Jeremy D’Antonio’s ‘Spinnin’ Wheels’ is a sumptuous yet succinct five-song slice of his past five years, elegantly and candidly ruminating on break-ups with a music veteran’s distinctive voice and phrasing.

Spinnin’ Wheels is D’Antonio’s first solo release, after many years in his lead role in the bands Tiny Televison and San Geronimo. Meanwhile, band members changed alongside him over the years, and the songs remained so he could make something more personal. “I also realized that people knew my band name but had no idea of who I was.” D’Antonio sings and plays acoustic guitar and wrote all the songs on the release except the second track, John Prine’s ‘Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.’ It was cut live mostly except for a few backing vocals, basically five songs put down in five hours.

‘Spinnin’’ Wheels has that feeling of creatively re-experiencing Southwest upbringing. Born in Santa Fe, NM, his dad was one of the top rock climbers in the world and so his family moved to wherever the climbing scene was happening, which meant growing up in Colorado. “I was living in the mountains where snowboarding was a new sport in the 90’s and carried on the torch that skateboarding had started in the 70’s and 80’s. There were a ton of angsty youth itching for music to call their own. I was living in Boulder and a friend of mine who was an ex-cop gone environmentalist gave me a call. He wanted to start a punk rock band.”

‘Spinning Wheels’ is available on 12” vinyl. It was recorded with a large portion of Merle Haggard’s former band mates and was mixed by legendary producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Neville Brothers, Chris Whitley).

“I think the only way to make music is from an honest place.”

Would you like to talk a bit about your background?

Jeremy D’Antonio: I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Spent most of my child in the Southwest between Colorado and New Mexico. Started playing music in a punk band in Denver and somehow ended up putting out this Country record.

When did you decide that you wanted to start writing and performing your own music?

I think I knew the minute I sat down at my Grandmother’s piano and sussed out the melody to ‘Stand by Me’ when I was 10.

“We recorded 6 songs in 6 hours with everything live.”

You’re accompanied by musicians from the Buck Owens band. Can you share some further details how your album was recorded and released?

I was living in West Marin California, just North of San Francisco and had been listening to a ton of Bakersfield Country from the 60’s and 70’s. I had been going through a tough relationship and started writing songs of heartbreak and hard times.

A friend of mine in Colorado had reached out about doing some recording, he told me that he had a bunch of Buck Owens/Merle Haggard’s old band together and they were looking to record some Bakersfield style music. I couldn’t buy a plane ticket fast enough. A few months later I was in Denver recording with these guys. It was truly amazing and I learned a ton from them… We ran through each song in the control room of the studio, JayDee Maness charted out the songs and away we went. We recorded 6 songs in 6 hours with everything live. The only overdubs were keys (done by Malcom Burn in New York). I used 4 of the songs and the last song on the record ‘Crawlin’ Outta My Skin’ was recorded by me in my living room with a Tascam 388 tape machine. I released the album myself through my label 8 Track Records

Jeremy D’Antonio | Photo by Laura Kudritzki

How do you usually approach music making?

I think the only way to make music is from an honest place.

There is something about an honest perspective that seems to translate better to a wider audience.

How about your band, San Geronimo (formerly Tiny Television)? What’s the status of that?

San Geronimo is still going. That band is more of a “rock” band that has crossed over and has been accepted into the Grateful Dead scene. Up until the pandemic, we had one of the longest residencies spanning 7 years at Phil Lesh’s club Terrapin Crossroads.

We have been fortunate enough to have Phil Lesh, Chris Robinson and numerous other legends sit in with us solidifying our spot in the Bay Area Music Scene.

You grew up and was part of the Colorado punk scene. Would you like to share a few words about being part of that scene?

I was living in the mountains where snowboarding was a new sport in the ’90s and carried on the torch that skateboarding had started in the ’70s and ’80s. There were a ton of angsty youth itching for music to call their own. I was living in Boulder and a friend of mine who was an ex-cop gone environmentalist gave me a call. He wanted to start a punk rock band.

We spent countless hours bonding over the DC scene punk rock via its independently released records, including anything and everything released on Dischord Records. We christened our own band Fahrenheit 451. There was a plot of land next to a strip club in the shady part of Boulder, Colorado where bands practiced in several rows of old semi trailers. On any given night there were 10-15 bands practicing at the same time, all plugged into a single outlet. I don’t know how it didn’t burn down

Through an involvement in a non-profit we came into contact with Fugazi, and when they played regionally Fahrenheit 451 opened. It was the most terrifying moment of my life! They were my idols and it was a great experience. I remember a killer band called the Warlock Pinchers coming out of that scene.

How is life in Marin County?

It is really beautiful, but expensive as hell. Luckily there are a lot of people that support the arts, so people like me are able to stick around.

We are 30 minutes from Oakland, 30 minutes to San Francisco and 30 minutes to the beach. I live out in the redwoods and it is truly magical

How about your work with Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes?

Chris was living about a mile from a Honky Tonk bar called the Papermill Creek Saloon. I was living behind the bar and playing 2-3 times a week as part of the houseband. We became friends and he would stop by from time to time to sit in. He has a band called the Green Leaf Rustlers and he called on San Geronimo to open for them a number of times.

How are you coping with the current world situation? What are some future plans?

I am not quite sure yet. I took a real job running a warehouse to pay the bills. This change was a lot to swallow and I am still adjusting. I went from playing music full time to working a 9-5 to keep a shirt on my kids back. Live music is starting to happen outdoors on a small scale, but nothing like it was in the past and I am honestly not sure when it will come back around. I am trying to focus on writing and recording right now and I am hopeful this will all pass. I think there is a mental health issue that is being majorly overlooked during this pandemic. I don’t think that the current situation is sustainable for anyone.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

I have been listening to a lot of old stuff.

Gillian Welch, Del Reeves, Brenton Wood ‘Oogum Boogum’, ‘East Side Story’ compilation, Bruce Springsteen ‘Greetings from Asbury Park’, Son Volt ‘Trace’, Johnny Guitar Watson ‘Witchcraft’, War on Drugs ‘Lost in a Dream’, Chet Baker ‘Sings’… Jeremy D’Antonio

Klemen Breznikar

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