Ten Questions With JESSE DAYTON - October 9, 2018

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 I've seen you describe your music as NASA Country. I hear the urban cool of Lou Reed combined with the cosmic cowboy sound of Doug Sahm. What does NASA Country mean to you?

GTC: NASA Country is a collective of artists and musicians in San Antone. We are currently working on the follow up to "In the Shadows (Again)". It will be way more far out. The term is a play on "space country" which is what we use to describe our atmospheric / psychedelic sound. Sound artist Justin Boyd plays an important role in the lineup. He manipulates my acoustic guitar sound through his modular synth setup to create ambient soundscapes. The NASA Country collective does not perform too often, but we will be doing a short tour of the Tejas valley in mid December.

You perform with a cowpunk edge as well.  There seems to be a lot of younger honky tonk musicians who started out in punk bands. Could you tell us where you got that influence in your music?

GTC: I love rock n' roll. I grew up listening to all sorts of music, especially some of the classic stuff like the Rolling Stones, my dad loved them. When playing live, you got to give it all you got. That can mean different things for different performers, but for me, my energy turns in to some "punk rock thing". That's just the way it happens. When I write my songs they are usually in a Texas country/folk vein, and live I like to turn it up. Things are a bit more relaxed when I perform with "NASA Country." A lot of the energy can be harnessed in the synth department, but when I'm playing in a more conventional rock band setup, we have to bring it.

I saw you put on an incredible live performance in Chicago. I also noticed that your song Born in San Antone was used in the Showtime Series Billions as its theme song. Where are you most comfortable? On the road or in the studio?

GTC: I'm most comfortable on stage or writing.

Texas, of course, has a storied legacy of great songwriters. What performers from the past have inspired you?

GTC: All the Texas people: Steve Earle. Robert Keen. Sahm. Alejandro Escovedo. Townes. etc.

Where is the most unique place you've played or your favorite venue ever?

GTC: I really enjoy performing in this cool mid-century furniture store in San Antone, Period Modern.

Who is the most famous musician you've gotten to know along your musical journey?

GTC: Kinky Friedman

Have you always been such a physical performer? Where does that come from?

GTC: I'm a drummer at heart. That's probably where it comes from.

What's an average day like for you now?

GTC: Wake up. Eat some tacos. Play roggenroll.

You just released your latest album entitled "In The Shadows (Again)."

Who did you write this album for?

GTC: Not sure on that one! it's a collection of songs, both old and new. Some are for loved ones (Baby Please, Here Right Now), some don't really have a specific person in mind (Born in to a Ballroom, Trouble's Callin').

Your about to head on tour to The Netherlands. Have you been there before? How do you think you will be received in Amsterdam?

GTC: I've never been. It is going to be  a rippin time. I think Amsterdam will love us if they are drunk.

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What part of Japan are you from, and how long have you been playing rockabilly music?

KY: I am from Kanagawa prefecture, next to Tokyo. I live in a small city that is very close to the sea.   I have been playing rockabilly music for 35 years.

Were you always into rockabilly or did you start in other types of music first.

KY: First, I was knocked out by Japanese rock’n’roll music that included several Chuck Berry and Little Richard covered songs. Then, when I was 16 years old, I started to play electric bass. In those days, I did not know that rock’n’roll music was from America. So, I believed it was Japanese originally when I played electric bass.

What initially drew you into playing rockabilly? 

KY: When I was 19 years old, my friend told me “If you like rock’n’roll music, try listening to this.” And he gave me a cassette tape of the Stray Cats. That was amazing. It taught me rock’n’roll music was made in America. And I knew rockabilly music was real rock’n’roll, because The Stray Cats played their roots music like Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette, and so on.

I was really interested in the rockabilly world and started to look for any information about rockabilly. Not only music, also 1950s culture including individual instruments, clothing, cars, furniture, and so on. When I saw The Stray Cats on TV here, I was very surprised with their playing style, like fingerpicking on their big archtop electric guitar, the slap bass, standing drum -- they were all brand new for me. Never an old style. Then I started to play rockabilly guitar. Rockabilly changed my life.  

There seems to be a dynamic rockabilly community in Japan, and everyone seems to try to outdo each other with their rockabilly style. What's that like, and do you have any idea how this started?

KY: There were some rockabilly stores like record stores, clothing stores, pubs here from around 1980, and most of them had customers that enjoyed music and rockabilly culture with each other. In those days, though, the internet had not appeared yet. In 1980s and 90s, we used to have to go to such stores for all our rockabilly information.  

Your guitar playing is amazing and so is the look of your guitars. Are they custom built for you? What specific Gretsch model do you play?

KY: Thank you. That is a 1959 Gretsch #6117 Double Anniversary model.  When I got that in LA in the 90s, it was 100% original, and good only for watching on the wall. Though it was a very beautiful brown sun-burst color, I wanted a red Gretsch guitar in middle of 1990s for the photoshoot on our new CD. Then, I decided to use the guitar for both the photo and the show on stage, so I changed the tuner, painted the guitar red, added a Bigsby tailpiece, and a locked bridge. A few years later, I added pinstriping at a hotrod shop. Oh, then…since 2005, I have added the autographs of many rockabilly musicians on the back body.

 I've seen interviews with Levi Dexter in which he calls the Gretsch Brothers his favorite people to play with. What's it like to play with one of the original  and legendary British teddyboys?

KY: Big honor. Because he is a rockabilly idol for me, since I fell in love with rockabilly music. So, I was very nervous when I met and played with him first in the early 1990s. But in 10 years, Levi and I have recorded a full CD album together and played some shows in Japan. In the studio and on the road, he used to tell me so many funny stories from the time when he was a young teddyboy. Those times were very interesting, and we became more familiar with each other. Nowadays, he is my rock brother. Though we are apart, usually with him in England and I in Japan, I really enjoy playing with him.

