A little over a decade ago, molded by a family of ranchers and fine art purveyors, and the untamed landscape and starry night skies of his hometown of Albany, Texas, Jeremy Nail moved to Austin, Texas, bringing his patchwork heart and dust-rattled soul to the scene.
Nail played guitar and wrote songs in several bands including Dustin Welch, The Sideshow Tragedy and Liars and Saints (with Johnny Goudie and Kacy Crowley). His debut album Letter (2008) was hailed by the Austin Chronicle as “a diverse, gripping listen, one that's centered around his ability to capture waking moments with intensity. Nail's visions take shape with a self-confidence by a local singer-songwriter that hasn't been displayed on a first effort since Jeff Klein.”
Jeremy’s journey took him from late nights in murky bars and honky-tonks to Gruene Hall, and eventually led to him playing guitar for rock icon, Alejandro Escovedo in 2013. After playing one show together, at the Norman Music Festival in Norman, OK, Escovedo asked Nail to join him on his upcoming world tour. Shortly thereafter, however, Jeremy was diagnosed with Sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer that had mysteriously wrapped around his left leg over the course of four months, putting his career and ultimately his life on hold. After radiation and much treatment, they had no choice but to amputate his leg.
Nail not only had to relearn to walk with a prosthetic, but also to rediscover his dreams. Fate would have it that Escovedo and Nail’s paths would cross again after a gig one night in 2015. Escovedo then took Nail under his wing, mentoring him to develop his new songs, and producing his forthcoming new record, My Mountain, with a cast of some of Austin's finest musicians including Chris Masterson (electric guitar), Eleanor Whitmore (violin, vocals), Bobby Daniel (upright bass), Chris Searles (drums), Dana Falconberry and Jazz Mills (guest vocalists).
On
My Mountain, Nail and Escovedo have managed to forge an intimate, subtle aesthetic that could be easily re-created in someone’s living room. It is a sound that embodies Texas while marked by fragility, like a blanket of paradox warming his unfeigned dreams of the American West, and beyond. For more info:
jeremynail.com
