a big Beatles fan and it certainly seeps through into this song. We love to jam this one live and we really get far out. This jam also expresses the frustration with living in general. We will have one more single called “Lay it on down” come out on the seventeenth of September. It’s a great one
Nice can't wait to hear that, what is the vibe to this track
M . P ; It’s actually a bit more laid back. A swinging 3/4 waltz with strings and harmonies. I play the violin so I wanted to incorporate some grander arranging on it. It's more than a normal rock song. It has a different feel than the others but still all our own. Really excited to share this one
Violin too sounds a very interesting track to look forward to and indeed the whole record. What can you tell us about the record that is due. What formats track listing etc..
M . P ; It will be released on full length LP vinyl. And digitally of course. I’ll let the track listing be a surprise. But there’s eleven songs on the LP and a limited edition flexing disk single with two extra tracks available too. Multi colour options too. It will be released on WDGO records at the end of November
Excellent news we look forward to it and if these singles are anything go by we are in for real treat, so thanks for making new music for us. OK before we go what are your future plans in this hopefully more positive time?
M . P ; We hope to get back to touring full time and really lean into this band as a creative output. We love traveling and sharing music and experiences with new and old friends. That’s the essence of being a live band to us. Actually live a full life and transcribe it into fun music. More albums, tours, videos and everything, we are here for as long as we are alive.
Wise words and best of luck with all you do.
M . P ; Thanks again
COMPETITION TIME
Ok to be in with a chance to win a Deeohgee T Shirt and sticker of your choice (please choose one shirt from the first two photos then one sticker from the next four photos) please answer the question below and send your answer and choice to us here.
What was the first release Deeohgee let out?
Interview conducted September 2021
Photos courtesy of Jon Morgan, Tom Wickstrom, Anna Pollock and Suits vaults.