In this rare and classic 2011 interview, Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley features members of fDeluxe, formerly known as The Family — St. Paul Peterson, Jellybean Johnson, Susannah Melvoin, and Eric Leeds. The band shares an inside look at their powerful reunion and the making of their acclaimed album "Gaslight."

From the emotional core of their hit single Gaslight, to stories of recording across home studios and reflecting on their Prince-connected legacy, this interview captures the essence of a band that helped shape the Minneapolis Sound.

🎤 Highlights:

Behind-the-scenes of the Gaslight album process

Susannah Melvoin on channeling personal stories into lyrics

Eric Leeds on crafting a timeless, signature sound

St. Paul on why the album took 4 years to complete

The band's excitement ahead of their Joe’s Pub shows in NYC

Whether you're a fan of Prince, The Time, or the deep grooves of the Minneapolis music scene — this episode is a must-listen.

🔔 Subscribe for more legendary funk, soul, and R&B interviews!

#fDeluxe #TheFamily #MinneapolisSound #Funk #MusiciansReveal

Musicians Reveal official website: https://www.musiciansreveal.com

Musicians Reveal Mixcloud station: https://www.mixcloud.com/joekelleyradio/

At the end of November.

And another group, one of our favorite groups, will be performing there in New York City this Saturday night at the prestigious Joe's Pub.

Two shows in New York City.

The group is from Minneapolis and very talented artists throughout the group and one of the leaders of the band, founding members of this band, F Deluxe.

We welcome a great friend of ours.

Been on the show many times, St.

Paul Peterson.

How you doing, St.

Paul, man, I'm great.

So, so good to be back on the air with you, Joe.

Yeah, I'm doing great.

And finally the record's out and.

And we're loving the tracks.

And you're awful excited after, I'm sure, a lot of hard work getting this together.

Oh, man, you know.

Yeah.

I'll tell you what, it has been a.

It's been a long time coming, I'll tell you that.

We, we really are excited to have the music out.

It was a period of four years, basically from start to finish.

And we're so glad to be able to finally be done with it.

And we're proud of it and we're grateful to you and everybody else for playing the record and getting the word out there and be up in New York, as you said, on Saturday night at Joe's Pub.

That ought to be fun.

We're looking forward to that.

Getting out and playing with my old friends and.

And it's been great.

Really good experience.

Yeah.

The show is Saturday, this upcoming Saturday the 29th, in New York City.

Joe's Pub, New York City.

Yep.

Okay.

Still a few tickets for the two shows remaining.

Not many, but there's definitely a couple.

A couple left, I think.

I don't have my beat on that right now, but yeah, we're really looking forward to it.

Slam and band with, you know, the four of the original members of Prince's group, the family, and Susanna, my cohort, co writer in crime and jelly bean, Mr.

Eric Leeds and myself.

And then we've got a great band.

Mr.

Oliver Lieber, who's not only a great guitar player, but a killer producer.

He co wrote one of the tracks, co produced one of the tracks.

And Jason Peterson, Delaire, who I know you're familiar with.

Oh, yeah, that's right.

He's playing.

He's playing keyboards and singing with us.

And then Mario Dawson on drums.

So, you know, it's, it's, it's funky, man.

I hope you guys can make it out.

Yeah.

Personally, we're DJing a benefit, a breast cancer benefit that night.

But we hope to catch you ourselves, hopefully more.

More dates.

I know you guys are working on a lot of.

A lot of shows.

That's right.

We'll catch you another time.

And we'll be back to New York again, I'm sure.

Yeah.

F Deluxe, their website, f deluxe.com.

the letter F-E-L-U x e.com and it's Gaslight.

And, you know, everybody knows he has the family.

We won't spend a whole lot of time on the.

The change from the family to that, but.

But I guess Prince became involved in that.

Give us a little background.

Well, yeah, the name, you know, what simply said, just so we don't spend a lot of energy on it, became unavailable to us.

And that's really how we're describing it at this point, because we get too bogged down and trying to deal with stuff that's personal and, you know, it just was unavailable.

