This is the text from an interview between the Gin Palace Jesters own Dave Sisson and Marc Fenech with the European roots music magazine Southern and Rocking Music Magazine.
Code: Marc in WHITE and Dave in Red
(1) So, you're a 5-piece from Chicago, I believe? (although quartet on the
CD).Who is in the band now and who plays what... like the instrumentation the
band?
Yes, 5 guys.
Dave Sisson:Lead electric guitar and lions share of lead vocals. ME FOLKS! Hello...
Casey Stockdon-Upright bass and vocals.
Ken Mottet- acoustic guitar and vocals, emcee, strange one
Buddy Carter-pedal steel and vocals
Rick Murawski-drums and vocals
The cd was recorded through the early developement of the band and most everybody on that CD was in the band at some point but left because it is hard to find 5 or 6 guys that can get along well together and have the exact same musical passions. You can tell a guy to play a certain way and he can try to do it but if he doesn't want to, he eventually will want to move on or some other guy won't like what he's doing. This is why so many players on the first recordings. Different members different lineups. It's difficult to get everyone to share a common vision. These five fellas, we all get along...so far.
(2) When did you begin? Who were the members then and what have been the changes
up till now.
Since I am the sucker answering these questions I will
say this is a LONG boring answer so if you don't really want to know, skip over
this portion to the next question. Here goes.
The first attempt 1999
Dave Sisson rhythm
Rod Glaze-upright bass.
Donnie Briggs electric guitar
Keith Baumann steel guitar
Perry Lafine drums
Recorded Johnny Come Lately for GPJ cd "Honkytonk Fools" Fought like
cats and dogs. Disbanded 2000.
The second attempt 2001
Dave Sisson electric lead guitar
Rod Glaze-upright bass
Remi Gits rhythm guitar
Buddy Carter pedal steel
James Ventrella drum (singular)
This group just got going but Dave (uh...myself) was diagnosed with a rare neurological
condition called Guillain
Barre Syndrome and was unable to perform for nearly a year. When I recovered...We
recorded 7 songs for GPJ cd "Honkytonk Fools" in Nashville with Sean
Mencher producing and had another 6 songs which Rod Glaze took with him when
he left the band.
2003 found us as:
Dave Sisson-guitars
Casey Stockdon-upright bass
Buddy Carter-pedal steel
Mike Medina drums.
Rick Veras was our occasional hired gun fiddler and mandolin player.
This group recorded the remaining tunes found on the CD "Honkytonk Fools". We had no rhythm player so Dave (err...myself again) played rhythm guitar and overdubbed the leads. Whatcha gonna do?
Eventually in 2004
Ken Mottet joined on rhythm guitar
Rick Murawski took over on drums.
There we have it...the current line up. For how long? Noone can say.
(3) What other bands have the current members been in? The names of Mike Medina
and Dave Sisson seem familiar, but I can't think from where, right now (Duvalls?
Moondogs?)... and are any of you guys simultaneously in other outfits at present?
Current members:
Casey Stockdon-Sunnyside Up Bluegrass, Slink Moss and his Flying Aces among
others.
Dave Sisson-(hello) Three Blue Teardrops (1991 to present), also side gigs with
crazy man R&B legend Andre Williams, occasional one off with Nick Willett.
Rick Murawski-The DuValls
Buddy Carter...well he keeps that quiet. Alot of bands though...uh, Bart Alonzo,
Brent Hoodenpyle...some others?
Ken Mottet-"The Mayor" just is a scenester and is known for that.
Noone even knew he had any talent other than being a hambone until we recruited
him.
Former Members:
Mike Medina- Sprague Brothers, New Hudson Irregulars and others.
Perry Lafine-The Moondogs, New Hudson Irregulars, The Riptones, Nick Willett
Keith Baumann-Special Consensus Bluegrass Band and perennial hired gun.
Rod Glaze-The DuValls, Starlight Drifters
James Ventrella-Leslie Smith Combo
(4) So, Dave is from Pennsylvania? He's written most of the songs.
The moniker "Pennsylvania" Dave started because I have a musician friend here in Chicago also named Dave. Everytime someone called, "Dave?" we'd both say, "What?" so since he already was known as "Gentleman Dave" I became "Pennsylvania" Dave but...you know what? No one really calls me that. Well, no one that I can think of. But I am from "Coal Country" and to quote one of my favorite movies John Ford's-The Quiet Man- "I grew up in a shack down by the slag heaps." Really, I did.
