Tag: Al Bunetta (John Prine)

MEET OUR RESIDENT RENAISSANCE MAN, JESSE

How many guys can say they tour manage Morrissey and Lucinda Williams, have records produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Steve Cropper

AND The first seeds of thier musical life were sewn in a field as rich as it is American. Raised first in a small mountain town in Southern California, his was a deeply religious household headed by a career Navy man that his siblings called “The Captain.” There was daily prayer, the study of Scripture, and as it often goes in such homes, very little popular music — Jesse would not hear his first Bob Dylan song until his early 20s. But it was a home of great musicality all the same, for among the wildflowers and mountain streams of this idyllic California scene, Jesse often sat at the feet of his grandfather, listening in awe as the old man performed the songs of TheSound of Musicon a battered ukulele. During those adolescent years Jesse studied guitar, banjo, mandolin, oboe, saxophone, piano and clarinet. By age ten he had begun composing songs of his own along with his six brothers and sisters, recording some of those efforts in the family’s coal cellar.

While singing outside of honky tonks on Music Row in Nashville, TN, Jesse struck up a friendship with Al Bunetta (John Prine). Bunetta served as a mentor to the young artist, encouraging Jesse to tour full-time in the years to follow.

Jesse currently resides in Nashville and continues to write, record, and perform. His latest album “Violensia” (produced by Joe Chiccarelli) releases in fall 2022. His collaborative project, Juni Ata, features releases produced by Steve Cropper alongside arranger Jacob Rosswog. Their latest single, “Someone Else’s Rising Sun”, arrives in summer of 2022, with an ensuing EP release to follow.