And it actually is a godsend.

We really think that F Deluxe represents who we are.

Looks pretty dang cool on a T shirt.

And you can find us more easily on the web with that name.

So it's a fresh start.

And there are, you know, we're.

We did not have any involvement from the prior producer, Mr.

Prince, but all respect to him, man, he's the reason why we're all together.

And nobody really thought this many years later that we'd all remain this close of friends and want to make music with each other again.

So many props to him and many thanks to him for putting this together in the first place.

So it just worked out that way.

And we are F Deluxe, and we love the name.

And I'm sure he's out there keeping an eye and listening, bobbing his head to the great sounds of Deluxe.

So that's great.

I wouldn't be surprised, man.

Right, right.

So you know what's really great?

I see with F Deluxe, so many of the players in the band, interchangeable, play various instruments.

I mean, you're multi instrumentalist and Jason, Jellybean, Eric and the company.

So what's it like with that many options and, you know, versatility?

You know what's so cool, man, is to see Bean up on guitar now.

I played with being on guitar and on drums, and a lot of people from the time in the original seven know him as only a drummer, but wait till you hear this dude on guitar.

It's just unbelievable.

And then you've got JP who can, you know, hold it down on Keys and saxophone.

He's not playing sax on this particular gig, but he's, you know, he's holding down the background vocals and all the parts, the string parts that I came up with.

He's got his hands full.

And then of course, Leeds, you know, what can I say about him?

He's just, he's incredible what he brings to the party musically.

And he's got, he's playing little cubes once in a while as well.

And Ms.

Sexy, Susanna just shaking her thing.

Still shaking around.

Yeah.

Great.

Better than ever.

Yeah.

Everybody's looking great in the band and belying their actual ages.

I mean, you guys are all young.

We're all around the same age, but you know, looking good and keeping fit.

So that's great.

Yeah.

It's important though.

Yeah.

You know, we're as Hungry Joe as we were when we were 17, when we were doing this the first time with the time and the family.

And that's what's fun about it.

We're doing it for the right reasons because we genuinely like hanging out and writing music with each other.

And you know, we're finishing what we started, but with a brand new twist to it.

So we're, we're, we want to do this.

We're hungry.

We want people to come out.

We want people to check out the record.

And you know, you can do that right at on itunes or go to f deluxe.com and you can check it all out.

Yeah.

Speaking about the record, we're going to get into at 8 in just a few moments.

But hey, I wanted to ask you, how's your mom doing?

Mom is better.

I actually been staying over at the house a little bit here and there.

We've been all taking turns.

Mom just turned 90 and she sold out her 90th birthday concert at the Olag Theater.

About 700 people, lots of luminaries and lots of people came out to pay tribute to her, including the University of Minnesota, the musicians union, the city of Richfield, the governor of Minnesota.

It was incredible.

And she just had a little health scare and she went to the hospital for a week and you know, in her head she's 20 and her body's just 90.

Right.

But she's got a great attitude.

She came out on Friday night and played a gig with us and sounded better than ever.

And we're just so thankful that she's feeling better.

But thanks for asking.

Yeah, no problem.

Definitely we're thinking about her and we, St.

Paul and myself share something in common.

Waking up with an IV of coffee in the morning.

Right.

I saw.

Did you see that?

So true.

So true.

Oh man.

And it continues right around now is what, 5:30 and I'm.

I'm starting to fade.

So the next pot starts going on.

Yeah, I gave up all the other stuff a while ago, so.

Picked up.

Right?

That's right.

That's right.

All I got left, that and chocolate.

So I'm okay with that.

Yeah, not bad.

So hey, let's get to the important stuff.

The dates coming up.

I know.

I think you're having a dual CD release party with the original 72 up in Minneapolis.

I saw something like that.

Or maybe that's.

I think there's one in California and a gentleman is putting that on out there.

But if it's.

I believe that was totally sanctioned by us.

It's just a great fan and he has done.

I think he's done another night for us as well.

But we basically done our CD release.

