Dave Insley

Artist Information

Biography

Dave Insley has enjoyed a heap of praise (and played a lot of gigs) since the release of his critically acclaimed solo debut "Call Me Lonesome" (2005), the follow-up "Here With You Tonight" (2006), and his latest "West Texas Wine" (2008). Backed by a group he calls “the Careless Smokers,” the Country singer from Arizona now lives in Austin, Texas, but spends most of his year on the road, entertaining folks in America’s hippest nightclubs & dancehalls, and winning new fans with his unique blend of Honky Tonk, Tex-Mex & Arizona hillbilly music.

Dave sings in a powerful, honest voice and his stories of small-town life & working class values resonate easily with audiences. The Washington Post calls West Texas Wine "Wry, road-tested DIY country from the country wing of the country genre" and reports that "Insley is so for-real he doesn't even need a Nashville address. Or a publicist." The Wall Street Journal’s Nat Hentoff says Insley “immediately held my attention not by showboating, but through naturally flowing rhythms and stories of everyday life and loss, told in a warm, unhurried and sometimes wry voice of experience.” The Austin Chronicle’s Jim Caligiuri says Insley “combines the best of the Bakersfield sound & two steppin’ beats, with his own desert-bent sense of humor, leading him to a singular place somewhere between Dwight Yoakam and Dave Alvin,” and Soundstage's David Cantor calls Insley’s music “Zen Country,” and credits Insley for “leaving melodramatic self-indulgence out of the picture” for a sound that’s “just plain well done.”

Backed by the hotter-than-embers Smokers, Insley has notched numerous coast-to-coast tours under his belt, and earned his stripes as a live performer. Working America's roadhouse circuit has made Dave's unique songwriting & craggy baritone well-known cultural exports of the Southwest. "One of the Southwest's most original and authentic Country voices."

Instrumentation

Dave Insley - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Dale X Allen - lead guitar & vocals
Daniel Jones - drums
Vance Hazen - bass & vocals
Bobby Snell - pedal steel guitar

Discography

Dave Insley "West Texas Wine" D.I.R., 2008
#2 FAR Chart
#13 Euroamericana Chart

Dave Insley "Here With You Tonight" Redeye, 2006
with special guests Rosie Flores, Amanda Cunningham, Pat Johnson, Dave Gleason, Rick Shea
Debuted # 1 on Freeform American Roots (FAR) chart, remained # 1 for eight weeks
Debuted #11 on Euroamericana chart
Top Ten Local Releases of 2006, Austin American Statesman
2006 Albums of the Year, Third Coast Music
# 3 Male Artist of the Year 2006, Third Coast Music

Dave Insley “Call Me Lonesome” Redeye, 2005
with special guests Rosie Flores, Rick Shea, Diana Lee, the Peacemakers
Debuted # 5 on the FAR chart and reached # 19 on the Americana chart
# 17 on the Valley Tribune Newspaper's Top 25 Albums of All-Time by Arizona artists
Top Ten Debuts of 2005, Third Coast Music
Arizona's Best Songwriter 2005, Arizona Republic newspaper

Josh Davis "Casino" 2005
Dave duets with Texas artist Josh Davis on the Faron Young classic "The Great Chicago Fire" on Davis' 2005 debut

Trophy Husbands “Walk With Evil” Hayden's Ferry Records 2003
Produced by Insley, "Walk With Evil" features Dave on guitar, vocals and songwriting

Live from Studio 2A KXCI Tucson Public Radio Compilation, 2002
Insley's band, Trophy Husbands are featured for one song on this compilation

Trophy Husbands “Dark & Bloody Ground” Rustic Records, 2001
Insley's first album with the Trophy Husbands features Dave on guitar, vocals and songwriting

Nitpickers “Nitpickers” Rustic Records, 2000
Before Trophy Husbands, Dave led a bluegrass band. This self-titled debut was their only release
selected Best Roots Band, 2000 by the Arizona Republic

Tammy Patrick “White Album” Rustic Records, 2000
Dave co-produced this album and is featured on guitar & harmony vocals

Country Pure Compilation, World International Records, 1999
One of Dave's self-produced tracks appears on this compilation