I know playing in Nashville in the summer was a big deal to you. Can you explain how you felt about playing there?

KY: That was amazing! First, Nashville was the place where I took my first trip to the US in 1992. Since I play rockabilly music, and I was very interested in country music too, Nashville is sacred place. So, I was very happy and excited to play there. And, as rockabilly music was born in the U.S., it was big honor, and I felt thrilled to play in the U.S. When I play rockabilly in the U.S., I always feel like I am in a dream.

Are there any rockabilly pioneers who you look up to? What early players do you admire? 

KY: Brian Setzer, and his Stray Cats. Levi and the Rockats, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, Bill Haley and his Comets, and many, many more. Also country guitar players too … like Albert Lee, Jimmy Bryant, Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and so on.

Your enthusiasm for playing this music is obvious when we watch you on stage. Do you have any idea how you developed your playing style? Where does it come from? 

KY: I used to like to watch the rockabilly videos of the Stray Cats, the Polecats, Levi and the Rockats, and so on. They all have high playing technique and high energy for performances. It is the point and the reason that I love rockabilly music. So I play guitar thinking about both the technical elements and feeling the passion. My guitar style is the mixture between rockabilly and country guitar I guess.

What's coming up for you? Are the Gretsch Brothers on tour again soon? Any plans to visit the U.S.?

KY: I hope that the Gretsch Brothers play in the U.S. in near future. But no plans yet. Maybe next September 2019, Levi will come to Japan, and we will play several shows here. As I have two other  rockabilly bands, I am always busy with tours and recordings. But I hope to go play at the birthplace of rockabilly music in the near future! Because the U.S. is my dreamland forever!

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 From playing in the national touring emo band Hot Rod Circuit and Colorado's country-rock band Drag the River, how did you make the transition over to classic country and honky tonk?

CJP: My parents were into Beatles/Zeppelin/Beachboys. Those were cool influences to grow up around. My parent’s parents, especially my mother’s side, were huge Elvis/country fans. Andy Jackson and I started Hot Rod Circuit (with others) sometime around 1997. I was living in Auburn, AL. He resided in Montgomery. I acquired my Mom’s mother’s lap steel around 94. I started playing it in HRC sparsely. That turned into me getting an old Fender 1000 cable pedal steel guitar. Andy and I were just kind of being ourselves and let ourselves connect with our roots. Jay (the bassist) really got me into Gram Parsons. And I was hooked. To feed that, I started playing a lot more steel guitar and was taking lessons, eventually started playing sessions.

There came a point when I wanted the music I was playing to be a specific style of country...and I thought, why not write and sing it.

It's rare to see the insightful introspection of a quality songwriter blended with the theatrical flair of a dynamic live performer. How do you manage both? Does one role come more naturally for you than the other?

CJP: When Andy found me in 94, I had written and recorded my first full length as a singer/songwriter. He hired me as his lead guitarist, a role I wore for at least 12 years. I was sort of a wild ass in that band and learned how to “perform” and engage with folks that way. Songwriting is way harder. And I, like most, am critical about it. I started as a kid, writing solo. Then, co-wrote with my rock band for years. I started writing for an old side band, and a couple of those songs just naturally were country. So, I landed on wanting to only do that around 2005.

I have started co-writing again with friends. But mostly just have to catch myself in an honest moment when I write. When it all comes clear, it’s usually at the most inconvenient times. We are writing a new Casey James Prestwood record now.

 Casey James Prestwood and The Burning Angels wear some of the most colorful and detailed rhinestone suits in the business. For all the western wear fashionistas out there, have you always worn them and where did you get them from?

CJP: I started collecting vintage western wear when I was still in Hot Rod Circuit. Probably got my first Nudie stuff around 2005. In the early days, all I wore was vintage Nudie stuff. In fact, my blue suit on Born Too Late is a vintage Nudie. Nowadays, I mostly wear Manuel Cuevas designed suits. I met him around 2007. We ended up recording the Honky Tonk Bastard World album at his house in 2012. 

I read an interview with you that described an encounter that you had at a concert attended by a Belgian serial killer. Can you give us a few details around that event?

Yes. We toured Europe in 2016. We played a lot in Belgium actually, including two maximum security prisons. They both had killers among the inmates. But yes, there was one individual that was a convicted serial killer. He spoke with me a bit after our set. It was a bit of a nervous experience to say the least.

We decided to only play prison/murder ballad type songs. Not beat around the bush, just go for it. For the most part, things went as planned. Two or three songs in, a fight broke out. It was outside the very small recreation room that had us, 20 or so inmates, a guard, and the warden. The guard and the warden immediately left (while we were playing). So, we just kept playing as this alarm, which was blinking the light in our room, was blaring. Our sound guy/driver slowly started to walk up to possibly shield the band if needed. But other than above said inmate (who stood up-apparently only to stretch, as he was a big guy) everyone remained calm. Probably lasted a minute in time. Felt like album length in slow motion.

He eventually told me he liked the set but told us if we returned that “Folsom Prison” wasn’t necessary (not a song we usually play). He mentioned that every band that plays there, no matter the genre, plays it. Fine by me.  

Tell us about your development as a song writer. Looking back at the success of your early emo career to where you now, how have all the miles you've traveled and the places you been influenced the lyrics on your latest album, Born Too Late.

CJP: One of my favorite songs I’ve ever wrote for this band period is “Whiskey Peroxide and Smoke.”  That was the first song I wrote, for my first album The Hurtin’ Kind. That record had a couple other decent, lucky tunes that I wrote. That album also had a couple covers on it. 

Our sophomore effort, Falling Apart at The Seams, was like most. I had sort of lost myself. I was creatively empty. All my other bands had come to a screeching halt, and I had to get a job. I relied on doing four covers and wasn’t super thrilled on some of the others. Although, I’m really happy about how my song “Rebel on My Side” and our cover of “Willow Garden” came out.