And Sean Mencher has been giving you guys a helping hand, like he did with
the Starline Rhythm Boys not too long back perhaps. What was he/you doing in
TN at the time?
And Rosie Flores has been involved with the album too...
what about the other additional musicians on the album, what bands are they
regularly found in?
We were going to try to crank out 14 songs in a weekend.
A HUGE task to say the least. We decided we needed someone we trusted to act
as both a task master, quality control judge and occasional referee for the
arguing that *could* ensue since we wouldn't have time to listen to playback
after playback. We liked the Starline Rhythm Boys first two recordings and Sean
was a friend and musician we all respected and so we payed him to drive down
and produce the session in Nashville because we knew some guys with a studio
down there. It was interesting. Sean called in Nashvilleans Colonel JD Wilkes
(from Those Legendary Shackshakers) to blow some harp and called Rosie Flores
in to overdub a vocal. We needed a fiddle player and I called Jason Carter from
the Del McCoury Band because he is my favorite fiddler and happened to be home
in Hendersonville, TN that weekend putting a new roof on his house. Jason is
known as a great bluegrass fiddle player but we told him we wanted Tommy Jackson
licks and he gave 'em to us in spades.
With a couple exceptions, most Chicago musicians appearing on our recordings
were in the band or gigged with the band at one time or another.
(5) Have there been any significant changes in style or direction since Day
1?
Significant to some, impercievable to the uninitiated. The first incarnation (1999) was strictly Western Swing and Hillbilly Bop. It was all we could do. No country players, all swing. The second incarnation came closer to playing the 1950's and early 60's country sound but with the addition of fellow "ridgerunner" and Virginia native Casey Stockdon on bass and harmony, he injected that bluegrass and hillbilly vibe that none of the other guys got up til now. It really is a regional thing you know? With him and Rick Murawski came a true realization of the low volume approach we had been working toward with limited success up to 2003. It's a rare thing in live music to have a guy turn to his band mates and say, "Am I too loud?" Most guys just reach over and spin the volume knob to 11. If a guy and a girl can't talk to one another at a live music show, the band is too loud or the sound engineer sucks. That is the truth.
And what can you see the future holding, or what would you like it to hold? More good original recordings. We have 3 fine songwriters in this group. If I am not concocting some type of story song, Ken or Buddy are cranking out some great catchy country songs. Our sound is totally song driven. If the song needs a certain arrangement we try to do what the song tells us to do in the best way we can. How's about the Grand Ol Opry? Hell, even the Opry in Glascow, Scotland. We are waiting for the phone call invite. We'd like to tour more but, we aren't going to starve to do it. We aren't in our twenties anymore. You pay...we play.
(6) How are things in Chicago right now. Would the scene/bands seem to be more
on the rockin' side of things or more on the swing side?
Hmm....Chicago is one of the largest cities in the world and when it comes to live music one of the best too. We have more venues and more bands competing for stage time here in this city than most countries do and because of it's size every touring band stops by to gig here as well. There is every type musical style as well from heavy metal to bluegrass, Blues to Reggae, from Hip Hop and Rap to Latino Ranchero music to 15 different types of polka music. America is a melting pot of people and Chicago is right smack in the center of America. It doesn't get more diverse. There are probably 300 or more bands playing out now on a Tuesday night as I am typing this and another 500 rehearsing somewhere. Cool huh? Rock music is always huge, Rockabilly not as much but compared to some places is a big scene here. The kids seem to like the psychobilly these days. You can also have every type of authentic ethnic food imaginable in one day here too. It's great.
(7) Ken Mottet, who wrote "Nashville Penny", he's in the band fulltime
now but wasn't at the time of the CD?.. I ask because I noticed you guys have
published it.
Ken found Grand Ol Opry star Whisperin'
Bill Anderson's suit in a used clothing store in Chicago. He went to see
the Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and wore that suit. He met Whisperin'
Bill and got his autograph and Bill confirmed that yes in fact it was his suit.
Ken saw a penny on the ground the next day. He picked it up and wrote that song
using his dashboard as a desk. Ken is my neighbor and a friend I''ve had for
14 years. I backed Ken up on his own gigs and played lead guitar for him once
in a while learning many of his songs in the process. I needed something uptempo
and fun for that album and asked him if I could record it. He was thrilled and
so was I. Later we needed a full time rhythm player and drafted Ken because
he is a fan of "by Gawd Country music." His song was in the band before
he was. Funny huh?
