Texas Monthly: Jesse Dayton by: Jeff McCord
USA Today: Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh, Holdin’ Our Own by: Brian Mansfield
Austin Chronicle: Jesse Dayton and Brennen Leigh are Holdin' Their Own by: Doug Freeman
Austin Chronicle: Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh Reviewed by: Jim Caligiuri
Hardchargers,
Last Saturday night, Brennen Leigh and I sang EVERY song off the new duets record to a sold-out house. Thanks y'all for supporting the time honored tradition of duet sangin' and twangin.
Last night I stayed up waaaay too late w/ LA songwriter Mike Stinson, writing arrangements and pickin the final batch of songs (he's gotta deep bag of 'em) for his new record. Stinson can go drink for drink w/ me no problem (a rarity...most folks go south after 3 or 4) so it comes to no suprise that besides his more Americana sounding stuff, he has some the wittiest country drinkin songs I've ever heard.
WED. NIGHT I'm playing guitar w/ MIKE STINSON for a special acoustic-songwriter show at the VOLCANO CLUB in HOUSTON, TX on BISSONET (in the Village...starts @ 8) Later that night we're gonna go sit in at the Continental Club at the Wicked Wednesday show.
THURS. NIGHT we're back at the legendary BROKEN SPOKE for our Solid Chrome Dance Party in SOUTH AUSTIN from 9 to midnight.
FRI. NIGHT we return to our ol' North Texas joint, DANS' SILVER LEAF in DENTON, TX (from 9 to 12)
SAT. NIGHT we're playin a new place for us in my ol' home-stompin grounds of BEAUMONT, TX called the ROCKIN A Cafe from 9 to 12.
There's some new stuff on the horizon for the JD Camp in Nashville Tennessee. After we do the Stinson record, and before we start on the Johnny Bush record, myself and Stag Svengali Gary Moore will be making a trip to Music City USA....more will be revealed.....so once again mi amigos, it's L.T.D...."Living The Dream"....and remember the poignant words of Kris Kristofferson "Don't let the bastards get ya down".
Vio Con Dios Mi Amigos, JD
ps A big shout out to my loooong time best amigo on the planet, Lew Temple, for landing yet another horror-movie role. Lew goes to these huge horror conventions where people line up forever to meet and greet my ol' Houston runnin' buddy. Lew, unlike 90% of the pretty-people actors in Hollywood who are ex-models who have other people read their scripts for them, and have no acting experience, earned his thespian chops acting onstage w/ Vanessa Redgrave and co-starring in indie-films like 21 Grams w/ Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, has come to embrace his new found cult status as a horror movie star. Last night on the phone he put it so eloquently..."Ah hell JD, if they wanna pay me to get killed off in everyone of these damn movies....then braaaang it" Drinks are on you next time I'm in LA amigo...ch-ching!
Big shout out to Shilah Morrow from Sin City Social Club for throwing one hell of a 4th of July Party on the lake in Austin. Between the crowd, the fireworks shooting off over the lake, jet-skis buzzing around, and a massive picnic, it felt like we we're in a Norman Rockwell painting...a true slice of Americana.
We just booked studio-time at Willie Nelsons' Pednernales Studios for a record I'll be producing for LA songwriter Mike Stinson. In case you're not familiar w/ Mikes' music, he wrote the song "Late Great Golden State" for Dwight Yoakum. Mike is like a new Roger Miller, one of the wittiest songwriters around. Also, I'm writing and gathering up material for the new Johnny Bush record I'm producing. This will be something different for Johnny, because the material will be ALL new songs, some we co-wrote, some from writers like Trent Summar, Mike Stinson and Davin James. This will be a classic country-gentleman recording w/ Western Swing and ballads, but still an up-tempo record. b/t/w Johnny played me this record he just finished with Ray Price and Willie Nelson and it knocked me out. When you get legends like that together there's a friendly competition and the vocals on it are 100% amazing.
This THURS. NIGHT we return to the BROKEN SPOKE where we play from 9 to 12, (as always, before our show, there are 2 step lessons from 8 to 9 and there's no better place to learn)
This SAT. NIGHT in HOUSTON myself and the Hillbilly Princess, Brennen Leigh, will be doing a rare show together at the MUCKY DUCK starting at 8 pm., (this show starts early and ends before 12), playing songs from each of our individual records and from our duet record, HOLDING OUR OWN,(and other Country Gold Duets). Look for us to sing some new unreleased songs. Brennen and I have been busy workin' on our own things, so this will mark the 1st gig we've played together in awhile....braaaang it!
best, Jesse
p.s. We're in talks w/ doing an exclusive-deal w/ one of the most popular casinos in Las Vegas, (we can't say which one yet, but we've played there before), for a run of shows during some highlight dates such as Nascar Week, the National Rodeo Finals and some others. We'd also like to let our fans know up in the NorthWest,(San Fran, Portland and Seattle), that our shows up there are being re-scheduled due to calendar-conflicts. We promise we'll be back in the next few months for sure!
