For over 15 years, Deal’s Gone Bad has been a proverbial pillar of Chicago’s underground music scene. To simply label them a ska band would be categorically unfair, for their sound incorporates significant influences of rocksteady, soul, dub, Motown and more. As the band puts the finishing touches on its new record and gears up for an extensive summer tour, we met with guitarist Dave Simon to chat about much of the group’s lengthy history, as well as their various future plans. Big thanks to Mr. Simon for being exceedingly cordial and conversational.

Bill – Despite the fact that your most recent album was released in 2007, you guys have a full U.S. tour planned this summer, including dates on the Warped Tour. Not to say that you need to have a new release in order to go on the road, but would you say that your decision to do so is more a result of the current state of the music industry, or is it simply because of your band’s affinity for playing live?

Dave – Well, first of all, we’ve got half of our new album recorded already. We’re going to be on the Warped Tour compilation with one of our new songs, like 20 of the 140 bands who are playing on the thing are actually on the record, so that’s good.

Bill – Deal’s Gone Bad is often characterized as a cross between classic Jamaican artists and American Motown. How exactly did you guys embrace such an eclectic sound?

Dave – We’ve had a total of three singers. One was for only like a year, maybe. When we started it was mostly ska, but it was more like a bunch of goons drinking beer and throwing shit around and whatnot. Then Mike came in and we started to get more serious on the music part. We got this guy Julio to play keys for a while and he’s old school. He knew how to do the more soul and reggae stuff. He really helped out in terms of molding our sound. We always wanted to be a rocksteady band, not so much a third wave ska band, but we’re all like white boys from Chicago. We got lucky to have people that helped introduce us to different styles. After that, we were a cool rocksteady band. We did a couple soul songs live, but I still wouldn’t consider it a true soul thing. Then we got Todd singing with us and he’s fuckin’ Motown all day long. It’s just another piece that made us what we are now. I do agree with the people who say that we’re a rocksteady/soul band. Our new record is kind of the same as our last. It’s not much of a change or something that’s completely different.

Bill – Your band is occasionally classified or grouped with third wave ska bands. Do you identify with that scene or not so much?

Dave – A lot of the tours that we take are with bands like Mustard Plug or Voodoo Glow Skulls. We’ll play to a bunch of kids and stuff. I fuckin’ love all those people and I’m a fan of their music. Todd would say this, when he first joined and started playing in front of those crowds he’d be like, “Man, they don’t move. I don’t think they like that song”. I don’t think it’s that, it’s more that they’ve never heard stuff like us before or they’ve never been exposed to rocksteady. We’ll end up selling a crazy amount of merch and then the next time we come back all these kids are singing our songs. Do I identify with third wave ska? Yes. All these bands know too, we’re great friends. That’s why we try to get paired with them, so there’s a broader lineup. I’m definitely not a fan of seeing 25 ska bands in a row or 25 punk bands in a row. I love ‘em all, but it’s good to change it up every now and again.

Bill – Where does your band name originate from?

Dave – That’s a great story, actually. When we first started we had two guitar players and one was Matt Hensley from Flogging Molly. He and I would always talk in these A Clockwork Orange cop voices. We were playing pool and every time Matt would go to sink the 8-ball he would look at me and go, “Hmmm…deal’s gone bad for you, little Simon, yeah”. Then we were playing pool tournaments at Matt’s house and it was double-elimination. If you lost in the first series, you’d go to the “Deal’s Gone Bad” bracket. We were trying to come up with a band name and it was like, “How ‘bout this? No…deal’s gone bad. Well, how ‘bout this one? No…deal’s gone bad”. After awhile, we said it 70 million times and it just stuck. So, it basically came from playing pool and us always saying that whenever someone lost.

Bill – You guys have been around since 1994 and released your first album in ‘96. In what ways has the Chicago music scene changed over the years?

