Drugdealer, the band headed by Michael Collins, is coming to The Chapel on October 30th.
Coming out of the LA psychedlic music scene, Collins originally started putting out recordings as Run DMT, followed by another project, Salvia Plath. In 2016 he released his first album as Drugdealer, The End of Comedy, a project that hears Collins and the band playing in a more ‘70s-esque singer-songwriter realm, with mellowed tempos, instrumentation, and twangy guitars.
Signing to Mexican Summer, Drugdealer put out their sophomore album, Raw Honey, in 2019, followed last fall by a third album, Hiding in Plain Sight. On all of his Drugdealer records, Collins has worked with a wide array of artists and vocalists, from Weyes Blood to Tim Presley to Kate Bollinger.
Collins said that around 2019 he had become more skeptical of his singing voice and was doubting his vocal sound. Backstage at Mexican Summer’s Marfa Myths festival in 2019, he met Annette Peacock and voiced his concerns. She told him he should sing slightly higher. He went home to Los Angeles and “started coming up with new progressions, which I’d modulate up three half steps. It forced me to find a new way to sing”, as he told Mexican Summer for Hiding in Plain Sights’ press release. Working with his “main musical partner” Sasha Winn, John Carroll Kirby, Daryl Johns, and his band members Mikey Long, Jackson Macintosh, and Josh Da Costa, Collins and co. went to work honing this record into the form it is now.
Inspired by rich traditions of songwriters, from The Beatles to Doug Sahm, Collins is deeply interested in storytelling through music. As he says, “Our group of musicians, we all just really like to hang out and tell stories together.” For a night of insightful and beautiful music, head to The Chapel on October 30th to hear some stories from Drugdealer.
You can get tickets here.
Location: The Chapel
Address: 777 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Date: October 30th, 2023
Doors Open: 7:00 pm
Ages: All ages