Dave Insley “Halo 4 Satan” 1998
Limited edition CD, self-released & out-of-print

Dave Insley “Big Wheels Must Roll” 1997
Limited edition CD, self-released & out-of-print

Politics or Pontiacs “Ghawazee Steps” 1988
Another early Insley band. out-of-print

Chaingang “Reunion” 1987
Dave's first release, cassette only
Self-released & out-of-print

Links

Audio

• Beatin' Ya Down
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• West Texas Wine
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• Come See What's Left of your Man
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• There's gonna be a few changes
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• Waitin' Where She Hides
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• Drinkin' For Two
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• Ol' What's Her Name
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• Gilded Cage
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Jim Caliguri previews Dave Insley at the Hole in the Wall [+ Show ]
  

  Although The Arizona Republic named him "Best Songwriter 2005," Dave Insley recently relocated to Au...Although The Arizona Republic named him "Best Songwriter 2005," Dave Insley recently relocated to Austin. He’s been gigging incessantly ever since, behind his latest slab of country rock, "Here With You Tonight". Combining the best of the Bakersfield sound & two-steppin’ beats, with his own desert-bent sense of humor, which leads him to a singular place somewhere between Dwight Yoakam and Dave Alvin.
  

• Country Music That Doesn't Glitter, But Is Honky Tonk Gold, by Nat Hentoff [+ Show ]
  

  Years ago, traveling through the South on the Earl Scruggs-Lester Flatt band bus, I was struck -- at...Years ago, traveling through the South on the Earl Scruggs-Lester Flatt band bus, I was struck -- at an outdoor concert in a small Alabama milltown -- by the intense attentiveness of the working class audience. "Sure," the dobro player said to me, back on the road again. "We know who they are. We tell them about their lives."
  
  This classic conversational sound of country music isn't heard much anymore on the mainstream country radio stations. Exemplifying that commercial culture, the Country Music Association's self-celebrating awards show, which was televised on ABC in July, had no room for Merle Haggard. The often raucous Hank Williams Jr was on hand, but if his legendary father were still here, he would have been venerated during the evening but not have fitted into the clangorous rock-pop-laced commotion of much of the show.
  
  However, coming upon a new self-produced release, "Here With You Tonight" (Amazon.com and Milesofmusic.com) by singer-songwriter Dave Insley, I was again listening to stories one could hear at the tables -- as well as on the bandstands -- of honky-tonks. Indeed, a promotional sheet accompanying the CD suggests: "File under Americana / Honky Tonk."
  
  Mr. Insley, who gives his cellphone number on that sheet, is based in Austin, Texas, but often on the road. His recording immediately held my attention not by showboating, but through naturally flowing rhythms and stories of everyday life and loss told in a warm, unhurried and sometimes wry voice of experience: "Well I cashed in my old life for the one that you see now, it don't mean that I'm a loser, it just means that I know how." Setting a scene that I expect will resonate with many listeners, as it did with me, Mr. Insley sings: "I've seen the look that flickers across your eyes when you tell me things are fine. I can't help but realize, that you and I are living on borrowed time."
  
  Born in Junction City, Kansas in 1961, Mr. Insley was raised on a wheat farm. While his father worked that farm, his mother waited tables at a nearby truck stop. Growing up, he listened to their record collection of Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Bob Wills and other storytellers; and by the time he was 12, he was playing the guitar, writing and singing songs.
  
  Two years later, the family moved to Arizona, and by the age of 22 Mr. Insley was leading a band, Chaingang -- "Playing traditional country music," he recalls, "for punk rock fans." Puzzling, but critically acclaimed, Chaingang resounded in Phoenixs succeeded by the Flagstaff-based Politics or Pontiacs, which toured Europe for six weeks in 1988. (He still has a European following.)
  