A few things I remember doing that let me know we were just in paradise: Me and Joe King Carasco, (world renown Tex-Mex rock god and now Puerto Vallarta resident) were hangin' out on his terrace looking out over the ocean, the rainforest, and the city of P.V. Mexico, w/ his Jack Russell Terriers, Peanut, Pee-Wee and Anna-Banana, talking about the gig we played together the night before in La Cruz at Philos' Club. Having a midnight swim (okay it might have been 2 am?) in the Pacific Ocean w/ maragaritas in hand along w/ hardchargers William from Austin, Christina from NYC, Judith from Houston, Neener from Salt Lake City and Fisherman Chris from Freeport, w/ the water like glass and the gold phosphor following us around as we swam. Hangin' out w/ Longhorn David Lee and his whole family(you win the coolest family award for sure Dave) from North Texas 'til all hours of the night at the palapa bar by the pool having cocktails and b-s-ing about how great it was to be on vacation. This was beside playin' music, sailing, kayaking, surfing, zip-lining, jet-skiing and all the other crazy stuff we did. Thanks for a great time in Puerto Vallarta hardchargers...me and the band had a blast!
This week we return to our sacred stompin' grounds in SOUTH AUSTIN....THE BROKEN SPOKE...on THURS. NIGHT....band plays from 9 'til 12 and there's 2 step lessons from 8 'til 9.
FRI. I'm playin a massive 4th of July party that Shilah Morrow, (a.k.a. Mama Shi), is throwing on the lake in Austin.....
Adios Mi Amigos, JD
Powerdown your cell phones....close the laptop....in the words of Frank Sinatra...."grab your passports amigos 'cause we're heading south down Mexico way! TEXAS WEEK This Monday myself and two planes full of Hardchargers, (along with all the other Hardchargers that are heading down on seperate flights...we got folks from Salt Lake City, Portland, New York City, LA, Atlanta, Chicago...the list goes on forever and the party never ends), are heading for Puerto Vallarta, (actually Nuevo Vallarta...a few miles down the road from PV), for our annual summer blowout....what's a day in the life on this holiday like?....I like to free-style w/ no plans when i travel...BUUUUT.... if i had to say....wake up late,(10, 10:30), in a 5 star resort right on the beach....grab some mornin' comita, (huevos....tortillas...maybe a Bloody Mary if it's a tough mornin')....either go fishing...surfing....trip-lining thru the rainforest directly behind the hotel or hobbie-cattin'....head to the swim-up bar at the pool for some Ritas and some downtime....maybe hit the Mercado for a little shopping and some dinner or maybe just get room-service...very important part: take a siesta,(remember...siesta then fiesta)....get ready to throwdown at a show w/ me and the band about 9 at the hotel for a couple of hours or more....either hit PV for some clubs or head to the beach for a late night acoustic jam w/ a bartender on the hand....pretty much what we did last summer on our first trip and let me tell ya'll...it didn't suck.
Before we leave we have 2 shows in the ol' homestate....THURS. night we're in SOUTH AUSTIN at the legendary BROKEN SPOKE for our Solid Chrome Dance party that starts at 9:00, (will be jammin' in Mexico until the 28th....so we will NOT be there the following Thurs.), and this Thurs. is a special night that goes until 1:00 a.m.
SAT. NIGHT we're back in my ol' stompin grounds, HOUSTON TEXAS at the world famous CONTINENTAL CLUB w/ opener John Evans starting at 9:30....as always at the CC, this will be a blow-out show...brang it H-town!
ps RIP Tim Russert.
Just got home from the Ink & Iron Festival in Long Beach, California w/ my best and oldest amigos Jason Burns on bass and Eric Tucker on drums. It was quite the mix of RoadKings and JD stuff and thanks to all the people who came out of the woodwork for our set. It was also quite a somber bill to be on. It was the last show w/ the original Hacienda Bros. line-up after the passing of our friend and now legendary Cali-honky-tonker Chris Gaffney (Dave Gonzales played a new song he wrote for Chris and dedicated it to Chris' wife...there wasn't a dry eye in the house). Dave Alvin played a whole set dedicated to Gaff with Chris' accordion sitting on a chair in the front of the stage. Some of Californias' finest talent was there that day, (on stage and in the crowd...songwriter Mike Stinson, Johnny 2 Bags from Social Distortion, the Mother Truckers), so as a Texan it was an honor to be there.
The JD band and all the hardchargers we could load up in 2 planes, take off for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2 weeks for our annual summer suarez. TEXAS WEEK Until then we're hanging 'round Texas workin' on the new record and playin' a few shows...
THURS. we're back at our #1 stomping grounds, THE BROKEN SPOKE, (show starts @ 9 and will go an hour later than usual 'til 1:00 this week), where the crowds just get bigger and bigger.
SAT. NIGHT we're in McKINNEY, TEXAS at HANKS TEXAS GRILL, (that's about 20 mintues north of Dallas on 75...show starts @ 9:00). Our last 2 shows here were off the hook...in other words....braaang it!
Vio con dios mi amigos! JD
ps big love to Shyla and Anissa for the after-show party in LA...y'all rawk.
