Bio – Jesse Lavery
Rock. alt-country. Indie. Singer/songwriter. Folk rock.
Truth is, I’ve never known how to categorize my music. I was raised on country music of the 1980’s, before it got all overly produced and slick. (Now, what gets played on mainstream country radio is pop music with fiddles.) At the same time, my Dad was slowly but surely turning me on to older “outlaw country” (Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard) and 60’s and 70’s rock and folk (Gordon Lightfoot, Dylan, the Beatles and the Stones, Janis Joplin). It was all down-hill from there.
In college, I started a band. The Subclavians played increasingly loud rock and roll music, heavily influenced by bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Cracker, and Uncle Tupelo. The band featured myself (vocals, guitars), Greg Kline (bass, harmonica), Pittsburgh music legend Brian Sproul (lead guitar, the original drummer) and a loud drummer. We put out one single (“Still Fall”) which appeared on a compilation album of northwestern PA music called The Toolcity Underground.
When I started playing solo/acoustic gigs a few years back, I was doing it just for something different to do on a Friday night. That afterthought has led to a resurgance in my songwriting, playing out (solo and with my rock band The Mules), and recording. I’ve released one EP (5000), played a bunch of shows all around the area, and I’m planning on recording a new EP over the winter.
Thanks for listening!