About the Artist
Born in 1961 and raised on a Kansas wheat farm (before moving to Arizona as a teenager), Insley's musical tastes were shaped by constant exposure to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Roger Miller and Marty Robbins. While his mom waited tables at a nearby truck stop, Dave helped his dad on the farm and began writing songs and playing guitar at the tender age of 12. As a young man, his pursuit of the American dream included stints as a truck driver, oil field worker, forest firefighter and whitewater rafting guide, and his working class values and upbringing are reflected in his songwriting. Drawing from a wealth of experience, Insley sings in a powerful, honest voice, with a knack for conjuring intimate images of rural America and simpler times.
Insley first emerged as an Arizona artist with his formation of Chaingang, back in 1983. Performing traditional Country music for Punk Rock fans, the group was a puzzling, yet critically acclaimed, entry into the burgeoning Phoenix scene. The band added guitarist Pat Moore (Goose Creek Symphony) a few years before their last gig at Tempe's Sun Club in 1987. Insley next gave us the Flagstaff-based Roots trio Politics or Pontiacs, whose brief, memorable run climaxed with a European tour in 1988. During the 90s, Insley formed Nitpickers, a "Newgrass" band, unlike any act performing in Phoenix clubs at the time. Nitpickers released a CD, opened for everybody from Ralph Stanley to Steppenwolf and were honored in 2000 by the Arizona Republic as Phoenixs "Best Roots Band," and by the East Valley Tribune, as Phoenixs "Best Country Band." Shortly thereafter, another Insley project, The Trophy Husbands, recorded an album, titled Dark & Bloody Ground, for Rustic Records (2000), and began touring nationally. The Trophy Husbands second disc, Walk with Evil, was released a few years later (2003) by Hayden's Ferry Records.
Anxious to call his own shots, Dave began work last year on his solo debut with the help of Peacemakers' PH Naffah & Danny White. Call Me Lonesome marks the beginning of a new career trajectory for Insley, and offers his strongest work ever. Standout tracks from the CD include the hard-driving opener, "There's Gonna Be a Few Changes;" Dave's loping duet with Rosie Flores, "Maricopa Mountains;" the mystic campfire paean, "Cowboy Lullaby;" and the classic Honky Tonk title track, "Just Call Me Lonesome." Within the production, fiddles & steel guitars blend effortlessly with clarinet, mandolin & accordion for a very satisfying and pleasing sound. Insley's new backup band (The Careless Smokers) includes former Grievous Angels' Mickey Ferrell (bass) & Jesse Navarro (drums), guitarists Scotty Spenner & Dave Gleason, and frequent special guest Rick Shea (pedal steel).
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