The first concert we did actually that was filmed September 16th.

It was a pre release.

The record actually came out.

Oh God.

Just about three weeks ago.

Four weeks ago.

So we're just kind of going out, do a few showcases here and there.

And my manager Neil is in town from Australia and we are just scheming and planning what we're planning on doing for early next year.

Yeah.

Gotta thank Neil Richards, the funky bald head all the way.

I know he's been traveling, not feeling well, but he's been.

He's been working his butt off for you guys.

So that's great.

Yeah.

Yep.

We couldn't have done it without him, I'll tell you that.

Right.

So let's see.

F Deluxe.com F-E-L-U X E.com St Paul Peterson, always a great friend, whether his solo music or working with Donny Osmond and Kenny Loggins.

Right?

Oh, oh yeah.

Adams.

Right.

Oh yeah, man.

I just, you know, it's fun, it's.

Music has been such a great ride for me in whatever genre I choose to do, man.

You know.

But my heart is always in the funk.

Right.

It's staying true.

Still got his roots in Minnesota.

And how's things up up north whenever you get back home?

I'm actually home right now and it's, you know, we're.

It's definitely fall, let's just put it that way.

The leaves are down and the next bit that comes is snowflakes.

Right, right.

That's great.

Up until about December 31st.

And then, then I start going on my so called writing sessions to warm climates.

Right.

Right.

Your brother's still out in Hawaii sometimes.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

That's.

That's great.

He does that one about the same time.

We get.

We get.

That's why they call us snowbirds, ma' am.

We can only handle it for so long.

Yeah.

F Deluxe.

Gaslight is out.

Get it now after.

Lux is definitely involved with social media.

You can check out St.

Paul Peterson posting all sorts of videos.

Sometimes he's got his camera on stage and give you a view in the video chats in the studio, you know?

Yeah, you're always working it.

So, hey, hey, Paul, we got to get into some music, and I believe Jelly Bean is going to call up in a few moments.

But tell my big brother I love him and I'll see him in New York.

And, Joe, I just can't thank you enough for always staying true to the funk yourself and always helping us out.

And we love you, and.

And thanks to everybody who's listening as well.

Yeah, we love you, too, Paul.

So, hey, continue on and definitely have a great show, and hopefully we'll see you back here.

And maybe, you know, if you guys ever can work it out, come to the studio.

We'd love to do that.

All right, man.

Take care.

Thanks, Paul.

Peace.

My next guest is a great friend of ours.

Been on the show many times, and we hanging out with Jelly Bean Johnson not too long ago.

He's been extremely busy with the original Seven the Time.

And now after Luck.

So, Jelly Bean, how you doing today?

I'm hanging in there, baby.

Yeah.

Always good to talk to you, Joe.

Oh, yes.

So where are you?

Back in Minneapolis?

Are you in la?

I just left LA about two days ago.

I was out there with them guys for three weeks, and I'm home now for a few days, and I got to go back Wednesday to rehearse a little bit before we do Jay Leno on Thursday.

Oh, that's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Then I'm coming out east to y' all.

I'm coming out to, you know, play with F Deluxe out in Joe's Pub.

Yeah, Joe's Pub.

Two shows in New York City.

And people are looking forward to seeing F Deluxe.

And we just had St.

Paul on, and he said, give some love to my brother Beam.

He loves seeing you out on stage playing guitar.

So I know you love it, too.

Yeah, you know, I love Paul to death, man.

I've been around him since he was, like, 18 years old, man.

So it's definitely a hoot to, you know, be back playing with him again like that.

Yeah, I Mean the Family.

That album came out such a classic record, but of course, a heavy Prince production and this.

You're around most of the same people.

What was it like recording this record and your involvement?

Well, it's just like with the original seven, you know, we just had more control and we could do what we wanted.

And, you know, it was just.

It was just a great feeling, man.

Just great to be able to do what you want and feel good about it and hope for the best, you know.

So.

Yeah, it was cool, man.

It was cool.

Any particular songs off the F deluxe record you love playing out live on stage?

