First things first ... Jesse "stole" the name Hey Nashvegas! from a coffee shop in Nashville that had Nashvegas written on the wall. Most of the record was recorded in Nashville at Oceanway Studio, which is in this big ol' church on Music Row. There was this rumor goin' 'round that
Ever ask yourself, "I wonder how he thought of that"? Well, now you'll know. Here are Jesse's stories about his inspiration for the songs on Hey Nashvegas!
1 . Hey Nashvegas! "This song is based on a letter I originally wrote to a friend of mine who was an A&R guy in Nashville. If you listen to the words,you can hear it's a funny version of the small-town kid who thinks he's gonna take over the world, only to find out he's just another number in the machine."
2 . Never Started Living "This is kind of a personal one. Aw, hell ... it's just a two-beat dancehall love song. I got a million of 'em."
3 . Date With The Angels "This is all about a white trash girl from Louisiana who packed up her stuff and hit the road to make it big in the music business in LA."
4 . I Dream Too "This is the only song on the record I didn't write; it was written by Bruce Robison and Jim Lauderdale. I just love the Buck Owens verses and the Lennon-McCartney chorus."
5 . Heartbreak California "I wrote this one on the beach in San Diego with Rosie Flores. It's all about a couple dealing with the fact that the man's job relocated him to California."
6 . Wayward Soul "This was written on a fishing trip in East Texas ... it's about a songwriter who's just restless and wayward ... ready to bust outta Angelina County."
7 . Don't Take Yesterday "That's the creme de la creme of the southeast Texas white trash weepers. That's what that is. It was written the first night I moved into my new bachelor pad."
8 . Panhandle Jane "Oh, this is a good story! I was having drinks in the Hill Country with a pro rodeo star, and he told me all bout his great-great-grandfather who used to run the Charlie Goodnight Trail in Texas. When I got home that night, I wrote this song about a girl his great-great-grandfather used to know."
9 . Mama's Guilty Fool "Oh, man! This is another good story. I was staying with my girlfriend at the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans during Jazzfest. It was real late at night and we needed some ice for the ice bucket, so I went out into the hall to get the ice ... and there was my ex-wife, on the same floor, gettin' ice at the same ice machine. Neither one of us knew the other was going to be there, and the ink was barely dry on our divorce papers. I went back to the toom and wrote this song."
10 . Letter To Home "This one came out of some time I spent in New York ... I was up there writing songs. I think the song pretty much explains itself."
11 . Never Been Too Good At Goodbyes "This is basically about being run off by a chick ... not understanding what goodbye really means: 'Oh, I'm sorry. You don't live here anymore."
12 . One Life Stand "This is a song written about a friend of mine who met his girl in a honky tonk outside of Beaumont, TX, when all of us were just hanging out one night."
13 . Roses Ain't Enough "Aw, man. I was totally pissed off when I wrote this song. I bought this girl I was seeing a dozen roses, and when I gave them to her, she said, 'I don't really like roses.' So I took 'em back and gave 'em to another girl."