Jonny & the Jumpmen IS “garage country” – expect nothing less. Our two-time Local Artist of the Week released single “Dirty Dog” in late July. Frontman Jonny Gleaton is a realtor by day and a rocker by night, now playing and writing more than ever.
“Dirty Dog” was one of those “30-second” success writes and is his new favorite to play live. Inspired by a messy friend, the first two verses are actually about dogs, but the third introduces himself as the dirty dog, in kind of a “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin'” way, hoping your wife didn’t change the locks while you were out with the boys. The fourth verse features singer/writer Kristi Rose, who is – you guessed it – also a dirty dog.
Jonny recruits new Jumpmen for every project, which yields a unique sound for each record. “If I can wrangle eight people to play, I’ll do it. If it’s three, I’ll do it”. The “Dirty Dog” roster included Rose, keyboardist Mark Watrous, guitarist Ricky Dover Jr, and producer James Templeton, who also contributed guitar, vocals, and visuals. Gleaton himself takes on lead vocals, bass and guitar.
Gleaton was previously stationed in Atlanta with his band The Booze. He prefers the diversity of Nashville, where you can drive 10 minutes from East to West Nashville and play a completely different sound.
Gleaton’s music radiates Jack White energy (a huge influence who he’ll catch at Pilgrimage this weekend). Young Gleaton looked at White’s influences as a “family tree” of musical suggestions. He calls them “sorcerers” of music: Kris Kristofferson, The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s in particular), Dylan, Zeppelin, Loretta Lynn, and even Tupac and Biggie (loves East/West rivalry hip-hop). His all-time favorite collaboration was Kristofferson, and close second was with master instrumentalist Fats Kaplin, who has toured with White. Today, he’s listening to Leon Bridges, Nikki Lane, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Blackfoot Gypsies.
Gleaton likes to take his time with songs and let them come naturally. His albums are consistent and authentic to himself – “like you’re hanging out with me for a week”. Outside of music, Gleaton loves time with his family and friends.
Tune in to 100.1 FM this Friday for an exclusive on-air release of the next single.
Written by Taylor John