Live live.

I like playing Sanctified.

I like playing leads line and I like playing Drummers and healers.

Oh, yeah, yeah, we just played it.

That's a cool song, that.

Yeah, that's classic Minneapolis funk.

I.

I like that because they let me loose a little bit, you know.

I'm so loud, Joe, so you probably tell you that damn bean is loud.

Yeah.

But hey, that's just.

Hey, all right.

So you gotta remember I'm in.

I'm in a band with Jesse Johnson.

Yeah, that's right.

Who cranks it up louder?

Who cranks the amp up louder?

You, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Tory Ruffin or.

Jesse, Man, Jesse and Tori are right there.

I'm not lying.

I mean, me and Roddy are mostly blues cats, but Jesse and Tory are Hendrixed out, man.

So, you know, we talk about Marshalls and you know, I love them though.

I love it.

But they.

They definitely louder than me and Ronnie.

No question.

Yeah.

So do you wear.

Do you wear your plugs on stage?

Sometimes.

After luck?

Sometimes.

Because we're on pro twos sometimes.

So, you know, I do.

I.

I have in ears sometimes.

But then sometimes I'm.

I'm old school, Joe.

I like just a monitor, right.

My ears are.

My ears are pretty much gone anyway, so I like the monitor because I like to feel the band, you know, and with the in ears and stuff, you can't really feel it like.

Like you want.

Now the audience is loving it, but me is.

You know, it's a struggle a little bit.

Right.

So.

So the Joe's Pub kick.

You.

You always love being in New York City.

I think you guys hit BB Kings not too long ago.

Yeah, we were just at BB Kings with.

With the more stand day in the time version.

New York is always who.

Even though the traffic is like ungodly.

But I can't say nothing because I just spent three weeks in LA in that traffic, man.

It's a lot of Moving parking lot crap there too.

Right, right, yeah, I remember.

Yeah.

Because you mentioned prior to coming up from New York to Connecticut.

That was you guys?

Yeah.

Oh, man, it was crazy.

Man, that, that was some crazy traffic, Joe.

I won't forget that one.

Yeah.

Now the last time you were in New York City and Connecticut, you basically did what Minneapolis musicians do, they play around the clock.

You did the BB Kings.

One or two shows, I think two shows.

You went down to the Bitter End and jam with Days of Wild Friend Guy Ous and company.

Yeah, yeah, I did.

I love them, man.

Yeah, yeah.

Gyosh, you know.

Yeah, always.

You know, I don't know if I told you this, but I went to see them play there a while back and he was on stage actually playing the drums.

They were doing a Sly Stone song and he was carrying on a conversation with the bassist, which we could hear because we were close to the stage while he was playing, you know.

Oh, when I used to play with Sly and right in the middle of the song I was like, this guy's crazy.

He is crazy, but he funky, man.

I love it, man.

It was a dude.

He had a guitar player.

Dude had a big Hendrix Astro.

That boy was phenomenal.

I don't know who he is.

I don't, I don't even get his name, whatever, but he is off the chain, man.

So I just enjoyed that night.

Me and Tori went down there and of course as soon as we walked in door, he like pulls us up on stage.

Oh, yeah, yeah, he loves you.

The guy came in the door, I.

Was like, I want to get a drink or something.

Oh, come on, come on.

Yeah, that, that's.

That club is Bob Dylan's played there.

Cosby, everybody.

Yeah, that's a historical place, man.

It really is.

I, I know the history behind it is a.

Is a great place.

Yeah, I know.

So, so you've got an awful busy week.

I mean, you're home just, just for.

A flash, just for a few days and then I'm out here again, man.

I did so many of these cross country tricks, Joe, that I'm, you know, I just, you know, I signed up so I, I guess I need to quit complaining.

But it's a trip, man, from going to coast to coast on them all night flights and crap, man.

It's something I'm gonna tell you now, now you got.

You did a big show.

Club Nokia, the original seven the time back back in fine form with condensate.

Right?

Real cool video and everything like that.