  Back in Phoenix, leading other combos -- in 2000, the Arizona Republic called one of them that city's "Best Roots Band" -- Mr. Insley eventually decided to move on to Austin, "to see how my music holds up to broader audiences. Also, like my spiritual homeland, Arizona, the lifestyle here is very Southwestern, and the cost of living is low."
  His two albums so far --"Call Me Lonesome" and "Here With You Tonight"-- have done well on independent stations that report to the Americana (AMA) and Freeform American Roots (FAR) charts. There's still a U.S. audience for country music without the glitter. And although Mr. Insley hasn't toured Europe since 1988, his sets make the Top 10 on the EuroAmericana chart. With pride, he tells me, "we're on about 50 European stations, and I get fan mail & autograph requests from Italy, Germany, England & Spain." "Roots" country music has long had audiences in various parts of the world, Japan among them; and years ago, listening to tapes a musicologist had collected in remote parts of Africa, I heard a yodeling tribute to Jimmie Rodgers ("the singing brakeman") who infused black blues he'd heard riding the rails with country music.
  
  Mr. Insley plays about 150 shows a year, mostly on the road -- in cities where he's been performing for at least six or seven years (from Sacramento to Nashville, as well as festivals in New Jersey & Pennsylvania). He tells me excitedly that Dave Insley & his Careless Smokers (he used to be a forest fire fighter) will perform Thursday at the Rodeo Bar, 375 Third Avenue in New York. (Show starts at 10 pm -- and, as befits a man who produces his own records, gives out his cellphone number and doesn't have an entourage or publicist, he adds that there is no cover charge.)
  
  I asked Mr. Insley where his songs come from. "Sometimes," he said, "I write to rid myself of my demons, and also because the things I create are sometimes my only companions. And I write because it makes me feel better." As for the song about cashing in his old life, he recalls, "I wrote it in a trance 15 years ago. Never knew how true the words would sound to me at a completely different time in my life." Of the other songs he wrote for "Here With You Tonight," Mr. Insley told me: "By the time I had recorded them, the words had all taken on new meanings for me." As his life changes, the songs he writes as a form of memoir tello him more about where he's been and what he's learned. "I try," he adds, "to use specific details or examples to convey universally understood themes. That help's the audience understand that the artist's feelings are real. When you hear the pain in Hank Williams voice, you don't even have to speak English to get the drift." (So too with Jimmie Rodgers in Africa.)
  
  From Mr. Insley's "Open Road": "Time sure flies when you know you're leaving, and it moves real slow after you're gone. My heart knows what to hold onto, an open road and an old love song." And on that road, "Here With You Tonight" made it's debut at #1 in July on the Freeform American Roots chart.

• John Conquest reviews Here With You Tonight [+ Show ]
  

  You can take the boy out of Arizona, but can you take the Arizona out of the boy? Though he doesn't...You can take the boy out of Arizona, but can you take the Arizona out of the boy? Though he doesn't make a big deal of it, in fact there's no mention I can find of where it was made, I deduce from the recording and mixing credits to Alex Otto, bass player with Tempe's legendary Flathead, that Insley brought this album with him when he moved from Phoenix to Austin. Certainly there's nothing about it that would lead anyone to reflexively think 'Texas,' and not just because there's no fiddle in the band and no song with 'Texas' in the title. Well, there is the only cover, Gene Autry's South Of The Border, featuring Rosie Flores, but then Phoenix is closer to Mexico than Austin. No, this one is obviously the work of a singer and songwriter who, psychologically if no longer physically, is from somewhere much closer to Bakersfield than Barton Springs. And I mean the real thing, not 'Buck meets the Beatles' bullshit. Insley, whose odyssey has included a number of Arizona bands, of which the Trophy Husbands lasted long enough to make a couple albums, seems squarely in the tradition and yet, like so many Arizona artists, a breed noted for their eccentricity, there's something just a little off-center and idiosyncratic about his version. The result is that, while the outstanding God Loves The Working Man , with fabulous lead guitar by Dave Gleason, sounds like an old Merle Haggard original, Insley's confident baritone, assured songwriting and command of the nuances of Real Country, plus a dash of Arizona weirdness, mark him out as a modern master of the style. Call Me Lonesome was a splendid debut, this, also featuring Rick Shea on steel, plus a raft of other excellent musicians whose names I probably should be familiar, is even better.

