Jon Dee Graham Explained

Jon Dee Graham
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Origin:Austin, Texas, United States
Occupation:Guitarist, songwriter
Instrument:Guitar
Years Active:1986–present
Label:Freedom Records
Associated Acts:The Skunks
True Believers

Jon Dee Graham is an American musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference in 2006.[1] [2] He was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame three times: as a solo artist in 2000, again in 2008 as a member of The Skunks, and again in 2009 as a member of the True Believers.

The Skunks formed in 1978, with a lineup featuring Jesse Sublett on bass and vocals and Bill Blackmon on drums. Graham joined as their new guitarist (replacing Eddie Munoz, who departed to join The Plimsouls) in 1979. Graham's guitar can be heard on the band's live CD, Live: Earthquake Shake, released in 2000.[3]

The True Believers, which included Alejandro Escovedo and his brother, Javier Escovedo, are widely considered by critics to be seminal figures in the fusion of literary songwriting and punk rock, a sound often referred to as cowpunk, a subset of alternative country.

Jon Dee Graham went on to play with John Doe, Exene Cervenka, James McMurtry, Eliza Gilkyson, Kelly Willis, John Hiatt, Michelle Shocked, Patty Griffin, Calvin Russell, and Lone Justice.

His music has been featured in soundtracks such as Ladder 49 and Veronica Mars. In 1992, Patty Smyth covered Graham's song, "One Moment to Another" on her album, Patty Smyth.

Career

To date, Graham has released ten solo albums: Escape from Monster Island (1997, Freedom Records); Summerland (1999, New West Records); Hooray for the Moon (2002, New West Records); The Great Battle (2004, New West Records); Full (2006, Freedom Records); Swept Away (Film Soundtrack) (2008, Freedom Records) It's Not As Bad As It Looks (2010, Freedom Records), and Garage Sale (2012, Freedom Records), "Do Not Forget" (2015 Freedom Records), and "Knoxville Skyline" (2016, South Central). His 2004 record, The Great Battle, was produced by Austin guitarist Charlie Sexton, a longtime member of Bob Dylan's band.

Graham's music generally explores the struggles adults face as they work to raise their children, maintain marriages and jobs, and grapple with the quick passage of time. Despite the heaviness of such themes, Graham's music is infused with a strong sense of the joys of life and the need to remain optimistic.

Graham's second son, Willie, suffered from a chronic, rare childhood disease called Legg-Perthes. In 2005, the Austin music community banded together in an effort to raise money for Willie's treatment. The resulting benefit concert at Austin's Continental Club became a CD/DVD release called "Big Sweet Life: The Songs of Jon Dee Graham."[4] Musicians like Alejandro Escovedo, Bob Schneider, David Garza, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ian McLagan, and Steve Poltz all contributed by covering Graham's tunes. An additional benefit concert, held the same night at the Saxon Pub, featured performances by Roky Erickson and the Skunks. Graham commuted the short distance between clubs to participate in both shows.

Over the years, Graham has been backed by Jim Keltner, Rafael Gayol, Mark Andes, Michael Hardwick, and Andrew Duplantis, who went on to play in Son Volt with Jay Farrar.

In early 2006, production began on a feature-length documentary on Graham and his music. Entitled, Jon Dee Graham: Swept Away, it was released on DVD on May 20, 2008 and later made available to stream on Amazon Prime. The film was directed by a friend of Graham's, Mark Finkelpearl, who happens to be a documentary television professional with a background on the staffs of the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Television.

In August 2008, Graham underwent emergency surgery after being injured in a one-car accident.[5]

In 2012, Susan Cowsill, Freedy Johnston, and Graham, working together as The Hobart Brothers and Lil' Sis Hobart, released a collaborative album on Freedom Records entitled At Least We Have Each Other.

Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay, released in early 2016 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records, features Graham's version of Finlay's "Taken Better Care of Myself."[6] That year Graham performed at FitzGerald's American Music Festival.[7]

In 2019, Graham announced plans and launched a fan-funding campaign to record a new album in conjunction with his 60th birthday.[8]

Discography

Albums

Guitar, producer, vocals

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jon Dee Graham - Austin Musician of the Year 2006. Austin Songwriter. 18 March 2020.
  2. Web site: Jon Dee Graham - Artist Profile. eventseeker.com. 18 March 2020.
  3. News: Austin Chronicle . The Skunks, the Band That Broke Austin Out of the Seventies Young, Loud, and Cheap . Ken . Lieck . December 8, 2000.
  4. News: Moser . Margeret . Record Review: Big Sweet Life . Austin Chronicle . October 21, 2005.
  5. News: Moser . Margaret . Earache! Austin Music Blog: Graham and Lemonade . Austin Chronicle . September 4, 2008.
  6. Web site: Various Artists: Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay . AllMusic .
  7. http://wgnradio.com/2016/09/18/in-the-can-from-daves-van-singersongwriter-jon-dee-graham/ "In the can from Dave’s van: singer/songwriter Jon Dee Graham"
  8. Web site: JonDeeGraham.com. jondeegraham.com. 2019-02-07.

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