Yeah, thank you, man.

Yeah, thank you and.

And you've got a Minneapolis show coming up.

Yeah, we played November 5th at the State Theater here.

So that should be.

That should be fun.

I'm looking forward to it, man.

You know, we played the state fair earlier this year with.

With the Morris Day in the time version.

And it was just.

We did two days, man.

It was ridiculous.

It was thousands and thousands of people.

I was like, God, it was scary.

It really was.

And hopefully east coast, you guys will come here with the original seven, you know, I guess.

Yeah, we're supposed to.

They're working on it right now.

I think Terry's working out some stuff.

You know, we got to come out there too, man.

Yeah, definitely.

We'll be there at some point.

Yeah, everybody's digging that record.

And F Deluxe, of course.

Amazing.

I mean, you're playing drums and guitar and, you know, just.

Just a multi talented musician.

And I know you, you get to play with some of your dear friends.

St.

Paul and Eric Leeds and Susanna.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's great, man.

You know, me, Paul and Eric have been in bands, you know, over 30 years, different bands.

We were in a band here.

It was in a badass band here called the Truth.

You know, for a few years.

Chance was in there, right?

Yeah, Chance.

It was the crop of the top Minneapolis musicians.

It was a joy to be in, I'm not gonna lie.

It really was.

We didn't last that long, but it was kind of hard because everybody was in national acts and stuff.

But that band, when everybody was there, it was absolutely frightening.

It really was.

Yeah.

And you're with staying true to the Minneapolis flavor when, when you're not gigging, you're right back at home and enjoying those cold winters.

And I wish your team was a little better in football, but, you know, it ain't happening this year, I don't think.

Hey, I can't even say that.

Yeah, no, they go turn me into a Green Bay Packer fan.

Oh, no, no, no.

You won't go that far.

I don't see with the cheese head on the drum set up there.

No, I can't do it.

But still, I mean, the Vikings are just so bad.

And Timberwolves too, man.

It's hard.

We going through it right now, but, you know, we.

I want to believe we're going to rebound someday, you know?

Yeah, well, I'm a New York Mets fan, so we're, we're.

Oh, yeah, you know, you feel my pain.

Yeah, I got the Giants.

You know, the Giants are somewhat good this year, but.

Yeah, the Giants and Jets are somewhat good, you know, I love the jets because they just brag, but.

Yeah, Rex don't care, man.

You know, I like that.

That's your kind of coach.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's my kind of coach.

You don't care.

He.

He can even know he's gonna get his butt.

Whoop.

He don't care.

I'm going down swinging.

Yeah.

So.

I like that.

So, hey, we'll.

We'll be.

We'll be watching you Thursday night with Jay Leno.

You think they'll let you do two show songs or usually just one?

It's probably just one, man.

Just one.

You know, J.J.

has always been cool to us over the years.

Yeah, we've been on there many times, so I'm sure it'll probably be just one stuff, but it'll be cool.

We'll make it fun, right?

And open it up on the Soul Train.

That's gonna be nice.

Yeah.

Looking forward to that, too.

Yeah.

Traveling down to Georgia and.

And, of course, more importantly, this.

This Saturday night, two shows in New York City.

Jelly Bean Johnson on guitar.

And, you know, few songs on drums, too, right?

Yeah, a few songs on drums, too, man.

They got me on double duty on Off Deluxe, man.

That's right.

Start charging them double.

That's right.

Yeah, you definitely.

You definitely earn it.

I talked to Paul about that.

Right, Right.

Yeah, he's in town.

I'm sure you guys will see each other.

And, hey, Bean, thanks so much, you know.

Hey, thanks for having me, Joe.

You know I love you.

Yeah, love you, too.

And my buddy JD Told me, say hi.

He was going to come down, but, you know, I think he got caught up.

He hasn't come down here yet, so.

Okay.

I got him hooked up, too, for Saturday night.

I'm gonna hook him up.

I love JD I just saw him.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right, man.

Yeah, we can't make it there.