Then we made the weird choice to do The Jukebox Is Busted Volumes One and Two. (Two was never completed/released) Those were all standards/covers including B-side and outtake stuff. The band was changing personnel a lot then. These records are out of print and can be found on our Best of The Early Year’s album. 

When we recorded Honky Tonk Bastard World in 2012, I had been writing a lot. My wife was no longer playing in the band, and we had our first child around then. The band had been playing out a lot more, same lineup. And I think it showed on that record. I’m pretty happy with the writing on that one and Born Too Late.

One of my favorite songs on the album is King of All Losers. From what I understand, your life is pretty good now. How did you channel a level of misery necessary to write that song or other songs of that nature?

CJP: I am definitely in a happy spot in life. I usually have to be sort of bummed out to write. And usually draw upon my past, or live through others close, who are going through something real.

From your lush duets with Jeremi Hush and Amber Digby (readers should check out “Not a copy” on Born Too Late) to your stage wear and animated live performances, talk about the influence that Gram Parsons has had on your music.

CJP: He caught my attention when I was really getting into steel guitar. He kind of made me look past my rock influences and dig into my grandparent’s record collection. Which eventually led me to the classic hard stuff. Haven’t really looked back much since.

Congratulations on your nomination for an Ameripolitan Award (2019 Honky Tonk Male). What does this recognition mean for you?

CJP: Thank you. This will be my forth nomination, second in the Honky Tonk Male category. The other two were for Honky Tonk Band. It’s a fun party to see everyone. And an honor to be in such good company. I appreciate the nod.

How can we find you in Memphis in February? Are you playing one of the showcases in downtown Memphis or at the Awards Ceremony at the Graceland Resort? 

CJP:  Haven’t heard too much yet about Memphis. But I will be at the Legion Post 82 in East Nashville the February 23 and 26. Check my website as we add more shows. (CaseyJamesPrestwood.com)

Where to next? I know we have a little bit to go in this year, but what does 2019 look like for Casey James Prestwood and The Burning Angels?

CJP: I hope to be hitting the road more. We just had a lovely time in Chicago, Milwaukee. I just got back from playing three shows in the San Diego area. Hopefully, NYC again. Have to hit Austin, Texas again ASAP.

I will be singing with The Cowpokes on the Midnite Jamboree, Nov 10th in Nashville. Also, at the Legion Post 82 East Nashville, Dec 11. Again, with the Cowpokes.

We are working on a new album. (no ETA on the release)

We did, however, record a 7-inch, 45 split record with my old friend Josh Berwanger (“Anniversary/Only Children”). Our song is a duet I wrote and sang with Zephaniah OHora. It will be released on the Lowe Farm Label, which put out my first album, The Hurtin’ Kind.

Check for updates on pre-orders for this as the art and color variant vinyl will be very cool.

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 It's very rare to see the lead singer of a band both play drums and stand in front of the band. How hard both musically and physically is this to do? Are there any challenges with this setup that we in the audience just aren't aware of?

LP: I’d been playing drums for a few years, before I started singing in public, and it definitely took some work to combine the two. The tricky part is to keep the rhythm solid, while putting all I’ve got into singing the song. It’s like driving a train and keeping an eye on the pressure gauge, the speedometer, and the tracks, all at the same time.  

People can get to know your long history a little bit by listening to you sing lead on Songs Ohia's Magnolia Electric Co. album on the track "The Old Black Hen.” That's a beautiful, haunting song. What was it like to sing on that album?  I noticed that a 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of that album is available.

LP: I couldn’t have imagined how important that record would be, but being in the center of the music while we cut that song was intense. The lyrics were so haunting, and that band was like a machine. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m constantly grateful that Jason asked me to sing his song.  Yeah, the 10th Anniversary pressing is cool. It has the demo versions of the songs, and includes  "The Big Game Is Every Night" and "Whip-Poor-Will”, which didn’t make it on the original release.

The Jason Molina biography by Erin Osmon goes deep on that studio session, with interviews from most of the folks involved. It’s called Riding With The Ghost.

Besides Old Black Hen, what is the first song we should listen to on Spotify if we haven't heard a Lawrence Peters album before.

LP: For the upbeat option, check out “A Man Needs Love."  For the slow jam, try “Lonesome Settled In."  I wrote both songs, and I’m especially proud of the lyrics.

We did a song from the upcoming album for the NPR Tiny Desk Contest, called “I Didn’t Mean To Go.” You can check it out here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-svS1fTr7o8

After 30 years in this industry, The Lawrence Peters Outfit is up for the 2019 Ameripolitan Award for Best Honky Tonk Group. How satisfying is this acknowledgement after so many years playing this music. 

LP: It’s a hell of an honor! The Ameripolitan Awards are the CMAs of actual country music, so it feels real good to be acknowledged by Dale Watson and his crew, after sweating away in the honky tonk trenches for all these years.

We didn’t win for our 2018 nomination, so making the cut for a second year was a nice surprise. It’s my highest honor since winning the Chicago Music Awards' "Best Country And Western Performer," two years in a row.

You've played with so many great Chicago-based artists over the years, such as Kelly Hogan, Robbie Fulks, and Nora O'Connor among others. Can you tell us about a performer or concert that you were involved in from back in the day that stands out in your mind?

LP: Many standouts I can think of. Lots of greats have come through Chicago, over the years. I've gotten to play bills with Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley, Wanda Jackson, Dale Watson, Jim Lauderdale, Wayne Hancock, Rosie Flores, Freakwater, Red Meat, Caleb Klauder, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys…  About half of those shows were with Kelly Kessler And The Wichita Shut Ins. I like to say that Kelly “discovered” me. She thinks I'm corny for saying that, but she invited me to sing on her solo album, and join her band, and she gave me the chance to start playing my own songs. 

