Dave Jordan & the NIA
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012
Music
Press
• Regular New Orleans performances at the Maple Leaf, DBA, Tipitina's, Chickie Wah Wah, Ruby's Roadhouse, etc..
• 2016 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
• T-Bois Blues Fest
• 2013, 2014, 2016 French Quarter Fest
• 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Voice of the Wetlands Fest
• 2015 Mid City Bayou Boogaloo
• 2015 Oak St. Block Party (Jazz Fest)
• 2013, 2014 (Headliner) Wednesday At The Square
• 2013 LA Seafood Fest
• 2014 Jazz In The Vines (Pontchartrain Vineyards)
• 2012, 2013 Pensacola Beach Songwriter's Fest
• 2013, 2014 Red Beans Fest (Jackson, MS)
• 2011, 2013, 2016 Ogden After Hours
• 2015 Gretna Fest - The Band
Tom Speed (An Honest Tune, Paste) does a career retrospective of Dave. - An Honest Tune
"These old boots are a good fit for Dave Jordan."
Keith Spera's feature on Dave's debut solo album, These Old Boots (produced by Anders Osborne), on its way to being named a Top 10 New Orleans release of 2010. - The Times Picayune; Nola.com
Dave Jordan & the NIA‘s new release, No Losers Tonight, is chock full of unpretentious songs that don’t try and be anything but honest. There are some tracks that will get toes tapping and boots scooting, as well as a few heartfelt ballads that truly hit home. Choruses that were born to be sung along with thanks to clean, clear production and an undeniably exuberant feeling. Other tunes that were meant to reflect the more introspective moments in life resonate just as powerfully. It’s obvious to anyone listening that this is not a band using their skills for crass commercialism…they simply want to make music that moves the heart and body.
Songs like disc opener “Southern Girl” and the title track “No Losers Tonight” are perfect examples of the straight ahead sound this outfit can lay down when they so choose. Rocking guitars, crisp drums and a driving lyrical presence out front, loud and proud. An undercurrent of smoldering organs and rhythm guitar licks open up “Smoke” and give Jordan a chance to focus his energy on the task at hand, telling tales of the difficulty of life and love. With his name out front, this is clearly Jordan’s showcase and though he freely shares the foreground with his backing band he holds court with unshakable confidence that is musically refreshing.
There are a few numbers, like “Come A Little Closer” that bring the tempo down to an intimate whisper between two lovers entwined in a dance. The song benefits greatly form the strains of the band’s New Orleans roots showing in the strains of accordian and ragtime jazz time signatures. “Pontchartrain” takes things even lower and slower…showing some impressive blues guitar licks as it meanders along like the waves on the lake the song is named after. It is impressive to see a band feel comfortable enough to take the idea of a ten minute song into their collective hearts and make it so listeners feel sad when it ends. Utilizing folkier instruments for the more introspective pieces creates a rapport with listeners that benefits immensely from the rockier early tunes by simple contrast.
The album’s closing tracks take a turn for the melancholy with “Baby I’m Gone” and especially “Dreams So Real” show Jordan at a seeming musical impasse, not sure which direction to take at a crossroads. The blues vibe on “Dreams” is powerful, almost oppressive…as if it was the very clouds during a storm. a clever use of piano bursts against lush bowed notes adds texture to the storm. As they show on No Losers Tonight, Dave Jordan and his band are capable of doing many thing well. It will be interesting to watch this band and see which of their many muses the chose to follow. - Live For Live Music
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
"Jordan can clearly rock with the best."- The Vinyl District
Dave Jordan is an award winning, critically acclaimed roots rocker from New Orleans. For over 20 years he has been a staple on the New Orleans music scene and his work has been described as "the personification of the New Orleans ethos." He has recorded or performed with a host of New Orleans luminaries, including Art and Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, George Porter, Joe Krown and countless more. In his early career, mostly as the the band leader of the now defunct, legendary New Orleans funk band, Juice, he performed with a slew of internationally known bands. The short list includes funky Meters, Little Feat, Ratdog, Los Lobos, Widespread Panic, Galactic, Leftover Salmon, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Col. Bruce Hampton and many more.
In 2010, he launched a solo career with the release of These Old Boots, a stripped down collection of highly personal, road weary songs. Co-produced by Grammy winning songwriter/producer Anders Osborne, it was described as "sublime" and named a Top 10 record of the year by New Orleans Times Picayune and nola.com.
"…like a rustic, Cajun Paul Westerberg, mixed with a Springsteenian sense or wordplay." - offBeat Magazine
His 2013 follow up, Bring Back Red Raspberry, was compared to everything from the Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street to Tom Petty to John Prine. Blurring the lines of the laid back Americana of These Old Boots and the hard hitting funk/rock that he purveyed in Juice, it was also the beginning of his current project, Dave Jordan & the NIA (Neighborhood Improvement Association). Hittin' The Note Magazine called it "a polished, hook heavy gem."
"…stripped down roots rock, as comfortable in the corners of rowdy pubs or smoky blues holes." - Gambit Magazine
Described as "Southern rock with a Louisiana soul", the NIA started as a rotating cast of some of the finest, most in demand roots rock, funk and blues musicians in New Orleans, including current and former members of Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Eric Lindell, Mem Shannon, Soul Project and more. In more recent years the lineup has solidified with the addition of Dave's longtime friend, "Westbank" Mike Doussan on lead guitar. In April of 2016, the NIA will debut their first collective album, No Losers Tonight, a collection of 10 original songs further spotlighting their mix of acoustic roots, Americana, and southern rock. American rock music, via New Orleans.
"…runs the gamut of southern roots sounds, most played with a luxurious lack of urgency." - My Spilt Milk
Dave has been featured in numerous local, regional and national publications including offBeat, Times Picayune, Gambit, Hittin' The Note, An Honest Tune; as well as NPR, Raw Travel and every local TV station. Dave is a frequent guest on New Orleans' flagship radio station WWOZ.
Dave is involved in a myriad of social issues and organizations, most notably The Voice of the Wetlands and the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. Founded by Tab Benoit, the VOW shines a light on Louisiana's disappearing coast and efforts to conserve it. Dave is featured- along with Tab Benoit, Dr. John, Aaron Neville, Anders Osborne, Stanton Moore, George Porter and more- in the VOW television commercial that airs throughout south LA. The New Orleans Musician's Clinic provides free or greatly reduced cost health care to over 1500 New Orleans area musicians, Mardi Gras Indians and other bearers of New Orleans unique culture. Dave produces an annual event that serves as a fundraiser and to honor his former bandmate Jamie Galloway, who passed away in 2013. Held at the legendary Maple Leaf Bar, the annual crawfish boil/block party has raised over $45,000 for the NOMC.
Band Members
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