Another of my memories of Jon Dee, from a show he did at Hill Country n NYC in 2018...About 2/3rds of the way through Jon Dee Graham’s set downstairs at Hill Country last night, four or five brokerage bros clomped down the stairs and noisily made themselves at home at the bar.
Jon Dee, who was in the middle of introducing a song, paused and then said, “When people start talking loudly enough for me to hear them, I like to repeat what they are saying through the microphone.” Pause. “17% is way too high.” Pause. Loud conversation continues at the bar. Jon Dee goes back to introducing his next song. Loud conversation continues.
The audience, all longtime Jon Dee fans (I know this because he called many of us by name and because we are mostly grey-haired and have seen better days) had not missed any of this mild (so far) contretemps.
Besides being fans, the audience members were all quite obviously New Yorkers. None of us took kindly to the rudeness of the newcomers. Several of those closest to the offenders got out of their seats and, in a very New York way, asked them to be quiet or please adjourn to the bar upstairs. The New York way, being, “Hey assholes, shut the fuck up! Get the hell out or I’ll throw you out.” That from someone at least as old as I am.
This happened several times and each time the voices got louder and the anger more palpable.
Jon Dee is a sweet guy but he himself recognizes that he sometimes comes across as a bear. However in this case rather than joining in, or encouraging the coming riot, he did something very beautiful. He unplugged his guitar, stepped away from the microphone, moved his chair off the stage and onto the floor, and invited his fans to gather round. Which we did, happily. Jon Dee performed the rest of his set truly accoustic. No mic, no electricity, no amp.
While it was not as kumbaya as the time I saw Melanie in the summer of 1971 and she sat on the floor and all the hippy girls sat around her and sang along, it was also not as weird as the Modern Lovers NYC in 1973, when Jonathan Richmond insisted on playing his Strat unplugged.
All of a sudden the rude drunks seemed unimportant and harmless. The noise level on the room lessened. All you could hear was the music.
This was an old pro doing what came naturally, diffusing a potentially nasty situation, making his audience immensely happy and singing his songs in the best way possible.
This is a follow up to a comment Robin made on a Substack "Note" I had written about Graham's passing. For those interested, I pasted it below.
Of course he should have been better known. Of course he should have made more money. He was special. I met him outside the Mercury Lounge in 1996, when he was backing up Kelly Willis. When I moved to Austin three months later, we became good friends. He was in the process of transforming from a respected hired guitarist to a solo performer singing his own songs.
He had a gold record on his wall for a song of his that Patty Smyth had recorded - “One Moment to Another.” I went to see him at his first solo gig at the Hole in the Wall. There were probably five people there. Bu the songs were incredible. “When a Woman Cries” “Faithless” “$100 Bill” All just amazing songs. It was hard to believe that had never made a record of his own songs.
A guy named Mrt Eskey heard him on KUT and suggested he make a record. Jon Dee got all his friends to play for little or no money. Stephen Bruton, George Rieff, Michael Ramos, Raphael Gayol, Craig Ross. Mike Hardwick, his partner and pedal steel player untiil the very end. Kathy McCarty came and sang backup. The producer left in the middle of the recording for what he thought was a better gig so Jon Dee and the engineer, Andy Taub, finished the album with help from Bruton and Ross.
The album came out in late summer 1997 and strange and wonderful happened. The world (Austin) discovered Jon Dee. The Chronicle featured him on the cover, with a long article by Margaret Moser. He became a star (as much as you can in Austin. As far as I know, no one resented that. Jon Dee was always loved.
I had already left Austin but I still have friends there. Everyone still loves Jon Dee. Everyone mourns him. He could be cranky enough to snarl at the love he is receiving, but he was also also sentimental enough to shed a tear feeling all that love.
That concluding quote on the difference between spirituality and religion, and the importance of faith brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for this, Glenn.
Thanks, Mark. There have been times in life, the hard ones specifically, where I've wanted to shout "I am not faithless" into the void in the woods. It's a song that has gotten me through a lot in life.
In the story, I linked to an earlier piece that uses the song to describe the experiences of my father-in-law and my second mom. You might want to give that one a read as well. It's here: https://glenncook.substack.com/p/one-piece-at-a-time
Beautiful piece, Glenn. One of the small things that brought me solace in the wake of his death was hearing from an old friend and a former professor, both older than me, who thanked me for turning them on to him. It felt good to be a very small thread in the web of people who love JDG.
Thank you for this, Glenn. You words are powerful. I've now listened to Faithless a couple times; thank you for introducing me to John Dee Graham in such a powerful way.
Thank you for writing and sharing this. And thanks for sharing the link for JDG’s family GoFundMe. He always worked a day job for as long as he could, and did it to take care of his son and family. I know he wasnt wealthy so I gave $100 and hope all who read your piece and loved his music as we did will help if they can.
Appreciate the kind words, Michael. My parents dealt with catastrophic illness, and we were fortunate to have insurance, but the costs were still astronomical. Because we have no to limited support systems for musicians and artists, I can only imagine what Graham's family is going through.
Another of my memories of Jon Dee, from a show he did at Hill Country n NYC in 2018...About 2/3rds of the way through Jon Dee Graham’s set downstairs at Hill Country last night, four or five brokerage bros clomped down the stairs and noisily made themselves at home at the bar.