We were telling Paul, DJing a breast cancer benefit that same night up here, so.

That's right.

Yeah.

So, okay, so we'll see you in F deluxe form or original seven, hopefully very shortly.

Okay, for sure.

For sure, Joe.

All right, brother.

All right, bro.

Much love.

Take it out on stage.

All right.

We're gonna go out with one of Jelly Bean's F Deluxe tracks, Sanctified.

And thanks, brother.

All right.

Take care, man.

Hey, we welcome Susanna Melvoin.

Are you there, Susanna?

I am here.

Hello.

Yeah.

Great to finally have you on.

And great to have a new record from F Deluxe, Gaslight and You're doing extremely well, I'm sure.

Well, you know, it's a pretty nutritious experience playing this music and playing it with all these folks that, you know, I love.

So I'm good on all fronts, I suppose.

Now, this album was actually recorded, Paul mentioned over four years, but it's really cool that even some of it took place in your garage.

We saw some of the clips of working on the record St.

Paul in the garage at your home.

So tell us about some of the things that were going on in recording.

Gaslight, you know, it's a great.

Gaslight is actually.

It's interesting.

It's a name meaning, you know, the ruthless manipulation of somebody or for nefarious reasons.

It's just really.

It's like believing that they're going crazy, imagining things or, you know, hearing sounds, experiencing things that are weird.

And I think that love has that element in it.

It keeps us going back for more when it's not real.

And we all Gaslighted at some point or another in bad relationships, you know, just really ugly ones.

So I'd had Gaslight written many years ago, the lyric.

And Paul and I had been.

We had a run out here for about a week, just recording and playing.

And then one particular night, Paul was so not into working.

And it was just like, paul, we've got to get something done.

You're leaving tomorrow.

We've got to get something done.

And he's like, I don't.

I'm just done.

I'm finished.

I just want to sit out here in the.

In the.

At the backyard.

Because my garage opens up into my.

You know, it's like a sitting area and the outside, and it's actually quite beautiful.

So we had great times just hanging out.

And, you know, it was.

You know, it's funny how it.

When you're sort of like in your last.

Your last leg, you just sort of push it out.

And I said, look, I've got this lyric, Gaslight.

Let's just.

Let's.

Let's do it.

Let's just write Gaslight, you know.

And that's what happened that night we wrote Gaslight.

And it was the greatest experience of, like, pushing through, being really uncomfortable and not wanting to work and then seeing, you know, the fruits of your hard work and, you know, like, another element of your, you know, inspiration comes into play.

So we had a lot of great experiences like that.

My, you know, recording it the way we did this whole record gave us a lot of space to experience our own relationship with the music.

Like, I Don't know if that makes much sense to folks, but, you know, on an intellectual and emotional level, if you're not asked to do something at a time limit, when you're not.

No one's hounding you over your shoulder like, you need this done.

Radio needs this specific kind of track.

Or, you know, it's like, you do this because you want to, and you're.

You know, you're having so much fun, and there's no time limit.

Get the record that you want to get done, and that's how.

And that's why it took that long.

In addition to the fact that, like, none of that's paying any rent.

So you gotta.

You gotta take care of the pragmatic stuff, and then you go back in and be creative.

So.

And there was a lot of that, so.

And well, yeah.

Susanna Melvoin joins us right now From F Deluxe.

Fdl uxe.com the band will be coming to New York City.

Yes.

Come, come, come, come.

Two shows.

Come and dance with me.

Yeah, that's right.

Two shows.

And I guess, plans you guys are working on some more dates around the country, hopefully.

We are.

And it's amazing.

You know, Joe's positive.

I found out we were doing two shows back to back.

I looked at the guys, I said, are you guys crazy?

I'm a wild animal on stage.

You're gonna have me go up on stage and do that show again?

And it's just.

I want to kill him.

But, you know, who knows?

Maybe that'll be the best thing about it, that I'll just be so exhausted that it.

You got to talk to Jelly Bean, because we've seen him a couple times when the Time plays over at BB Kings, and they do those two shows back to back.

So.

