Dave McIntyre talks with John Magnie about his band The Grocery Story, which evolved from a story-driven musical into a harmony-rich group blending R&B, blues, gospel, and roots. Magnie also reflects on his Subdudes days and move from New Orleans to Colorado, emphasizing how collaboration and chance helped shape the band’s unique sound.
(Air Date: 4/3/26)
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Transcript:
Dave McIntyre:
On the green mic. All right, that was The Subdudes from an old CD, Primitive Streak, 1996.
And we have John Magnie in the studio with us this morning.
John Magnie:
Hello. Hi.
Dave McIntyre:
John, how are you doing?
John Magnie:
How you doing, Dave?
Dave McIntyre:
Good, good to see you as always. Thanks for coming by.
John Magnie:
Yes, indeed.
Dave McIntyre:
John and his new band, The Grocery Story.
John Magnie:
That’s right. We’ll be playing in Lyons at Oskar Blues tonight, seven to ten. And as crazy as it sounds, it’s a free show. The band last time in there just blew the roof off the place.
Dave McIntyre:
We’re going to ask John about the story behind The Grocery Story.
Dave McIntyre:
“Situation on Aisle Number Three,” John—that’s the band now. It started out as something more, didn’t it?
John Magnie:
It started out as what you’d call a musical—a story first. Then the songs came from the story, and the songs inspired more of the story. It ended up like a little rock opera.
In the story, there were three main characters—a guy and two women. As the songs developed, we formed a band around them, and those three characters became our three lead singers.
So in The Grocery Story, we have Eric Lundy, Rhonda Merrick, and Peaches Emery. The band itself is a great group of characters from Fort Collins. On drums, we have my old Subdudes partner Steve Amedée and his son Jess—they play a double drum setup. On bass is Marty Ryan, and on guitar is Mike Finnigan, a great player, singer, and songwriter.
We actually have six singers total, which has been a joy. It gives us a lot of voices and grooves to work with.
Originally, the story had two settings: a Saturday night blues dive and a Sunday morning revival tent. So the music moves between those two worlds.
Dave McIntyre:
It’s like a gumbo—there’s R&B, blues, almost folk music, gospel.
John Magnie:
Exactly. Roots music.
Dave McIntyre:
That’s one of the reasons I do the morning show here on KGNU—I can keep things eclectic.
John Magnie:
When The Subdudes first came up here in ’87, we played on KGNU several times. We’ve always related to what KGNU does.
Dave McIntyre:
John’s a Colorado guy, moved to New Orleans in ’74 chasing piano sounds. That eventually became The Subdudes, and then you all moved back to Fort Collins. Why?
John Magnie:
A big part of that story involves my wife, Kathy. We were in New Orleans playing in a band with members of The Subdudes—Steve Amedée, Tommy Malone, and Johnny Allen—in a group called The Continental Drifters.
We were a loud band, but what we really loved was singing harmonies. One night after a show, Kathy told me, “You probably have great songs and great singing, but you’re playing so loud nobody can hear it.”
That stuck with me. I told Tommy we should do a gig where we play more subdued so the vocals can shine. That’s where the name The Subdudes came from.
New Orleans is an incredible music city, but our sound didn’t quite fit there. We had harmonies and some country influence. So in 1987, we moved to Fort Collins to put ourselves in a different environment and develop our own thing.
It worked. We caught fire quickly and even landed a deal with Atlantic Records within about a year. Colorado has been very good to us.
Dave McIntyre:
You’ve gathered such a great group of musicians for this project. Did you already know them, or did they come together for The Grocery Story?
John Magnie:
A bit of both—and some happy accidents.
We had Eric Lundy and Peaches Emery, but we needed another singer. Then Rhonda Merrick showed up in Fort Collins from New Orleans under unexpected circumstances. She didn’t even want to be there, but she joined us right when we needed her.
She’s not only a great singer but also a great songwriter. One of our songs, “Plaquemines Parish,” is about where she grew up—right next to where Steve Amedée grew up, though they didn’t know each other back then.
Suddenly we had this eight-piece band that just clicked.
Dave McIntyre:
She’s an incredible singer. Let’s play that track.
Dave McIntyre:
That’s such a great tune. I didn’t realize Rhonda wrote that.
John Magnie:
Yes, it’s autobiographical.
Dave McIntyre:
She has a beautiful voice—she really stopped people in their tracks last time.
John Magnie:
She fits perfectly. And then we have Peaches—her sister—and Eric jumps right in, too. Plus Steve, Mike, and myself singing.
Tonight we’re even doing a seven-part vocal arrangement of “Ooo Baby Baby” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
Dave McIntyre:
If you want to hear great harmony singing, come to Oskar Blues tonight and hear The Grocery Story. It’s unlike any other band around—six people who can all be lead singers.
They don’t play too often, so don’t miss it.
John Magnie:
We love playing Oskar Blues—it’s got a great blues vibe.
Dave McIntyre:
It’s an old joint with a lot of history. Blues keeps regenerating itself, too.
John Magnie:
It really does—new players and singers coming up all the time.
Dave McIntyre:
The show is seven to ten—an early show. Get your nap in and come down.
John Magnie:
That’s right.
Dave McIntyre:
Thanks again for coming in, John. Let’s play another one—“Call Me Up.”
John Magnie:
Thank you.
Dave McIntyre:
Thanks for listening to KGNU.