Well, after the tour, and then flying back to NYC for a private show, the train-keeps-a-rollin. We just received word that there's a good chance we will be participating in a USO Tour of Iraq and Afghanistan. Like most Americans, this is near and dear to my heart and I'm deeply interested to see first hand what's goin on over there w/ our troops. They've asked me to perform "Shipping Out To Iraq Blues". The dates have not been finalized, but we'll keep ya updated.
This THURS. we do a 2-fer...Early THURS. evening we are doing a set in downtown CONROE, TX (just outside Houston) that starts promptly @ 6:00 pm @ HERITAGE PLACE (downtown) This is a killer concert series that these guys have been putting on w/ a seperate show (we'll be heading back to the Spoke!) by Texas legend Johnny "Whiskey River" Bush playing after me. Then later that THURS. night we go on at the greatest honky-tonk of 'em all, the BROKEN SPOKE, playing from 9 to 12 for our weekly Solid Chrome Dance Party. THEN....join us at TROPHIES for a late night dance party with Two Hoots and a Holler.
SATURDAY we do a show like we've never played before. We head to LONG BEACH, CA for the INK & IRON FESTIVAL where myself, Jason Burns, Eric Tucker and JD steel-guitarist, Nate Flemming will play a show on the QUEEN MARY @ 8:00, and for the first time ever we will be mixing selections of JD solo records w/ RoadKings material. These are 2 entities that we always keep seperate, but since we're all gonna be together we thought, "Why not?"....expect a one-of-a-kind show in Cali ya'll!
Adios Mi Amigos! JD
ps. we're looking for some old pictures that we had of the RoadKings w/ the late-great Bo Diddley in College Station at the The Texas Theater. Please send them to us if ya find'em for our archives. Bo's "Mona", "Pretty Thing" and "Who Do Ya Love", we're always favorites to play in the Kings back in the day. Long Live Bo Diddley!
Chris Gaffney....one of the great California honky-tonkers and a personal friend to the JD Band passed away last week. Chris, along w/ his band the Hacienda Bros., and I just shared a bill together @ a festival in Holland not too long ago and of course we talked about nothing but obscure George Jones records (Gaffs' love for Jones was every bit as fierce as mine). The JD`Band will perform one of Chris' songs for a memorial CD, (along w/ Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escovedo, James Inveldt and many many more), that should be out before long...I'll miss ya Gaff!
This week I'll be playin a special acoustic show @ PUFFABELLYS' in SPRING TEXAS w/ my guitar pickin' breax Davin James starting @ 8:00 'til 10:00...if ya wanna see some acoustic guitar-shredding, this shows for you.
Then we return to the legendary BROKEN SPOKE on THURS. NIGHT in AUSTIN, (2 step lessons from 8 to 9 and the JDB plays from 9 to 12), for our Solid Chrome Dance Party...this Spoke show is gettin out-of-hand! Also look for an after-party @ Club Saloon located next to Roadhouse Rags on Fortview St. w/ Rick Broussards' Two Hoots and a Holler. This place has a great dance floor, full bar, and is twice as close to the Spoke than Egos' AND the band plays all the way 'til 2 AM!.
SAT. AFTERNOON @ 6:15 we go onstage back in SPRING TX. @ THE CRAWFISH FESTIVAL just outside of HOUSTON...this is a kick-ass throwdown for all you transplanted Cajuns...ahhh-yeeeee....brang it.
Your 'ol son, JD
ps thanks to all the hardchargers who came out and saw us Fri. in Denver and Sat. in Salt Lake City....killer crowds both nights...look for us back in those markets w/ Mike Ness @ the Gothic in Denver and the Depot in SLC in May!
Ahh yea, life on the road...after having 3 kick ass days in NEW YORK CITY we headed to the legendary Stone Pony in ASBURY PARK NEW JERSEY....Fri. night there's a rumor flying around backstage that Bruce Springsteen is gonna drop by and "sit in" on Sat. night,(we did 2 shows), so I'm thinkin' to myself, how many times has that tired-ass ol' rumor-mill gone around this place?....sure as shit, the Boss shows and brangs it in a big way...the show was legendary, especially hanging w/ him at the club where he got his start...in all the years I've been playing, I've never seen an audience as ferocious as the one that night,(their not booing you, their just saying BRUUUUCE")...even the night before on our Fri. night show, the crowd was the best of the whole tour...and of course, Mike Ness was ever the master, giving us props to Bruce and the audience...words fail me.
We just rolled into DETROIT for tonights show @ Saint Andrews, listening to MC5s' "Kick Out The Jams Motherf***ers" and stopping by a bullet-proof Taco Bell,(the crime is so rough here that the Taco Bell looks like a check cashing place w/ bullet-proof windows that they push your food and money threw),for some bad road food.
Tomorrow it's onto CHICAGO for 2 shows @ Park West...then we head west to the Rockies for 2 shows @ the Gothic Theater in DENVER...then it's one show @ the Belly Up in ASPEN...then we end the tour @ the Depot in SALT LAKE CITY....braaaaang it.
Jersey....you raaaawk! Jesse