MICHELLE DELGADO - RALPHEENE
Illustration: Jazz Torrez / Text: Skipp White
Band: Ralpheene
Duties: Bass and the occasional back-up vocal
Random
Favorite comic?
I’m not into superheros all that much, I like the cartoony comics much more. I really dig the Adventure Time comics.
Poptarts or eggos?
Neither, haha
What color of hair do you rock the most?
It’s really always different. This year it has been pink, purple, blonde, gray, and silver. I’m currently growing out my natural dark brown hair.
Rocky or Rambo?
Rocky
Music/Band
Being a female bassist, what inspired you to start playing music and performing with a band?
This year marks 20 years of me playing the bass. I started in 7th grade jazz band. I played all the way through high school jazz band, but didn’t really think I would keep playing after graduation. Luckily I met Ray (singer of Ralpheene) in 1998 and we started to jam from day one of meeting each other. This is when I actually started making up my own bass lines. There was just an ease of writing songs with Ray, and this is when my confidence in my playing started to form.
Which female bassist do you like better – Kim Gordon or Kim Deal?
Kim Deal
How long have you been playing with your band, Ralpheene?
I don’t know the exact number. Haha, but it is around 11 or 12 years.
Besides being a musician, you are also an artist that dabbles in different mediums. Can you elaborate a little bit on that?
Playing bass and being on stage is what feels most natural to me, but it doesn’t pay the bills, haha. So a few years back me and Ray decided to start our design business (Lula-Squid) to help fund our Ralpheene tours. Now it is our full time job. I mostly make plush creatures, but I’m also a freelance illustrator. I just love putting creativity in all forms out into the world.
What are some of your favorite album covers?
There are a lot of cool album covers. One that comes to mind is The Shin’s, Port of Morrow. It’s one of the coolest I’ve seen.
What are the differences in your way of approaching playing music vs creating art?
It’s very similar. Just create something you are proud of, have fun with it, and don’t care what any critics might say.
