For nearly three decades, Dave Jordan has been a staple of the New Orleans and south Louisiana music scene. He’s been described as the swampy lovechild of Tom Petty, John Prine and Dr. John and “the personification of the New Orleans ethos”. His music freely flows between New Orleans funk, Americana roots, and rock and roll, defying genre and categorization.
A three-time finalist in OffBeat Magazine’s ‘Best of the Beat’ awards for Best Roots Rock Band and Best Roots Rock album, Jordan has been lauded as “one of New Orleans’ great song-smiths and bandleaders of my generation” by musician and long time WWOZ DJ, Marc Stone.
Dave regularly performs at New Orleans music institutions Tipitina’s, the Maple Leaf and DBA, as well as every major festival in south Louisiana, including multiple performances at the iconic New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He has recorded with New Orleans legends Art Neville, George Porter, Anders Osborne and more. Jordan has released five albums since 2010, including These Old Boots, which was named Top 10 of the Year by NOLA.com/Times Picayune.
As a national touring act, Jordan frequently performs in the southeast, Colorado and the mountain west, and throughout Florida to Key West. He has been featured in various national media outlets including Relix, Paste, Hittin’ The Note and NPR. Over the course of his career, he has shared the stage with legendary artists Widespread Panic, Little Feat, funky Meters, Col. Bruce Hampton, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Merl Saunders, Galactic, drivin’ n cryin’, Leftover Salmon and more. This past September, Dave made his debut at the prestigious Telluride Blues and Brews Festival.
On his latest release, Keep Going, Dave again teamed up with Anders Osborne. For their third album collaboration, Osborne not only produces, but also provides his extraordinary guitar work with a backing band including legendary bassist George Porter, Jr (The Meters); renowned studio and touring drummer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young/Mark Knopfler); and local violinist and frequent band-mate, Rurik Nunan (Cracker/Loose Cattle). Featuring nine tracks, Keep Going highlights Jordan’s potent blend of Americana storytelling and south Louisiana roots music.
Blues-E-News (BEN) recently interviewed Dave (DJ) for our 5 Quick Questions series. Here’s how it went.
BEN: Let’s start off discussing the new album, Gone Again, how were you able to coral great talents such as Anders Osborne to produce it, and George Porter to appear on the record?
DJ: Anders (Osborne) and I have collaborated many times together, on and off stage. This is the third record he’s produced with me, but the first he played guitar on. He actually played drums on one of my albums, not sure if he’s ever done that anywhere else. But it’d been a long hiatus for us- our friendship kinda works like that- and I randomly ran into him in City Park in New Orleans a couple years ago and we caught up with each other and decided it was time to collaborate again. I love working with him. We trust each other’s instincts and understand each other as people. It makes it really easy. And he’s obviously phenomenally talented.
BEN: What songs on Gone Again seem to be really resonating with the audiences that hear you perform them?
DJ: Well, they’re all working pretty well, so that’s a good thing! But I’ll touch on a few.
“Gone Again” has been working since the very first time it was played live. There’s something that really connects with the audience. It’s not obvious, but it’s a song about mental health, and pushing through the dark times, and I think it just connects. It’s catchy as hell too.
“Front Of House” has a Fleetwood Mac vibe to it that’s pretty undeniable, but it’s also my tribute to service industry people and production crews…everyone who makes the concerts and events happen, and everyone likes a song that gives credit where credit is due, yet sometimes overlooked.
“Pink Supermoon” is my tribute to John Prine. I wrote it in about 5 minutes, the night John died. And the only people who don’t like Prine are the ones who haven’t heard him yet, so everyone gets into that. We should probably play it more often!
BEN: Some say your hometown, New Orleans, has the best live music scene in the US, what are your thoughts on this?
DJ: I’m obviously biased, but I’ve also been around, so here’s my take on that: There are good, great players everywhere. And the obvious cities in this conversation- Austin, Nashville- have no shortage of serious talent. But what makes New Orleans different is that live music is everywhere, all the time. It is music steeped in tradition, history, family and culture. It’s just as cool here to be in one of the killer high school marching bands as it is to be on the football team. It’s respected. We’re raised in music here, not something we become. It permeates everything.
BEN: What else have you seen going on in the music world as you’re out there touring, post Covid?
DJ: Covid made me grow as a musician and entertainer. The only way to continue working (besides live-streaming) was to do small, very intimate house concerts or porch concerts. I had to pivot from basically doing ensemble gigs my whole life to doing solo or duo shows. It forces you to directly engage the audience more. I became much more comfortable being a storyteller and being more intimate with my emotions. From a touring perspective, everything opened all at once so everyone went back out at once. It was a little chaotic, sensory overload. I think the very large acts are doing really well but it’s become much harder for smaller acts to grind it out on the road.
BEN: Looking ahead down the road, where do you see Dave Jordan and the NIA being five years from now? (oh, and please tell our readers what NIA stands for)?
DJ: The NIA stands for Neighborhood Improvement Association. It’s kinda a running joke, but also a subtle tribute to my late father and where I grew up. The NIA is my touring unit when I have my full band, usually a five- or six-piece. But I also work with musicians all over the country, so the lineup/personnel frequently changes and the band itself is a neighborhood.
Down the road….good question! Part of me wants to move to Costa Rica and play guitar on the beach and cook plantains on the side. 😁
The other, more realistic side, thinks I’ll put out another album or two in the next five years and just continue to drive the highways of our country, spreading the love and the music. It’s what I’ve done for the last 25 years, so I’m not sure I’m qualified to do anything else. Although, we are discussing Europe, so I’d definitely be down for that!!