Talk a little about your radio show, "Country, My Way" on 105.5 FM WLPN in Chicago. Who is it for and where can we find it online for the out-of town folks?

LP: I like to think my radio show is for anyone who likes good music, and I’m hoping to make converts of the folks who think they don’t like country (probably because of what’s been on the top 40 “country” stations for so long).

I only play the stuff I like, whether it’s because it’s a well written, well sung song, or because it’s a mess that happens to be really honest and earnest.  

I play plenty of the big names (George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Johnny Paycheck…), but I like to focus on their deeper cuts. All of those classic artists recorded loads of great songs, and only a small fraction have ever gotten any radio play.  

My philosophy is that every big country music hit that has become part of my DNA, was once a song I heard for the first time. I’m constantly finding new favorites (big names and obscuros) and my hope is that other country music lovers will have the same experience from listening to my show.

I’m on the air every Wednesday from 4 to 6pm CST. Folks can hear it on the internet at www.lumpenradio.com, or they can tune in to 105.5 FM, in Chicago. There’s also a Lumpen Radio app.

Here’s the most recent episode. There are over seventy more archived at www.mixcloud.com.

Can you draw from your vast musical knowledge and point us to a couple old-time artists that we may not be familiar with. Who do you feel are a couple of the most underrated, under-the-radar greats in this genre?

LP: Man, there are so many of them! Lots of great artists had “hits” and are now largely forgotten. Melba Montgomery is a big fave, especially her singles on Nugget, and her first couple of albums, where she wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. 

Leona Williams is another lesser-known favorite. Every single I’ve heard by her is excellent.  Bobby Barnett is another overlooked great.  Same with Warner Mack, Vernon Oxford, Onie Wheeler, Hazel Dickens, Del Reeves, Olabelle Reed... 

You are known to be an enthusiastic collector of old country vinyl records. Can you give us a few titles you are especially proud to own and where you found them?

LP: Yessir, digging for those lost gems is one of my favorite things.  

One of the first small-label country 45s I bought was by a guy named Bernie Waldon.  He did a 45 called Crying Over You/Your Future’s Mine. The first side is a great honky tonker, and the second is a ballad with surprisingly empathetic lyrics. It’s a double “A” side, in my opinion. I found it in the collection of a Kansas City country DJ. 

Ray Sanders’ single "Beer Drinking Music” is a near-perfect 70s honky tonk song (though it’s actually from '69). When I stumbled upon that one I thought “where has this song been all my life?!” It’s the unofficial theme song of my radio show. I’m pretty sure I picked it up in Denver. I’ve got this one in my mix for the Montrose Saloon jukebox (see below*).

Doyle Holly (of Buck Owens’ Buckaroos) has a stellar single called “Richard And The Cadillac Kings” that is an all-time favorite of mine. It’s the perfect two minute encapsulation of a local country band that isn’t very good, but happens to be the only game in town. The lyrics are genius.  This one was part of a shit-load of country 45s from a dealer buddy of mine. 

Shirley Adams’ “Sunday Morning We’ll Be Singing” is definitely from the “Harper Valley P.T.A." mold, but it’s a brilliant piece of songwriting, and it’s just as good. I think this was in that same bulk buy.  I couldn’t find an audio/video link, but it’s on my 100th episode.  I could do this for days -- so much great country music out there!

One of your many labors of love is A Day in the Country, which is a fantastic, one-day country music feast presented at The Hideout in Chicago during the summer. Talk about your role and how you put this event together.

LP: Thanks for the love on that!  I am the founder, president, CEO, booker, treasurer, organizer…  I started the festival because The Lawrence Peters Outfit didn’t get booked for a big Chicago country festival, and neither did any of my local buddies. I was pretty pissed off about it, so I started looking into doing my own event. It turned out to be fairly easy to put together, since all of the country bands in town were friends of mine. For the headliner, I got a hold of the amazing Freakwater, and they came out of semi-retirement to play it, which felt like a real coup. 

I really didn’t think about doing any more than that first one, but folks kept asking if I was going to do it again, and it seemed like a pretty good idea, so I just kept it going.

I wouldn’t say that it’s still easy to put it together, but the effort is worth it. There are still lots of great local country acts, and new ones all the time. Bonus that I was able to bring in The Cactus Blossoms this year and Jim Lauderdale in 2017.  By the way, my band got booked at that big festival, the following year. 

What's coming up for you? Are you recording anytime soon? Touring? Any other ill-advised pursuits you would like to share?

LP:  I’ve got a full plate, and it’s all looking pretty good:

The Lawrence Peters Outfit has been working on a new album, and I wrote all of the songs for this one. We just logged another studio day, and worked on overdubs and mixing. I’m hoping to have it all done early in 2019. 

Our next show is Friday, Dec. 7th (with Los Gallos and Horseshoe Bender), and we’re shooting part of the set for our first official music video. 

We’ll be at the Ameripolitan Awards the long weekend of February 22nd- 25th. You can vote for us at http://vote.ballotblaster.com/#/webBallots/79 We’re in the Honky Tonk Group category. Voting ends on Dec. 31st. 

*I’m curating the country section of the jukebox at The Montrose Saloon (in Chicago). Like my radio show, it’s a mix of classic and lesser known artists and songs. Ray Sanders’ “Beer Drinking Music” is one of the songs I’ve programmed on there. Plays are free.  

The Golden Horse Ranch Band (I sing and play snare with the group) is having our 14th Annual Barn Dance Apocalypse at Thalia Hall on Saturday, January 12th. 8pm start. It’s a real good time. 

I’ve got some other cool stuff coming up. You can keep track of it, and contact me at www.lawrencepeters.com.  Follow me on Instagram @lawrence22peters

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 Why did you start playing music?

