Even a wildly experienced songwriter and traveler like David Jameson needs to tap into outside inspiration from time to time, and on his brand new single, “Ballin’ the Jack,” it was a conversation with his long-haul truck-driving uncle that lit the spark. Taking the form of an out-of-control semi-truck—both lyrically and musically—“Ballin’ the Jack” uses imagery lifted directly from that conversation to tell a tale of a person living out of control. That out-of-control nature is encapsulated perfectly in the musical accompaniment of “Ballin’ the Jack,” Today, The Country Note premiered “Ballin’ the Jack." Fans can listen to Jameson’s new single now at this link and pre-order or pre-save his upcoming album Talk Dark Pines ahead of its January 27 release right here.
Jameson’s varied past—a continent-hopping world traveler and corporate consultant turned songwriter—influences his musical output but not in the way one might first assume. A trip to China while in college began with a few open sets at local pubs and ended with a series of national Chinese singing competitions where he performed in Mandarin. In one of those competitions, fashioned after American Idol, David found himself in second place. At this point, David had to decide whether to continue singing or finish his engineering degree at Northwestern University. Much to the delight of his mother, he chose the latter. Post-college, Jameson took a job with international management consulting firm, McKinsey, which sent him to Malaysia where he spent time working and immersing himself in local cultures and languages across South East Asia, Latin America, and Europe. The wanderlust suited him, and more importantly, it inspired him.
Throughout Jameson’s adventures, he sought out new influences from local music, stories, and cultures, but the most impactful of these in his music today was stumbling upon the Turnpike Troubadours at Houston Rodeo in 2015, a city he was living in at the time after having quit McKinsey in search of a more creative life. These combined experiences, both at home and abroad, led to a honed determination and pursuit of songwriting, having since shared bills with the likes of his favorites turned friends Drayton Farley, Cole Chaney, Joshua Ray Walker, and Logan Halstead.
Jameson’s songs, and in particular the ones to be heard on his upcoming album, Tall Dark Pines, mirror his life, full of stories marked by vivid imagery and a broad set of influences. The stories featured on his upcoming album are closer to home than most of his adventures. Many of the songs tell the stories of his family and community that were passed onto David during the pandemic. David brings these modern stories to life by incorporating elements of traditional American country and folk ballads of the 19th and 18th centuries as well as those of the British Isles that date back even further. This approach inspired Americana Highways to call David “a master writer and storyteller, propelling a significant folk tradition into the modern era.”
For more information, please visit davidjamesonmusic.com.
