Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Delta Rae and its fight for marriage equality
NUNN ON ONE: MUSIC Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
2013-02-19

This article shared 7060 times since Tue Feb 19, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Rock band Delta Rae are a friends-and family-act with Ian, Eric and Britney Hölljes forming the centerpiece and Elizabeth Hopkins, Mike McKee and Grant Emerson adding to the sound. Their music can be described as Fleetwood Mac meets Blues Traveler. Hailing from North Carolina, this sextet is constantly touring and bringing their music once again to Chicago this week.

We talked about their homage to gay love by phone when they were out on the road.

Windy City Times: Hi, Ian. Where in the world are you?

Ian Hölljes: We are driving out of Utah, heading toward San Diego. It has been a real geographical conundrum what that route looks like. I can't really picture it in my brain so we are leaving it up to GPS.

WCT: You are always touring, aren't you?

Ian Hölljes: Yes, all the time.

WCT: How is it touring with your sister and brother?

Ian Hölljes: It's okay. It is good at times then at other times like right now when Eric is helping to direct me with the GPS that it is horrible! Eric says, "Hi." Overall, I feel lucky. The rest of the band feels like an extension of family. Honestly I can't imagine it any other way, which is not the normal way of being connected to your family but I think for the three of us it has become very natural. We are slowly implementing more distance because we used to live all together too. That was a little tough but now we are beginning to get individual identities.

WCT: You all grew up in North Carolina?

Ian Hölljes: Unfortunately, it is not that simple. My brother and I were born in North Carolina. My sister was born in Nashville, Tenn. Then we moved to Georgia and finally California, where we met Liz, our fourth singer. Eric and I came back to North Carolina and have been there ever since. The group has joined us there three years ago.

WCT: Was it a musical household when you were younger?

Ian Hölljes: Yes, in different ways. My brother started teaching himself piano when he was about 7. I never took to an instrument so easily. I started playing and songwriting in college. We all grew up singing and that was the main thing. I don't really know where it comes from to be honest because my parents had nice voices but were never professionally inclined toward music and didn't play an instrument.

We were self-directed towards loving to sing and our parents played a lot of great music in the house growing up. We started leaning towards Fleetwood Mac and Les Miserables and everything in between. That was our early childhood music education.

WCT: Your group is often compared to Fleetwood Mac, even switching singers like them.

Ian Hölljes: They were a big inspiration for us when we were contemplating how the band would work. We wanted this harmony sound. They are the only models, along with The Mamas & The Papas, that has reached a classic quality. They have so many great records and songs. That is what we wanted. We wanted the songwriting to be strong enough so that there wouldn't be one identifiable voice every time you hear the songs on the radio. The only one out there that knows how to do that is Fleetwood Mac.

WCT: Fleetwood is touring again. Are any of you going to the concert?

Ian Hölljes: We don't have plans to currently but I really hope we get a chance to go. It is tough being on the road. You don't get to see as many shows as you would like to. Recently, we re-recorded our song "If I Loved You" to send to radio. It is on our album, Carry the Fire. We had the thrill to have Lindsey Buckingham play guitar on it. It is unbelievable. His guitar work is distinct. He is such an incredible songwriter and has such a sensitivity and nuance to express the song in a beautiful way. This is something we never expected to have happen.

WCT: Congrats. I interviewed Stevie Nicks for her last solo record. She's a bit of a diva.

Ian Hölljes: Well, if anyone deserves to be, then it's her.

WCT: Delta Rae sounds like a Designing Women character.

Ian Hölljes: [Laughs] That is right. No, the name came from my mother. She is writing a book about a girl from the South who summons the Greek gods back to earth. We were going over names for the band for weeks and finally we thought about Delta Rae. Our mother was gracious enough to use it. It has been a really lovely synergy around her work and what we are doing. She has actually made incredible headway on the book. She is very close to finishing it up so we are feeling very excited about that.

WCT: Let's talk about your song "Chain of Love (A Song For Marriage Equality)." Did you write the lyrics?

Ian Hölljes: I did.

WCT: What inspired it? Prop 8 had something to do with it, I imagine.

Ian Hölljes: Correct. We grew up in California, like I mentioned, so I was monitoring the Prop 8 decision. When it was revealed that it had gone the way of discriminating against gays, I was really heartbroken. I think I, like a lot of people, get caught up in my bubble of family and friends and forget where the country is on gay rights. Literally that day I went in my room and wrote that song in about 20 minutes. It was a heartfelt reaction to the decision coming down.

WCT: Where did this empathy for the LGBT community start?

Ian Hölljes: Our history with gay rights really starts with my mom. In Marietta, Ga., she was a gay-rights advocate. She was with a city coalition that was trying to repeal a county resolution that said that Cobb County did not approve [gay people]. That was my context for understanding the struggles, with my mom being very involved and a public advocate.

We would get death threats left on the car windshield and neighbors shunning us. It was incredibly constructive to a 10-year-old on how cruel adults could be to one another. It has been something that has been close to our hearts ever since then and grew. We have many friends who are gay and lesbian and we feel for them. It has been wonderful to watch the tide turn.

WCT: The lyrics "love doesn't know when it's a sin" are such powerful words. You are reaching a lot of people with this song.

Ian Hölljes: Thank you. It comes from a real place of connection to it. It has meant a lot to me to see people's reactions to the song. It is very much mutual.

WCT: You played at Bottom Lounge last time in Chicago and upcoming at Lincoln Hall. I wish your mom could be at the show. She sounds amazing!

Ian Hölljes: She is. I wish she could be there too.

Look for that sold out concert at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., on Sunday, Feb. 24. Visit www.lincolnhallchicago.com or www.deltarae.com for details.


This article shared 7060 times since Tue Feb 19, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground 2024-03-24
- At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Lollapalooza announces lineup; SZA, Skrillex among headliners 2024-03-19
- Lollapalooza has released its line-up for the event that's taking place Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park. Headliners include SZA, Blink-182, Skrillex, The Killers, Hozier, Melanie Martinez and Stray Kids, among others. Some of the other acts ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13
- The ARC Music Festival—an event celebrating house music—will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Park—less than ...


Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

'Always Olivia' celebrates Olivia Newton-John at Raue Center 2024-02-26
- From a press release: Always Olivia, a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John comes to Raue Center in Crystal Lake on Saturday, May ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.