• David Cantor reviews Here With You Tonight [+ Show ]
  

  I keep wondering what makes Dave Insley’s Here With You Tonight so much fun to listen to, since it i...I keep wondering what makes Dave Insley’s Here With You Tonight so much fun to listen to, since it inhabits entirely familiar musical forms without significant innovation. It must be Insley’s resonant & slightly quirky voice, his interesting lyrics, and the quick tempos & sharp backup musicians that spruce up standard chord progressions-notably the steel guitar of Rick Shea, a talented veteran. In other words, its just plain well done.
  At first, the lyrics sound like familiar on-the-road and I-love-Jesus country material. But, working with unusually lengthy lines, Insley gives fresh details, expanding and subverting old formulas. In "Borrowed Time," rather than the got-to-get-back-to-my-good-ol’-mountain-home cliché, he sings,
  There’s some things that you don’t understand, and I can’t bring myself to tell you
  I’ve been livin’ on the land, but I can’t seem to help that I’m still blue….
  Taking on Christianity in "God Loves the Working Man," he is bold and funny without risking a cross-burning. His casually detached singing leaves melodramatic self-indulgence out of the picture. For Insley, life is beautiful and rich more because of pain than despite its disappointments, which we acknowledge and transcend. Zen country music, anyone?
  Produced by Insley, and mixed by Insley & Alex Otto, the album has clear sound that showcases Insley’s strong-but-not-bombastic baritone singing and thereby clearly sets forth the fine lyrics. This makes sense, Insley having been named Arizona’s Best Songwriter in 2005 by the state’s major newspaper. But you also hear Shea, the other good players, and guest vocalists Amanda Cunningham and Rosie Flores at just-right levels. A party atmosphere keeps the sophisticated lyrics from making the album a head-scratching affair.

• David Cantor reviews Call Me Lonesome [+ Show ]
  

  "Dave Insley's 'Call Me Lonesome' should help free country music from its negative stereotype of lac..."Dave Insley's 'Call Me Lonesome' should help free country music from its negative stereotype of lacking lyrical depth. Recorded in Phoenix--not Nashville, or even Austin--it opens with a tune more conventional than the rest of the disc turns out to be. Insley’s wit really kicks in with the second song, "I’m Afraid of Dyin’." Adopting personas that trivialize the most profound human questions, he achieves an odd pathos: We wonder what forces could grind down someone’s moral and intellectual life to such a nub, yet leave at the core a smoldering human spirit capable of igniting into expressive flame. The album is an idiosyncratic take on the American male out of touch with his emotions, but with melody, solid arrangements, and wonderful details. "Cowboy Lullaby" is particularly affecting, the above-mentioned pathos cutting through unsentimental images of cigarettes and creosote--if I’ve ever heard that word in a song before, I can’t remember where. Whether or not you’re already a country guy or gal, you won’t regret giving this disc a listen."

• Chris Spector reviews Call Me Lonesome [+ Show ]
  

  "At the very least, this guy knows how to genre splice, at best, this guy is so deceptively original..."At the very least, this guy knows how to genre splice, at best, this guy is so deceptively original that it just blows your mind. Starting off with what seems like a dose of same old same old Americana, a wild honky tonk wind starts blowing through the proceedings and you know you are on to something special. With a mix of players like Rosie Flores, Grievous Angels and other back up aces, Insley pulls together his lessons from 20 years of country punk, newgrass and anti-Nashville and makes the kind of set you have to drop everything and tell your pals about. A new book on Americana is now being written. Hot."
  

• Bill Frater reviews Call Me Lonesome [+ Show ]
  

  "Out of the ashes of Arizona's Trophy Husbands comes this great solo release from Dave Insley. He ju..."Out of the ashes of Arizona's Trophy Husbands comes this great solo release from Dave Insley. He jumps right out of the gate with the hard tonkin' “There's Gonna Be A Few Changes” with the line “I'm expanding my vocabulary beyond the words ‘Yes dear'”. I realize this may be the only song I have to hear to love this CD. But there's quite a few more great songs bouncing around a little with some bluegrass, ragtime and even some R&B. He has a deep baritone that reminds me of Jr. Brown, only Insley's voice has more character. It's the honky tonk that carries the show with some able support from sometimes-Guilty Man Rick Shea. This guy's got the goods! "
  