It's insane.

It's totally insane.

It's like, what are we all thinking?

Like, what is this really about?

Yeah, exactly.

Come on.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But, you know, it's funny.

Like, again, you get to that point where you're so exhausted, you're like, all right, let's just go do it.

Let's see what happens.

And then it's usually the best show you've ever done.

Let's talk about the family.

Great record.

I still got several copies of the record sealed up in vinyl that I bought down in Greenwich Village in New York.

And you guys did one show as a band rehearsed, I'm sure, plenty of times.

But what was it like?

Kind of getting the rug pulled out from under that band and Back, back then.

And, you know, when you're ready to go out there and show this band.

You know, I gotta say that none of us.

Well, no, I can't say that.

No, I'll speak for myself.

I wasn't too surprised, I have to be honest.

I wasn't, I wasn't.

The rug didn't get completely pulled out from underneath me.

I just had my, my feelings about it were, you know, we were, we were, we created this thing with Prince.

You know, I've said before, we're characters in this novel that he'd written called the family.

And him being the author of that and us being these characters in this novel, the novel was never finished.

So we as the family decided we were going to finish this book off.

Now, it doesn't have the same ending that Prince had imagined at the time, but I'm just never one to, to look back on something and say, oh my God, my, You know, this is, it's over.

You know, I never thought, oh, it's over now.

There's nothing any of us can do because we just lost the big opportunity.

It wasn't that way.

It was just like on to the next.

And Paul, you know, extraordinarily talented.

I mean, you know, like something.

And we were both kids and here's the.

Both of us have, you know, making no money.

No money.

I mean, zero money.

Like what we were doing was for the love of it and it was actually more for me, the love of it.

I think Paul had more of a feeling like, you know, I got a family to raise.

Even though he was only with his, you know, soon to be wife and mother of his children, I think he just had that in mind.

And his brothers, all recession players, they were all making money and they were all doing this thing.

And he got lured, you know, I mean, young 19 or 20 year old kid gets a call from John McClane saying, you know, we want you to produce some tracks for Janet Jackson.

Come on out to L.

A, we'll send you out.

So he goes, he gets out there and it wasn't Janet.

It was like, no, we really want, we're really, hey, we have you out here because we want to sign you.

And he was like, really, you know, like, what kid wouldn't want to get signed?

You know, it just didn't surprise me.

And I, you know, and I love him so much and I love all the guys that I played with and we've played together since.

So it's not, it's unfortunate, sure, that we never got another record and that record really was on its way of doing something, but.

But, you know.

You know, it's such as life, you know what I'm saying?

It just.

It just kind of happened, and we just get on with it and.

And I'm cool and I'm okay, and I think everybody else is, too.

It's just the way it ended up.

Yeah.

We're here, like, 26, 27 years later and.

And sounded great.

Gaslight fdeluxe.com and Susanna Melvoin is with us about five minutes.

We're gonna get into.

We've got another interview to.

To air.

But, you know, I got to say this about your dad.

You.

I got a little behind the scenes.

I.

I've had your dad on the program before, and your dad is.

Your dad is one of the classiest guys because he was on the show.

And about a week later, I received a handwritten card sent to me from your dad.

I.

I always.

That sticks out in my mind, like, how caring your dad is, so.

Oh, I've got to say, my pop is the most.

You know, he's really, really sick right now.

Yeah.

Yeah, I was gonna ask.

I heard about that.

Yeah.

So, yeah, he's.

You know, I just, you know, it's a.

You know, the man is.

You know, he deserves to live and get through this, but, you know, we just have to say our prayers and hopefully pop will get through it.

I don't know, but, you know, I love this man, and he's a.

He's a genuinely lovable, sweet, smart man.

You know, I mean, and, you know, I love him.

And that's the good news about all of this, is that no matter what's going on with him, you know, he's so deeply loved, and that's all I can ask for.

And he's, you know, if there's nothing quite like it, you know, as a dad, I mean, everybody.

Every kid's got their issues with their dad and their mom, like, you know, had a terrible childhood or blah, blah, blah.