What about track 13 on the CD... Dave owns a "Chevy Caprice" or what
was the inspiration behind that?
I once had to swap out a transmission on my Caprice. I
had a fondness for that car and got another year and half out of it. I also
love scanning the AM band and hearing WKZV
"KZ Country" in Washington, PA you can pick up from Scenery Hill
or WSM the "Aircastle of the South." I still listen to those stations.
Inspiration?? I will name no names to protect the folks involved but I was once
in fact part of a love triangle gone horribly awry. The song is as pretty close
to the truth as it gets and my part in the debacle shall remain a mystery.
(8) How did Casey get his Janis Martin song's masculine moniker... "Barefoot
Boy". Just wondering if he used to play barefoot or something, much like
Lisa Pankratz used to play barefoot when drumming...?!
When the Gin Palace Jesters needed a new upright bass
player, we scanned high and low and had a list of 25 guys but none of them professed
to being able to sing a harmony. We got word of this tall lanky fellow we'd
heard was from Virginia playing a gig and when we went to check him out he was
singing harmony with a bluegrass band and playing barefooted! Someone said,
"Is that him? That...that barefoot boy?"
(9) Where have you played (abroad) so far.. Spain/Finland/Germany?/Holland?.
That's total so far?
What's the most prestigious events/fests. that you've played... examples would
be Vegas?, Greenbay?, Calella RnR Holidays, Mid-Summer Jamboree (Finn)...?
Have you managed to play all over the US, or has it only been IL, east coast
and perhaps west coast so far?
We did just get back from Screamin' Festival in Calella, Spain and Midsummerfest in Finland as well as touring around Germany and Holland which was all so much fun we'd like to come back. We have played mostly regional gigs in America through the Midwest and Great Lakes region as well as the Green Bay Festival. This band hasn't traveled too much yet. We are letting the CD do the walking for us right now. Perhaps it's because the drummer Rick and I (Dave) traveled long and hard with previous bands and know how hard it can get. We also have some family men in the band and you have to strike a balance somewhere and somehow when kids are in the picture. Kids aren't cheap you know?
(10) How would you describe yourselves in music style and show? Seems to me
you guys have a '50s/early '60s country feel in there... old hillbilly stuff,
no doubt about it... and something of a touch of the Kershaw
Brothers in places, like the bass vocals reminding of Wiley Barkdull.. then
again "Love, Love, Love" is an excellent track in a Crickets mould.
I think you nailed it square on the head. We play BOTH kinds of music, Country AND Western. Sure a bit of hillbilly bop and western swing sprinkled in there and a bit of Texas shuffle and Bakersfield and some old Honkytonk and Country Harmony and a dash of Nashville Country just after Elvis hit and they were trying to figure it out down there. We want to do all that but with ORIGINAL music.
(11) The obvious question... musical influences of the band? Faron Young? Ray
Price?...
Yes and yes. Johnny Bush and Mel Tillis and Jean Shepard
and Patsy Cline and George Jones and Porter Wagoner and Webb Pierce and Hank
Thompson and Johnny Horton and Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell and Ernest Tubb
and Jim and Jessie and the Louvin Brothers and Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins
and Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart and Justin Tubb and the Everly Brothers and
Johnny and Jack and Dolly Parton and Mac Wiseman and the Old Hickory Quartet
and the Jordonaires and on and on and on...the list is endless really. and songWRITERS
like Harland Howard and Tillman Franks and Willie Nelson and Tommy Collins and
Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton AGAIN and on and on and on...
did the idea on "Nashville Penny" come because Conway twitty is an influence? This is quite a different song from most of the album... the guitar etc. See story above about Ken and the penny and the suit. He wrote it a bit slower but I wanted to speed it up and do some muted echoed guitar like some of Don Gibson's bigger hits like "Sea of Heartbreak" or "Oh Lonesome Me" or Rem Wall's "Lonesome, Weary, Heartsick and Blue." or the Les Paul Capital stuff. So we did. It's still country about 1960 those tunes mentioned were recorded. It was country then and it fits to us.
Yes Conway is an influence.
For me personally I was chiefly known as more of a Rock and Roll singer with Three Blue Teardrops before "switching" to singing mainly country stuff. Same as Conway Twitty, Warren Smith and Wanda Jackson for instance. Country guys like Buck Owens (as Corky Jones), George Jones (as Thumper Jones), Faron Young, Mac Wiseman, The Louvin Brothers and many many others sang some rockabilly stuff and rockabilly guy Carl Perkins had some really great hard country recordings like "Turn Around" or "Let the Jukebox Keep On Playin". Guys flop around to stay creative. It's been done before, it'll happen again, no big deal.