Dave – Well, some of the bands that we played with when we first started are still playing, like Hi Fi and the Roadburners. How did the music change? First of all, I like kids. A lot of older people don’t, but whatever. The whole scene is different though. This bar, where we’re sitting, (Estelle’s) I used to come here in ’94 when Deal’s just started. There were fuckin’ junkies everywhere, fistfights and it was dirty and smelly and horrible. Now it’s totally clean. Do I like it any different? Do I like it any less? No. It’s a lot different, but you know, it’s cool. I actually prefer it this way, (laughs).

Bill – At this point, you and your drummer Mike are the only original members. What’s the hardest part about keeping the band together?

Dave – On a side note, my little brother played the first two shows on drums. Mike came in right after that. As far as keeping the band together, after we lost a bunch of members or had people who left on their own, we finally got down to the nitty-gritty. It just became like, “Can you do this? Can you fuckin’ do this or not?”. To do this, I have to spend time away from my kid and I have to make money elsewhere, so I understand. Everyone in the band now, for the most part, is on the same page. Everyone has flexible jobs or can work from the road. Basically, we got the right people to adapt to be able to leave. In the past, we had to miss shows because people couldn’t always tour. When Todd joined, he wanted to do it, and that’s when the whole thing came together. We’ve played shows without keyboards or horns before, we can do that, but we can’t play a show without the singer. You got to find the right people and be dedicated, that’s what it’s about. We’ve had so many members over the years it’s ridiculous, but I can’t stop doing it. It makes me happy, even though I have a scowl on my face most of the time, I’m still happy.

Bill – Jump Up! Records has been nothing short of an institution in independent music for quite some time. Describe your band’s relationship with the label.

Dave – We absolutely love Chuck Wren, first of all. He fuckin’ still owes us our first three records on vinyl. He promised us those on vinyl and I never got them and I still want them, (laughs). Anyway…Chuck is great. He’s done everything he can possibly do for us. Everybody’s friends and fans of him, and what he’s doing and what he’s done.

Bill – You guys have played countless shows throughout your 16-year career, both stateside and abroad. What’s the craziest tour story that you’d care to share?

Dave – That I would care to share, that’s a fuckin’ good tag there, by the way, (laughs). Alright, it’s not the craziest one, but it’s the most recent. We were out of town last week for just three shows; Fort Wayne, Cleveland and Lansing, Michigan. We know the guys who run this crazy dive bar called The Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our singer, Todd, grew up in Fort Wayne, so he’s really good friends with these guys. When everybody decided to go to the hotel, Todd didn’t want to go because he was going to sleep upstairs. I was like, “I’ll just take a cab, fuck it”. Next thing I know it’s 10:00 AM, I wake up, open my eyes and I’m sleeping in the bar. There are beer and whiskey bottles everywhere and tables flipped over. We were locked-in apparently and I wandered over to one of the other bar owners who was locked-in there with us and I kicked his boot. He struggles to wake up and goes, “Uh…what?”. I go, “Can I make a cocktail?”. He’s like, “Go ahead, man”. Now it’s 10:02 AM and I’m already boozing it up again. That was the most recent story. I’ve got stories for days and I get myself into all types of shenanigans, so I can’t really pinpoint the craziest time. That’s the most recent one that I can remember at least.

Bill – Last year you toured with Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters and Mustard Plug on the Ska Is Dead tour. What was that experience like?

Dave – First of all, I love all those motherfuckin’ bands. The whole tour became a family and everybody was just helping everybody out. Those Voodoo guys, they like to party, and I like to party, (laughs). Me and the Voodoo guys got along real well. Everybody had a great time though, it was really cool. We had just met them once before at a pickup show in Vegas, but once we met it was like right off the bat, down and brown, coming to your town. What was it like? It was all about bonding. Sometimes you fight with each other like siblings, but in the end it’s about the bonding.

Bill – After completing your summer tour, what does the band have planned for the remainder of 2010?

Dave – There’s already shows booked into this winter, man. We want to get the new record done and just steamroll. Our manager, Dave from Mustard Plug, he’s sending us stuff for shows in October already. We’re going to keep chugging along and try and make the best music we can. I enjoy it too much, everyone does. I think everybody just wants to get this record out and get on the road again. I don’t know man, that’s all I got. I ran out of steam, folks.