DA: I was 18 years old and working in a bank. In December, we got a bonus and a day off for Christmas shopping and instead of buying Christmas presents for everyone, I bought a guitar!

Before I could even play a full song, I started going busking, because I thought it might bring in some extra cash … and attract women. I’d maybe even get invited to more parties. It finally worked, but it took about 40 years! (Dave and his tour manager, Margaret, have been married for six years.)

Coming from Glasgow, Scotland, how did you develop the alt-blues style you have now? 

DA: I went through the usual youth adulation music thing growing up. Kinda started with heavy metal and prog-rock moving onto Lou Reed, then Bowie and on to Dylan. Dylan got me thinking about acoustic guitar. And, although I didn’t realize it, a lot of the early Dylan I loved was blues-based, so I got into blues that way. 

How did you start your music career?

Started my first band was when I moved to Fife in Scotland to go to college. I was 22 or 23. It was a regular electric blues band –- guitar, bass drums –- and we started writing our own stuff. I played half the stuff on regular guitar, the rest on slide. I much preferred playing open-tuning slide and was more comfortable playing that as I didn’t have to think about it too much! The other regular stuff was much too technical for me –-with open tunings and slide, I just had to worry about one finger. So, in the end, I gravitated to it more, because it was just easier to perform and have fun playing the bottle-neck slide stuff. 

Back in the early 90s, a music magazine sent me to review an acoustic blues show in Glasgow and interview the artist Catfish Keith who played steel guitar. I’d never seen a metal-bodied National guitar before and that got me interested. 

I’d tried to listen to Robert Johnson on old cassettes but just hearing what was going on was difficult so trying to play that stuff seemed to be impossible.  So, I started looking into other people like Blind Willie Johnson and Bukka White and really started to enjoy listening to it, and I could hear a little more of what was going on. I started messing with guitar and open tunings and tried to get some finger picking going. I couldn’t play anything I was listening to, but I could kind of mess around on the guitar and come up with stuff that was influenced by it. 

I still can’t do anything "proper" –- but not being able to do it right has turned a good thing. Not being able to play widdly widdly guitar solos and learn licks and riffs kinda forced me into doing it my way, which albeit a bit fucked up, maybe makes what I do a wee bit different from other folks. 

You play a National Resonator Steel guitar. Have you always played resonator guitars, and have you customized your guitars in any way?

DA: No, I didn’t get into Nationals until I started doing solo stuff. I do have a regular wood body Collings acoustic at home that I play on occasional shows and a banjo. But about 80 or 90 percent of my stuff is performed on National Reso-Phonic guitars.

I have two main touring guitars from National that I have used for seven or eight years. I take three guitars to most shows because the resonators don’t like moving from tuning to tuning much – the cones inside kinda settle into their own tunings.

Trying to amplify a resonator guitar can be difficult. Ideally, I’d stand in front of a microphone, but it’s not really my style –- I like to move around a bit! The Highlander piezo pickups in the "biscuit" bridge that sits on top of the resonator cone are OK for a more acoustic sound, but you can forget using overdrive pedal or plugging the guitar into a valve amp. The piezos sound terrible like that. 

We were visiting National about ten years ago and the guys gave me a couple of stick-on Humbucker magnetic pickups, which I put on the guitars I was using at the time and that opened up whole new world of amps and overdrive!

Another thing was that my old National guitars – now retired from the road – have slotted headstocks rather than flat headstocks. I use very heavy strings (17-56 gauge) that are a little like fence wire and I still break a lot of strings. Trying to change a string on a slotted headstock when you are in the middle of a gig is a bit of a fanny-dance. It’s much easier and faster to change strings on a flat head stock. So, I got National to put in "M2 necks" with flat headstocks on the two current metal bodied instruments I tour with.

Also, I wanted on-board power built into the guitar rather than use an external power box, so National installed  Lollar Humbuckers in the neck position as well as the Highlander piezos in the biscuit bridge, and added a blend system. I don’t know if National is putting these setups into some of their production models now, but my guitars were the first guitars they did that way. I am gonna be with National at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in LA in January and have lots of ideas for future instruments… I’d like them to do a signature model but that might be pushing my luck a bit!

How do you maintain these custom guitars on the road?

DA: Both of the current guitars have had the necks broken off. A few times. And not always by careless luggage handlers! At one show in Glasgow, I was sound checking, looked down, and I could see daylight between the guitar body and the neck. I’m thinking, “What the?” The joint was clean broken, and it was only the tension of the strings that was holding the guitar together! It lasted the show though.

In the UK, my main set-up and repair guy (Dave King) is in England, which is about 400 miles away from where I am in Scotland. But there’s a couple of guys in Glasgow, one is more of a luthier and the other more into electronics and solid bodied guitars, who can do a lot of stuff. Most of these guys know if you are a touring musician, you are full-time, and need your instrument for your livelihood, so they’re usually pretty helpful. No matter where we are, repair folks and guitar shops generally pull out all stops to help. Once, when we were in Eau Claire Wisconsin, I had to get one fixed. It was done in an hour while we went for a burger. Turned out the guy doing sound at the show knew the repair shop and sent us there. Good call! 

I saw a YouTube video where you play a cigar box guitar. How did this come about?

DA: A friend in Helsinki was keen for me to play his cigar box. It’s a simple thing -- you just plug it in and get it as loud as you can. 

In the animated video from the version of Dragonfly (from the Devil’s Left Hand album) I used a home made one, a one-string diddly bow with a tin can on one end and a hole with a string through it at the other.

Since then, I got asked to headline the UK Cigar Box Guitar Festival in Manchester, England. I explained to them, “but I don’t play cigar box -– just one or two tunes,” and they said, “Doesn’t matter, we like your shit!” After that, they sent me a one string cigar box with a big heavy bass string. A big fuck-off thick string and the instrument weighs a ton and is very top heavy. It’s kind of out-of-control. Usually, by the time I play it, I’m a bit wasted, and I just wanna make a noise, so I’m playing notes that don’t exist. 