• Ken Rosenbaum reviews Call Me Lonesome [+ Show ]
  

  "The baritone voice is rich, resonant and warm, instantly winning favor with listeners. The 10 songs..."The baritone voice is rich, resonant and warm, instantly winning favor with listeners. The 10 songs on this disc, all solo creations of Insley, who writes both the words and music, are perfect vehicles for his smooth delivery, and the selection showcases his wide range, from bluegrass to raw honky-tonkers to storytelling ballads. Insley is a veteran of the music scene, honing his talents since the mid-'80s. In recent years, he performed with the newgrass group the Nitpickers and the wilder and eclectic Trophy Husbands. None of them achieved the recognition that Insley is likely to reach on his own, if this release is an indication. Now, he claims that his area of specialization is Americana. Call it country by any other name, but it's fresh and surely original. Highlights on this are the title track, a gorgeous duet with Rosie Flores on "Maricopa Mountains" and the pure fun rave-up, "Roy Boy."
  Ken Rosenbaum, Scripps Howard News Service, April 11 2005
  

• Devin Grant reviews Call Me Lonesome [+ Show ]
  

  "It's one thing to sound like the legendary Willie Nelson. There are a few lesser singers out there ..."It's one thing to sound like the legendary Willie Nelson. There are a few lesser singers out there whose vocal stylings resemble the Red-headed Stranger's. It is another thing entirely though, when your songwriting talent also begins to resemble Nelson's genius. To be fair, Dave Insley hasn't quite written anything as monumental as "Crazy," but one listen to the Arizona singer-songwriter's original compositions on "Call Me Lonesome" shows that Insley is doing pretty well, all things considered. Insley does indeed sound like Nelson when he sings, but there is also a hint of Junior Brown's growl in Insley's vocals. "Call Me Lonesome" is full of genuinely good country songs such as "There's Gonna Be a Few Changes," "Cowboy Lullaby" and "Just Call Me Lonesome." The album's best tune, "Maricopa Mountains," features Insley singing a duet with Rosie Flores, while other songs find members of the Dave Alvin Band, The Refreshments, and Dead Hot Workshop sitting in. Best of all, "Call Me Lonesome" is one of those rare
  releases that modern country music fans and diehard old school "alt-country" geeks can listen to together. Keep an eye on Insley as he breaks out of the Southwest. The guy seems to have what it takes to be a star."
  

• Polyphonia review [+ Show ]
  

  "The long awaited solo debut from Arizona Americana artist Dave Insley shines with talent. Dave's do..."The long awaited solo debut from Arizona Americana artist Dave Insley shines with talent. Dave's down home voice and oustanding songwriting skills create an album of pure pleasure. The CD captures your attention from the first notes to the last with an outstanding variety of tunes. There is something here for everyone--ballads, honky-tonk, rock and roll and pure country. The title track, "Just Call Me Lonesome" is arguably one of the best country songs ever written. This is a CD you will definitely want to add to your collection! Dave Insley knows how to write a song. His lyrics are clever, quirky, fun to listen to; his melodies are haunting, or toe-tapping, or just plain bouncy; and he can really, really sing them. With a thundering baritone voice that commands attention and yet remains as comfortable and homey as any weekend honky-tonker, Insley sells his own songs with a precision and style that only a very few other singer/songwriters manage. With "Call Me Lonesome," his first solo CD, this former Nitpicker and Trophy Husband demonstrates every one of his formidable skills, which also include producing the disc. Nashville may never take notice of guys like Dave. The mainstream will probably never realize what it's missing. But every time I meet someone who says they like country music, I recommend Dave Insley. Dave certainly puts the western back in country; but he's no retro artist. This disc is sharply modern, even as it embraces ancient folk music themes, such as family stories, lost love, and, of course, death. It swings, rocks a little, and remains wholly country. Americana lovers rejoice. Arizona Country is catching up with Texas Country. Dave Insley leads the pack. Highly Recommended!"
  

Setlist

We play original honky tonk, country & rock music, along with occasional covers by Buck, Waylon, Merle, Conway, etc. We'll play one set, or we'll play all night.

Basic Requirements

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