Exotic Americana - The John D. Hale Band specializes in REAL music

John D. Hale, left, and Smooth Roose are part of the John D. Hale Band. (Fred Lynch)

When I caught up with John D. Hale a week or so ago on the cell, the group was traveling down to Texas for a small stint. Our talk was short and the guys were busy but, eventually, I got a chance to conduct a short interview with John, and got to learn a whole lot about the band.

The John D. Hale Band, a self-proclaimed "Americana" foursome, is nothing short of intriguing. John, the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the group, grew up on an exotic animal farm with a chimpanzee as his sidekick and, to this day, still helps with his parent's business, known as the 5H Ranch, located in Cape Girardeau. And here's the kicker -- fellow bandmates Cody (bass) and Smooth (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin) also help out on the ranch.

Drawing influences from country singer/songwriters Robert Earl Keen, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jack Ingram and bluegrass acts such as The Del McCoury Band, Larry Sparks, Lou Reid, and Tony Rice, John fused what he heard with what he felt. The outcome was pure, real, Americana music. After performing solo for some time, the John D. Hale band was born in 2004.

As you know, there aren't many bands in this area that could fall into this type of genre. I asked John if their music was welcomed more further south, or in Texas or Oklahoma (which have become two favorite jaunts of the band) than in Missouri.

"The Cape area has never really had a country scene, but we've been really fortunate to do really well here locally. As far as the deep south goes, Texas and Oklahoma have welcomed us with open arms. There's a lot more of an "Americana" scene down there, and the people are all huge music fans."

John talked more about the originality of the band, and the style of music they play.

"Americana is probably the best way to describe the sound and ... it's a little bit of everything. We don't really write a song with the idea that it has to fit a certain format and we try to look beyond being pigeonholed into one sound. When it comes down to it there are really only two kinds of music; good and bad. Hopefully we fit into the good side. We write all of our own music and when it comes to the live show, it's about 90 percent originals and 10 percent covers."

The band promises two new CDs, more extensive touring and something "big" coming to the Cape/Jackson area in the coming year.

Visit JDHB online at www.johndhaleband.com or www.myspace.com/johndhaleband.

Read the interview with John in it's entirety at www.bannedpromotions.com/jdhbinterview.