As we were leaving the UK for this USA tour, a guy in Indiana wanted to give me a resonator cigar box he’d made, and he’d have liked to see me play it on the banks of Loch Lemond. I’d have really loved to have accept it, but it just wasn’t possible as we’re already overloaded with gear, and I’d have no way to get it home on the plane.

How did you learn to play banjo? 

DA: Ha-ha. Well, I’ve never learned to play banjo -- I just mess with it. Ironically though, the last single I released, Whiskey Trail, is a banjo-based song. The tuning is open G tuning, which I use on guitar, so the essence is quite similar –- except for that stupid fifth string that I think they put there just to fuck up guitar players. Five or six years ago, before I had even tried a banjo, I played a show  with J. D. Wilkes  and the Legendary Shack Shakers in Newcastle, England. He asked if I’d ever thought about playing banjo -- so that put the idea in my head. We’ve since done a load of shows together, so I blame him. Then, by pure coincidence, I was licensing some songs to a French record label, and the guy who runs the label said, “Have you thought about playing the banjo?”

A friend here in Scotland had a banjo lying around, so I borrowed it for week or two to see if it was going to be a piece a shit, but I thought "Eh, I could probably get on with this."  I use a Deering banjo at home with a nice pickup in the head. Over here in the USA, I have a weird banjo that I got from a guy called Charlie Parr. He’s a good pal, and we’ve done lots of stuff together both here in the USA and back home in UK and Ireland. He left it for me in Eau Claire, Wisconsin a few years ago and while it’s not the best banjo in the world, it’s got some of Charlie’s mojo in it. I used it on one of the songs, Whisky Trail,  I recorded for a Daytrotter/Paste session coming through Davenport on this tour.

We loved your performance of Johnny Cash’s  "25 Minutes To Go " at your concert in Chicago. How did you come across this song?

DA: It’s my favourite Johnny Cash song ever. I rarely play it myself, but it’s the song I use to go on stage at home. When I was about six or seven years old, I was at a friend’s house, and his parents had bought a hi-fi system. I think they were helping put up the Christmas tree when it came on and the “I had some beans for my last meal” line tickled my ear.

Thirty-odd years later, I was at a friend’s house, and he put on a live Pearl Jam album and I’m thinking, “Fuck, I know that song.” I’d totally forgotten about the song –- and although there was no iTunes or Spotify, I did some online research and found both the Cash and Pearl Jam versions. Eddie Veder’s version might even be better than Cash’s! 

(The song was originally written by Shel Silverstein, Chicago’s own.) 

What do you listen to now? 

DA: A lot of Bloodshot stuff.  Scott H. Biram and folks like that. It was the first label I discovered with more alternative left-field stuff… I think it’s an important label, especially as so many original punks moved into country and roots stuff and influenced a whole new generation. I also love Paul Burch, Hank III, Bob Wayne.

I‘m also listening to a lot of Justin Townes Earle. I think I might even prefer Justin to his dad Steve Earle who I was lucky enough to play with in Scotland a while back. I met Justin at a festival in Glasgow more recently. The festival folk knew I’d done a show with Steve Earle and wanted to make a documentary with Justin and I –- him being the USA visitor and me being the Glasgow guy. We spent an afternoon filming, and he did an amazing show that night. 

I’m lucky that I often get to play with a lot of the people I like to listen too. Sarah Shook is a recent discovery who had been on repeat streaming in the runup to this tour –- and by coincidence it turned out we played together in Davenport, Iowa the other night.

Your shows are very active and physical. Have you always been this vibrant?

DA: Well, what you saw was scaled down. I am usually more active but space was tight and I was on my best behaviour!

That’s why I prefer my latest live album (Live at Memorial Hall) -– while all the previous studio albums are recorded live in the studio they don’t have the audience, energy and vibe of the live show.

It probably all started because of my early days busking in the street. If you wanted attention, and money, you had to get in people’s faces. 

The other side of it is maybe my self-perceived lack of ability playing or singing. I think I started to develop the stage show to try and overcome the other deficiencies that I thought I had.

I was told at school that I couldn’t sing and was tone deaf and was only allowed to be in choir if I just moved my lips. I thought, “Fuck this. I’m going to do it anyway.” 

I probably originally used the live performance as a crutch -– something to hide behind even if I do have a bit more confidence in my musical ability nowadays.

Do you still feel like you can’t sing and play properly?

DA: I guess in my head –- but I do make a living at it and get some pretty good reviews and feedback. I suppose if it wasn’t any good folks wouldn’t come to shows and I wouldn’t be able to make a living at it. So, I reckon it can’t be that bad, and I obviously think it’s worth doing or I wouldn’t do it.

In my own mind, I’d put my guitar-playing ability at maybe 6 out of 10, singing at 3 or 4, and songwriting at 4 or 5. I don’t think anything is going to change my own perceptions… it’s just conditioning. I was conditioned growing up, and I don’t think it’ll ever go away. At the same time, I don’t really care, because I don’t think it matters. It would matter if it stopped me from doing it, but it actually pushes me to keep doing it.

I work quite hard at press, media and the business side of things too.  Unlike many musicians we know, I enjoy that stuff as much as the playing, writing and performing.

Sometimes, even now, we get folks, especially guitar players thinking I’m doing something fancy, come to a show and see that it’s not all widdly widdly and say, “How come he’s up there … I could do that.” 

But these things don’t bother me in the slightest, because I only care if my audience likes it, not armchair critics or wannabes. The best piece of advice came to me from Seasick Steve after a show we did together, “Just keep on doing what you do -– don’t change it for anyone.”

