Californian singer/songwriter Jesse Daniel has announced new album ‘Countin’ The Miles’, which is due out on 7th June via Lightning Rod Records. Daniel considers himself a country artist but does it his own way leading to the fan accolade: “Jesse Daniel plays my kind of country.”
‘Countin’ The Miles’ is Daniel’s fourth studio album and the first that he has produced himself. Daniel is now based in Austin and recorded the album at Arlyn Studios with the help of engineer Jacob Sciba and an impressive list of musicians, including pianist Ronnie Huckaby (piano) and Gene Elders (fiddle) of George Strait’s Ace in the Hole Band, as well as bassist Kevin Smith and songwriter/producer Jon Randall. The record also hosts guest appearances from Ben Haggard (Merle’s son) and Jodi Lyford, Daniel’s partner, bandmate and frequent co-writer. Elders sadly died shortly after these recordings.
The record bears the hallmarks of Daniel’s take on the Bakersfield sound – the twanging guitar tones, crying pedal-steel and honky-tonk rhythms – while embedding a gritty punk intensity and the wisdom that only comes after breaking the cycle of addiction. Daniel’s back story is pretty hard and he credits Lyford with helping him escape from alcohol, heroin and methamphetamine issues that ended up with him being homeless and in prison.
Recently, Daniel created the theme song to ‘Workin’ Man’, a Netflix special from comedian Dusty Slay who later talked up the track on a podcast hosted by arena-headlining comedy star Nate Bargatze. The song, ‘Workin’ Hard (Day and Night)’, gave him significant additional exposure.
He has released the black-and-white video for the album opener ‘Comin’ Apart At The Seams’ featuring background vocals from Randall and fiddle from Elders. “I wrote this song about my experience in life,” says Daniel. “It’s autobiographical and touches on the way my brothers and I grew up. I wrote this one about the spirit of perseverance and the earned toughness that comes from an upbringing like we had. It’s the realisation that no one is coming to save you. That’s on us to save ourselves.”
