TMFWP Special — A conversation with Jesse Dayton

Jesse-Dayton

Renaissance Man: Texas-born singer, guitarist and filmmaker Jesse Dayton

Stream or download A Conversation with Jesse Dayton: Jesse Dayton

Jesse Dayton was baptized in the tradition of outlaw country and oozes Texas when he talks, plays and sings. But he’s always had his sights on the horizon and has developed a broader worldview on music and the arts.

Our own Mike Lee, co-host of That Much Further West Podcast, caught up for a chat with Jesse after a performance last year in our hometown of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. The affable lads talked about the music they grew up with and how it shaped the wider variety of music they listen to and the artists they most admire today.

jesse-dayton

Natural born outlaw country singer Jesse Dayton

On this special episode, Jesse tells us about growing up in Texas, traveling the world, building a career in music and watching the Americana genre expand well beyond the country singer-songwriter realm from where he comes. He also talks about fighting to get Corey Feldman a part in Zombex, the 2013 film he wrote and directed that also features Lew Temple, Malcom McDowell and musical legends Kinky Friedman and John Doe.

Interspersed throughout the interview we share a batch of great music from Jesse, including a terrific take on the Townes Van Zandt classic “Loretta.” Be sure to follow Jesse’s whirlwind career at jessedayton.com and check him out as he embarks on a Western States tour with Supersuckers and Scott H. Biram in the coming weeks. He’ll be at Dante’s in Portland with Biram on Wednesday, April 27.

Here’s the playist for this podcast special:

Carmelita (Show Me How To Dance)
Think I’ll Go Out Tonight
Loretta
We Lost It
One Of Them Days
Hey Nashvegas!
Wild Man From Borneo

 

Episode #30 — Some favorites from 2014 so far

Scott H. Biram

Scott H. Biram

Episode #30 — 2014 Favorites So Far

Well folks, we’ve hit the halfway point of 2014 like a runaway train. It’s been full speed ahead since we launched That Much Further West Podcast, and hard to believe we’re 30 episodes into the new incarnation.

This week we tap the brakes a bit for a quick review of tunes from some of our favorite releases of the year so far — co-hosts Mike Lee, Eric Kotila and Phil Favorite picked a handful of songs that offer a taste of what the show’s been featuring in 2014. Some are recent finds, others are podcast hits we’ve been wearing out most of the year. So if you’re new to the show, this episode is a great way to get caught up on the action as we head into the second half of 2014.

We kick things off with a tune from Scott H. Biram and his excellent album “Nothin’ But Blood,” released earlier this year by Bloodshot Records. Mike wrote a review of the record which you can read here.

Another Bloodshot release is featured on this episode, Lydia Loveless’ “Somewhere Else.” Phil reviewed it when it came out in April; you can read his review here.

We also have a healthy batch of tunes from artists from our hometown of Portland, OR, USA, including songs from Root Jack, The Low Bones, The Delines, Spirit Lake and Jake Ray. There are also tunes from Fluff & Gravy Records artists Hillstomp, Anna Tivel and Sassparilla, all local to us here in P-town and all with excellent records out this year.

The guys made sure to include many of the alt-country’s most popular acts who are out with kickass stuff this year (Old 97s, Hellbound Glory, Drive-By Truckers, Dave and Phil Alvin, etc.), and some of the newer artists who are “arrow up” in the national scene right now (Nikki Lane, John Fullbright, Lee Bains III). And no list of goodies from this year would be complete without tunes from Sturgill Simpson and Matt Woods, two leading lights of alt-country who have been in heavy rotation on the podcast all of 2014.

So here’s the playlist . . . some of our favorites from 2014 so far. We hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening.

Slow & Easy, Scott H. Biram
Right Time, Nikki Lane
Trade All The Lights (featuring Lydia Loveless), Caleb Caudle
Dead Man’s Hand, Root Jack
Edgar Cayce, Adam Faucett
Head, Lydia Loveless
The Weeds Downtown, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires
Voices, Sturgill Simpson
Stateline, The Delines
Santa Ana Winds, Spirit Lake
Must Be Rain, Jake Ray
Five Dollar Bill, Anna Tivel
Primer Coat, Drive-By Truckers
A Memory Now (featuring Hayes Carll and Evan Felker), Jason Eady
Longer Than You’ve Been Alive, Old 97’s
Cocaine, Sassparilla
Suicide Sal, Karen Jonas
Streets of Aberdeen, Hellbound Glory
Shakedown, Left Lane Cruiser
Meet Me At The Bottom, Hillstomp
The One That Lives Too Far, John Fullbright
No Place To Be, The Low Bones
You’ve Changed, Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin
Lucero Song, Matt Woods

Review of Nothin’ But Blood by Scott H. Biram

NothinButBlood

Scott H. Biram, Nothin’ But Blood  (2014, Bloodshot Records)

I guess there is really no point in trying to describe the type of music played by Scott H. Biram. I have given his new album, Nothing But Blood, at least 20-plus spins in preparation to write this review and I pick up on something different every time. The “Dirty Old One Man Band” as Scott is called could just as easily be labeled the “Dirty Old One Man Musical Library” ranging from punk to blues to country to metal to gospel and straight-up, dirty rock & roll.

The new album starts with a mellow, introspective country picker, “Slow & Easy,” with lyrics that could also be dropped in to fit a more raucous, rocking framework, or with a bit of steel guitar could convey that oozy, alt-country feel.

Listen to “Slow & Easy” Slow & Easy [Explicit]

This song takes me back to a certain summer when I was a teenager and my stepfather Garry and I spent two weeks high up in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Garry was a scrap metal guy and we got a job tearing down some old logging equipment left behind many years prior. Long days were spent cutting and tearing apart this old, rusty metal and at night we would drive up to camp above the timberline, where we would turn on the AM radio and pick up stations of all genres from as far away as Mississippi, Oklahoma and California and closer stations in Colorado. The station waves would roll in and out as the car radio scanned past each station.

Those old familiar songs from all over the dial made the nights more comfortable and the thoughts of home slip away and get lost in the thin, mountain air.

Listen to “Never Comin’ Home” Never Comin’ Home

Nothing But Blood is a definite trip throughout its 14 tracks (11 plus three bonus) and a listener might feel as if their iPod is on shuffle. It delivers The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Biram and his music. I reckon Scott is like the majority of true music fans whose tastes and influences are wide and ever evolving. I appreciate his willingness to push his boundaries and deliver new and different styles and material. I also enjoy that Nothin’ But Blood can be just as chaotic and jarring as his live performances, but also just as moving and exciting.

Every good performer and musician learns from their predecessors and contemporaries. With Nothing But Blood, Biram takes those lessons and twists them into the hot, sweaty joyride only he can deliver.

Listen to “Church Point Girls” Church Point Girls

Scott H. Biram is currently on tour with Larry and His Flask and The Whiskey Shivers and will be performing on Saturday, March 8 at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland. For more information, check out www.scottbiram.com and be sure to pick up his new album Nothing But Blood on Bloodshot Records.

— MIKE LEE
That Much Further West Podcast