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 Why did you start playing music?

DA: I was 18 years old and working in a bank. In December, we got a bonus and a day off for Christmas shopping and instead of buying Christmas presents for everyone, I bought a guitar!

Before I could even play a full song, I started going busking, because I thought it might bring in some extra cash … and attract women. I’d maybe even get invited to more parties. It finally worked, but it took about 40 years! (Dave and his tour manager, Margaret, have been married for six years.)

Coming from Glasgow, Scotland, how did you develop the alt-blues style you have now? 

DA: I went through the usual youth adulation music thing growing up. Kinda started with heavy metal and prog-rock moving onto Lou Reed, then Bowie and on to Dylan. Dylan got me thinking about acoustic guitar. And, although I didn’t realize it, a lot of the early Dylan I loved was blues-based, so I got into blues that way. 

How did you start your music career?

Started my first band was when I moved to Fife in Scotland to go to college. I was 22 or 23. It was a regular electric blues band –- guitar, bass drums –- and we started writing our own stuff. I played half the stuff on regular guitar, the rest on slide. I much preferred playing open-tuning slide and was more comfortable playing that as I didn’t have to think about it too much! The other regular stuff was much too technical for me –-with open tunings and slide, I just had to worry about one finger. So, in the end, I gravitated to it more, because it was just easier to perform and have fun playing the bottle-neck slide stuff. 

Back in the early 90s, a music magazine sent me to review an acoustic blues show in Glasgow and interview the artist Catfish Keith who played steel guitar. I’d never seen a metal-bodied National guitar before and that got me interested. 

I’d tried to listen to Robert Johnson on old cassettes but just hearing what was going on was difficult so trying to play that stuff seemed to be impossible.  So, I started looking into other people like Blind Willie Johnson and Bukka White and really started to enjoy listening to it, and I could hear a little more of what was going on. I started messing with guitar and open tunings and tried to get some finger picking going. I couldn’t play anything I was listening to, but I could kind of mess around on the guitar and come up with stuff that was influenced by it. 

I still can’t do anything "proper" –- but not being able to do it right has turned a good thing. Not being able to play widdly widdly guitar solos and learn licks and riffs kinda forced me into doing it my way, which albeit a bit fucked up, maybe makes what I do a wee bit different from other folks. 

You play a National Resonator Steel guitar. Have you always played resonator guitars, and have you customized your guitars in any way?

DA: No, I didn’t get into Nationals until I started doing solo stuff. I do have a regular wood body Collings acoustic at home that I play on occasional shows and a banjo. But about 80 or 90 percent of my stuff is performed on National Reso-Phonic guitars.

I have two main touring guitars from National that I have used for seven or eight years. I take three guitars to most shows because the resonators don’t like moving from tuning to tuning much – the cones inside kinda settle into their own tunings.

Trying to amplify a resonator guitar can be difficult. Ideally, I’d stand in front of a microphone, but it’s not really my style –- I like to move around a bit! The Highlander piezo pickups in the "biscuit" bridge that sits on top of the resonator cone are OK for a more acoustic sound, but you can forget using overdrive pedal or plugging the guitar into a valve amp. The piezos sound terrible like that. 

We were visiting National about ten years ago and the guys gave me a couple of stick-on Humbucker magnetic pickups, which I put on the guitars I was using at the time and that opened up whole new world of amps and overdrive!

Another thing was that my old National guitars – now retired from the road – have slotted headstocks rather than flat headstocks. I use very heavy strings (17-56 gauge) that are a little like fence wire and I still break a lot of strings. Trying to change a string on a slotted headstock when you are in the middle of a gig is a bit of a fanny-dance. It’s much easier and faster to change strings on a flat head stock. So, I got National to put in "M2 necks" with flat headstocks on the two current metal bodied instruments I tour with.

Also, I wanted on-board power built into the guitar rather than use an external power box, so National installed  Lollar Humbuckers in the neck position as well as the Highlander piezos in the biscuit bridge, and added a blend system. I don’t know if National is putting these setups into some of their production models now, but my guitars were the first guitars they did that way. I am gonna be with National at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in LA in January and have lots of ideas for future instruments… I’d like them to do a signature model but that might be pushing my luck a bit!

How do you maintain these custom guitars on the road?

DA: Both of the current guitars have had the necks broken off. A few times. And not always by careless luggage handlers! At one show in Glasgow, I was sound checking, looked down, and I could see daylight between the guitar body and the neck. I’m thinking, “What the?” The joint was clean broken, and it was only the tension of the strings that was holding the guitar together! It lasted the show though.

In the UK, my main set-up and repair guy (Dave King) is in England, which is about 400 miles away from where I am in Scotland. But there’s a couple of guys in Glasgow, one is more of a luthier and the other more into electronics and solid bodied guitars, who can do a lot of stuff. Most of these guys know if you are a touring musician, you are full-time, and need your instrument for your livelihood, so they’re usually pretty helpful. No matter where we are, repair folks and guitar shops generally pull out all stops to help. Once, when we were in Eau Claire Wisconsin, I had to get one fixed. It was done in an hour while we went for a burger. Turned out the guy doing sound at the show knew the repair shop and sent us there. Good call! 

I saw a YouTube video where you play a cigar box guitar. How did this come about?

DA: A friend in Helsinki was keen for me to play his cigar box. It’s a simple thing -- you just plug it in and get it as loud as you can. 

In the animated video from the version of Dragonfly (from the Devil’s Left Hand album) I used a home made one, a one-string diddly bow with a tin can on one end and a hole with a string through it at the other.

Since then, I got asked to headline the UK Cigar Box Guitar Festival in Manchester, England. I explained to them, “but I don’t play cigar box -– just one or two tunes,” and they said, “Doesn’t matter, we like your shit!” After that, they sent me a one string cigar box with a big heavy bass string. A big fuck-off thick string and the instrument weighs a ton and is very top heavy. It’s kind of out-of-control. Usually, by the time I play it, I’m a bit wasted, and I just wanna make a noise, so I’m playing notes that don’t exist. 