Like, I.

Watching my father play always just erased any sort of crap that, you know, parents can do.

And that's my experience with my father, because he's an amazing player, and he's always stuck with it.

And he's always been, like, true to bebop and jazz and loves the expression and loves to play.

And, I mean, he'll play anywhere, and he loves it just as much.

You know, it's just.

It's a beautiful thing.

So, you know, I'll tell him that.

You.

You said so.

And it'll make him feel good.

Yeah, that made a big impression on me.

I mean, so, yeah, tell him you said hi, wishing him well.

Oh, I absolutely, totally, totally will.

Yeah.

Beautiful.

Yeah.

So Joe's Pub, Susanna Melvoin will be shaking it up on stage.

Two shows.

She's gonna be ready.

Oh, yeah.

You'll see me get skinnier by the end of the night.

How's Wendy doing?

Do you guys see each other often?

Oh, you know, yes, with two peas in a pod.

Wendy and I went to the Hollywood bowl the other night to go see Robin and Royk's up at the Hollywood Bowl.

It was a night out and it was fantastic.

I see Wendy all the time.

All the time.

Yeah.

Yeah.

She's my best pal.

There you go.

So, hey, finally an honor to have you on no Bits in a long time coming.

We've always wanted to have Suzanne on the show.

Oh, thank you so much.

And everybody.

You know, it's so great having everybody just be there all these years and just hanging out with us and.

And come down to the show and have some fun with us.

If you missed out on the F Deluxe special, we'll be re airing it in its entirety with additional songs from Gaslight at Upper room with Joe Kelly.com throughout the week.

And also go out and see them at Joe's Pub.

Beautiful.

We're going to go out with the title track, so thanks, Susanna.

You're so welcome.

Thanks.

And right now, great friend of our show.

Been on the show several times, but it's been a while.

And his name is Mr.

Eric Lee, saxophonist and keyboardist extraordinaire.

How you doing, Eric?

Good, Joe.

How have you been?

I've been doing pretty good.

And you've got.

You got this great record coming out with F Deluxe.

I know definitely.

You must be excited about it.

Oh, absolutely.

It's, you know, it's long overdue, I think.

Yeah.

Now, you're still based in Minneapolis primarily, right?

That's correct, yeah.

How was it recording?

And did you fly out to L A lot for this?

No, actually, we did most of it right here in Minneapolis.

I did in fact, all of my stuff right here.

Paul Peterson, the other lead vocalist in the band along with Susanna, he's got.

Everyone's got studios in their homes now.

That's right.

And Paul lives about 10 minutes from me, so it's real easy.

I just jump over to his place and.

And he went out to LA quite a bit because Susanna lives out there.

So he would go out there and spend time out there working on music with them, with her.

And, you know, nowadays you can record a whole album on your laptop.

So Paul would go out there and they'd work on music.

They'd put it on his laptop.

He would bring it back to his home studio.

He'd call me.

So we got some tracks ready to go.

Come on over.

Let's have some fun.

And there you go.

Yeah.

F Deluxe.

F Deluxe.com and how.

How about playing on live?

You play keyboards?

Flute and sax, right?

Yeah, primarily tenor on this gig.

A little bit of flute, a little bit of keyboards, but basically I'm the horn man on this one.

You know, I'm sure you've seen, you know, comments from fans and online that the.

The quintessential the.

The.

The sound Eric leads that everybody, you know, the way you define, you know, your playing.

How does this musician define that kind of playing?

It's recognizable and people digging it.

Well, I think it's just a matter of, you know, for me, the most important thing is just develop your own sound and it kind of becomes your calling card.

And stylistically, it's, you know, whatever I do is just pretty much the sum total of the musicians, the saxophone players, the other musicians that have, you know, meant so much to me over the years.

Now, how about your own?

You've been working on solo material as well, or sticking primary.

Well, nothing specifically in the pipeline, although we hope to maybe get back on some stuff of my own within the next few months.

I've continued to write and just kind of put.