(12) Do you find yourself playing in country bars or any country/roots fests.
as much as to a rockabilly audience.. like, have you managed to get much work
on the country side of things? Do you ever perform live with a fiddle player?
In Europe we played to mostly Rockabilly crowds who seemed to really appreciate what we are trying to do and know the music we are influenced by. In America we perform (up to this point) to mostly country crowds who like the old stuff. Rockabilly folks here haven't figured us out yet maybe because our bass player purposely DOESN'T slap on every note of every song and I don't perform a gigantic guitar spasm every minute and a half with my guitar turned up to ear splitting volume and our steel player actually has PEDALS on that thing and we are happy to keep the volume low and make "nice" music. We are not WILD and CRAZY. We play what we refer to as "4-H" music: Hard Hitting Hillbilly Honkytonk music and put on a country show laced with a slew of hillbilly hits from the heart of 1949-63 and alot of stuff their grandpappy's remember as well as our own original music. We are happy playing for whomever will show up though because it's always a party.
We do perform live with a fiddle player on occasion. We'd really like to have a full time fiddle player but finding the right guy who "gets it" is not that easy because aside from "getting it" a real bonus is that he wants to play the music for the love of it first and foremost as we don't always get paid what we think we are worth and well...if he was real good that would help too wouldn't it? It's an extra body, extra food, extra space in a van and an extra paycheck. Anybody intersted??? We do play the occasional "hat and buckle bar" we call it. We are met with either approval or confusion. The Modern Country sound or Hot New Country Sound or whatever you want to call it has been a full pendulum swing the other way from what we do. The thing is, that 70's pop rock modern country is dying a horrible quick death and people are starting to discover what this thing called REAL country or Hard Country is and they like it when things swing a little and bop a bit and twang alot and the harmonies are nice and the sound of the recording has not been filtered, compressed, gaited, overproduced, watered down and the song wasn't written by one of 7 guys residing on the top floor of a penthouse office space in downtown Nashville, Tennessee USA and parking his gold Lexus in a lot down in the basement garage. Real music by real people is back en vogue!
(13) Is the total released output so far, only the material on Rhythm Bomb?
No other records or appearances on other compilation albums etc.?
Correct. That is it for this band. We are just getting
going. More on the way soon. "Step right up!"
(14) Why did you use a different drummer on 4 songs of the album?
Because they all either quit or were fired. Sorry, the
truth hurts huh? See above.
(15) Who are your favourite contemporaries on the scene there Stateside? Like
who do you rate there, that is playing in a similar style, or the same circuit/scene,
to you guys (or otherwise).
Some you may know, others you may not. I will try to keep
the focus narrow to like minded bands.
Big Sandy and the Flyright Boys
Wayne Hancock
The Hoyle Brothers
The Derailers
Hot Club of Cowtown
Moot Davis
Justin Trevino
Dale Watson
Starline Rhythm Boys
Lucky Stars
The Spurs
James Hand
BR-549
Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys
Junior Brown
Dwight Yoakum
...That's a start right?
(16) What does the future hold, or what is coming up directly for the band?
Any good festival appearances (post-September), or new recordings, ...?
We are beginning to record songs for our second CD here
in Chicago. We have assembled alot of good original songs for it and will begin
work on it soon. There will probably be alot fewer pickers on it but maybe a
few more guests and lots more good tunes.
(17) Is there anything else you'd like to say, that perhaps hasn't been already
promoted by these questions.
Maybe other significant events that have happened so far, or particular accolades
to name...
We want to thank everyone who has supported us thus far. We have had quite a few lineup changes from our inception which has been extremely difficult but since really getting the ball rolling only a few years ago we have finally found the right bunch of guys who are all crazy about the same type of music, have a sick encyclopedic knowlege of Country and Old-Timey music and want to have fun with this band. It may seem selfish to say but we are here to make music for ourselves and if you folks are crazy enough to want to hear it well, by God we'll play it for you. I think the stability of our lineup will shine through the second release and only time will tell whether or not that turns out to be true. Rest assured we shall endeavor to keep playing real "by Gawd Hillbilly Music" for you beautiful people. Visit us on the web at http://www.ginpalacjesters.com/
How is that? Damn...I'm tired.
"Pennsylvania" Dave Sisson