As we were leaving the UK for this USA tour, a guy in Indiana wanted to give me a resonator cigar box he’d made, and he’d have liked to see me play it on the banks of Loch Lemond. I’d have really loved to have accept it, but it just wasn’t possible as we’re already overloaded with gear, and I’d have no way to get it home on the plane.

How did you learn to play banjo? 

DA: Ha-ha. Well, I’ve never learned to play banjo -- I just mess with it. Ironically though, the last single I released, Whiskey Trail, is a banjo-based song. The tuning is open G tuning, which I use on guitar, so the essence is quite similar –- except for that stupid fifth string that I think they put there just to fuck up guitar players. Five or six years ago, before I had even tried a banjo, I played a show  with J. D. Wilkes  and the Legendary Shack Shakers in Newcastle, England. He asked if I’d ever thought about playing banjo -- so that put the idea in my head. We’ve since done a load of shows together, so I blame him. Then, by pure coincidence, I was licensing some songs to a French record label, and the guy who runs the label said, “Have you thought about playing the banjo?”

A friend here in Scotland had a banjo lying around, so I borrowed it for week or two to see if it was going to be a piece a shit, but I thought "Eh, I could probably get on with this."  I use a Deering banjo at home with a nice pickup in the head. Over here in the USA, I have a weird banjo that I got from a guy called Charlie Parr. He’s a good pal, and we’ve done lots of stuff together both here in the USA and back home in UK and Ireland. He left it for me in Eau Claire, Wisconsin a few years ago and while it’s not the best banjo in the world, it’s got some of Charlie’s mojo in it. I used it on one of the songs, Whisky Trail,  I recorded for a Daytrotter/Paste session coming through Davenport on this tour.

We loved your performance of Johnny Cash’s  "25 Minutes To Go " at your concert in Chicago. How did you come across this song?

DA: It’s my favourite Johnny Cash song ever. I rarely play it myself, but it’s the song I use to go on stage at home. When I was about six or seven years old, I was at a friend’s house, and his parents had bought a hi-fi system. I think they were helping put up the Christmas tree when it came on and the “I had some beans for my last meal” line tickled my ear.

Thirty-odd years later, I was at a friend’s house, and he put on a live Pearl Jam album and I’m thinking, “Fuck, I know that song.” I’d totally forgotten about the song –- and although there was no iTunes or Spotify, I did some online research and found both the Cash and Pearl Jam versions. Eddie Veder’s version might even be better than Cash’s! 

(The song was originally written by Shel Silverstein, Chicago’s own.) 

What do you listen to now? 

DA: A lot of Bloodshot stuff.  Scott H. Biram and folks like that. It was the first label I discovered with more alternative left-field stuff… I think it’s an important label, especially as so many original punks moved into country and roots stuff and influenced a whole new generation. I also love Paul Burch, Hank III, Bob Wayne.

I‘m also listening to a lot of Justin Townes Earle. I think I might even prefer Justin to his dad Steve Earle who I was lucky enough to play with in Scotland a while back. I met Justin at a festival in Glasgow more recently. The festival folk knew I’d done a show with Steve Earle and wanted to make a documentary with Justin and I –- him being the USA visitor and me being the Glasgow guy. We spent an afternoon filming, and he did an amazing show that night. 

I’m lucky that I often get to play with a lot of the people I like to listen too. Sarah Shook is a recent discovery who had been on repeat streaming in the runup to this tour –- and by coincidence it turned out we played together in Davenport, Iowa the other night.

Your shows are very active and physical. Have you always been this vibrant?

DA: Well, what you saw was scaled down. I am usually more active but space was tight and I was on my best behaviour!

That’s why I prefer my latest live album (Live at Memorial Hall) -– while all the previous studio albums are recorded live in the studio they don’t have the audience, energy and vibe of the live show.

It probably all started because of my early days busking in the street. If you wanted attention, and money, you had to get in people’s faces. 

The other side of it is maybe my self-perceived lack of ability playing or singing. I think I started to develop the stage show to try and overcome the other deficiencies that I thought I had.

I was told at school that I couldn’t sing and was tone deaf and was only allowed to be in choir if I just moved my lips. I thought, “Fuck this. I’m going to do it anyway.” 

I probably originally used the live performance as a crutch -– something to hide behind even if I do have a bit more confidence in my musical ability nowadays.

Do you still feel like you can’t sing and play properly?

DA: I guess in my head –- but I do make a living at it and get some pretty good reviews and feedback. I suppose if it wasn’t any good folks wouldn’t come to shows and I wouldn’t be able to make a living at it. So, I reckon it can’t be that bad, and I obviously think it’s worth doing or I wouldn’t do it.

In my own mind, I’d put my guitar-playing ability at maybe 6 out of 10, singing at 3 or 4, and songwriting at 4 or 5. I don’t think anything is going to change my own perceptions… it’s just conditioning. I was conditioned growing up, and I don’t think it’ll ever go away. At the same time, I don’t really care, because I don’t think it matters. It would matter if it stopped me from doing it, but it actually pushes me to keep doing it.

I work quite hard at press, media and the business side of things too.  Unlike many musicians we know, I enjoy that stuff as much as the playing, writing and performing.

Sometimes, even now, we get folks, especially guitar players thinking I’m doing something fancy, come to a show and see that it’s not all widdly widdly and say, “How come he’s up there … I could do that.” 

But these things don’t bother me in the slightest, because I only care if my audience likes it, not armchair critics or wannabes. The best piece of advice came to me from Seasick Steve after a show we did together, “Just keep on doing what you do -– don’t change it for anyone.”

top