Jon Dee, who was in the middle of introducing a song, paused and then said, “When people start talking loudly enough for me to hear them, I like to repeat what they are saying through the microphone.” Pause. “17% is way too high.” Pause. Loud conversation continues at the bar. Jon Dee goes back to introducing his next song. Loud conversation continues.
The audience, all longtime Jon Dee fans (I know this because he called many of us by name and because we are mostly grey-haired and have seen better days) had not missed any of this mild (so far) contretemps.
Besides being fans, the audience members were all quite obviously New Yorkers. None of us took kindly to the rudeness of the newcomers. Several of those closest to the offenders got out of their seats and, in a very New York way, asked them to be quiet or please adjourn to the bar upstairs. The New York way, being, “Hey assholes, shut the fuck up! Get the hell out or I’ll throw you out.” That from someone at least as old as I am.
This happened several times and each time the voices got louder and the anger more palpable.
Jon Dee is a sweet guy but he himself recognizes that he sometimes comes across as a bear. However in this case rather than joining in, or encouraging the coming riot, he did something very beautiful. He unplugged his guitar, stepped away from the microphone, moved his chair off the stage and onto the floor, and invited his fans to gather round. Which we did, happily. Jon Dee performed the rest of his set truly accoustic. No mic, no electricity, no amp.
While it was not as kumbaya as the time I saw Melanie in the summer of 1971 and she sat on the floor and all the hippy girls sat around her and sang along, it was also not as weird as the Modern Lovers NYC in 1973, when Jonathan Richmond insisted on playing his Strat unplugged.
All of a sudden the rude drunks seemed unimportant and harmless. The noise level on the room lessened. All you could hear was the music.
This was an old pro doing what came naturally, diffusing a potentially nasty situation, making his audience immensely happy and singing his songs in the best way possible.
Wonderful story, Robin!
Beautiful. I love that story...
This is a follow up to a comment Robin made on a Substack "Note" I had written about Graham's passing. For those interested, I pasted it below.
Of course he should have been better known. Of course he should have made more money. He was special. I met him outside the Mercury Lounge in 1996, when he was backing up Kelly Willis. When I moved to Austin three months later, we became good friends. He was in the process of transforming from a respected hired guitarist to a solo performer singing his own songs.
He had a gold record on his wall for a song of his that Patty Smyth had recorded - “One Moment to Another.” I went to see him at his first solo gig at the Hole in the Wall. There were probably five people there. Bu the songs were incredible. “When a Woman Cries” “Faithless” “$100 Bill” All just amazing songs. It was hard to believe that had never made a record of his own songs.
A guy named Mrt Eskey heard him on KUT and suggested he make a record. Jon Dee got all his friends to play for little or no money. Stephen Bruton, George Rieff, Michael Ramos, Raphael Gayol, Craig Ross. Mike Hardwick, his partner and pedal steel player untiil the very end. Kathy McCarty came and sang backup. The producer left in the middle of the recording for what he thought was a better gig so Jon Dee and the engineer, Andy Taub, finished the album with help from Bruton and Ross.
The album came out in late summer 1997 and strange and wonderful happened. The world (Austin) discovered Jon Dee. The Chronicle featured him on the cover, with a long article by Margaret Moser. He became a star (as much as you can in Austin. As far as I know, no one resented that. Jon Dee was always loved.
I had already left Austin but I still have friends there. Everyone still loves Jon Dee. Everyone mourns him. He could be cranky enough to snarl at the love he is receiving, but he was also also sentimental enough to shed a tear feeling all that love.
Beautifully written, Glenn.
Thank you, Nolan. I appreciate it given that you knew him too.
That concluding quote on the difference between spirituality and religion, and the importance of faith brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for this, Glenn.
Thanks, Mark. There have been times in life, the hard ones specifically, where I've wanted to shout "I am not faithless" into the void in the woods. It's a song that has gotten me through a lot in life.
In the story, I linked to an earlier piece that uses the song to describe the experiences of my father-in-law and my second mom. You might want to give that one a read as well. It's here: https://glenncook.substack.com/p/one-piece-at-a-time
Thanks, will do.
Beautiful piece, Glenn. One of the small things that brought me solace in the wake of his death was hearing from an old friend and a former professor, both older than me, who thanked me for turning them on to him. It felt good to be a very small thread in the web of people who love JDG.
Thank you. And keep spreading the word…
Thank you for this, Glenn. You words are powerful. I've now listened to Faithless a couple times; thank you for introducing me to John Dee Graham in such a powerful way.
Thanks for taking the time to read it Tom. I hope you'll give his other work a listen. His body of work is a deep dive waiting to happen.
Thank you for writing and sharing this. And thanks for sharing the link for JDG’s family GoFundMe. He always worked a day job for as long as he could, and did it to take care of his son and family. I know he wasnt wealthy so I gave $100 and hope all who read your piece and loved his music as we did will help if they can.
Appreciate the kind words, Michael. My parents dealt with catastrophic illness, and we were fortunate to have insurance, but the costs were still astronomical. Because we have no to limited support systems for musicians and artists, I can only imagine what Graham's family is going through.
Beautiful tribute, Glenn.
Thank you, Brian. I don't know if you have heard much of Graham's music, but having heard yours, I can see some connections there.