Dave & his brothers were raised amid the rolling wheat fields of Kansas, their father Bill retired from farming and their mother Geneva waiting tables at a nearby truckstop. Bill & Jenny had an extensive record collection & long players by Cash, Haggard, Buck, Marty Robbins, Roger Miller, etc. were in regular rotation around the house. AM radio was pretty happenin' then too, and the Insley household was always a very lively place. When he wasn't doing chores, Dave began playing guitar and writing songs around age 12. The family relocated to Arizona in 1975, where Insley played in Country & Rock bands throughout his high school & college years.
While living in Tempe, Insley formed Chaingang in 1983 with Kevin Tank and Ken Norman. Playing traditional Country music for Punk Rock fans, the group was a puzzling, yet critically acclaimed entry into the Phoenix scene, which at that time included such diverse talent as the Sun City Girls, the Meat Puppets, Jodie Fosters Army, Junior Achievement, the Nova Boys, Spot 1019, the Varmits, Domino Theory, the Feederz, Los Zany Guys, the Psalms (later known as the Gin Blossoms) and many others. Chaingang performed at the Green House, Mad Gardens, the Temple, Triple A Gardeners Club, Vivian's, Party Gardens, Merlins, Decadance, Rafters, Impulse and of course the Mason Jar. Eventually they added fiddler John Murdock and guitarist Pat Moore (Goose Creek Symphony), and sometimes called themselves the Changed Gang, the Franks or the Lonesome Coyotes. The last Chaingang show was at the Sun Club on December 30th, 1987. Insley's next group was the Flagstaff-based Politics or Pontiacs, which featured Insley, along with Paul Kachur and Tom Manning. The Pontiacs' run was brief, but memorable, climaxing with a 6-week European tour in the fall of 1988.
During the 90's, Insley formed Nitpickers, a "newgrass" band, unlike any act working the Tempe clubs at that time. The group featured Insley, along with Jim Bolek, Steve Borick, Jeff Farias & Tom Post. Nitpickers released a low budget CD, opened for everybody from Ralph Stanley to Steppenwolf, and were honored in 2000 by the Arizona Republic as Phoenix's "Best Roots Band," and that same year, by the East Valley Tribune, as Phoenix's "Best Country Band." Meanwhile, another Insley project, Trophy Husbands, recorded an album for Rustic Records "Dark & Bloody Ground," and began touring nationally. Trophy Husbands featured Insley, Farias, Post and guitarist Kevin Daly. The second Trophy Husbands disc, "Walk with Evil" was released a few years later (2003) by Hayden's Ferry Records.
In 2004 Dave recorded his solo debut, "Call Me Lonesome" with the help of engineer Alex Otto and the Peacemakers' PH Naffah & Danny White. "Call Me Lonesome" was released on March 22, 2005 and spent 8 weeks at # 5 on the Freeform American Roots (FAR) chart, and reached # 19 on the Americana chart. Dave was selected as Arizona's Best Songwriter 2005 by the Arizona Republic, and "Call Me Lonesome" made Third Coast Music's "Top 10 debuts of 2005." Dave's new album "Here With You Tonight" was released on August 8, 2006, debuting at # 1 on the FAR chart. Dave continues to tour the United States making club, radio & festival appearances. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.
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