Jesse's first solo album, Raisin' Cain, reached #1 on the Americana chart. Check out the lyrics and the stories behind the songs, or listen to the RealAudio samples. Of course, you could always just buy it and give it a listen. That's a pretty good $15 gamble.
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 Raisin' Cain
1 . Kissing Abilene Goodbye "I wrote this one on the back of a Whattaburger bag at 7:00 a.m. at a Greyhound bus station in Abilene."
2 . Big City Blues "A buddy of mine inspired this ... I was sitting on the top floor of a highrise apartment building in Houston and thinking about how life gets complicated."
3 . Stitch In Time "Everybody's got stories they need to tell themselves to keep on going, but deep down, you always know the truth."
4 . Carmelita (Show Me How to Dance) "This one was written in New Mexico. It's about a girl I met while working down there with Pam Tillis."
5 . Blood Bucket Blues "Blood Buckets are what they called the honky tonks in Beaumont, Texas, during the Spindletop oil boom 'cause the places were so rough."
6 . Train of Dream "This is my version of country comes to town. Who doesn't daydream about somethin' better?"
7 . Boystown "Oh, man. Boystown is every young Texan's rite of passage."
8 . Angel Like You "An embarrassing situation that I could never make good on except by writing a song about it."
9 . Playing With A Memory "Whew. This is about being in New York and running into a girl I used to know. She was from a smaller town than me, and we just bumped into each other in Manhattan."
10 . Next Time I'm In Town "I wrote this one in the back of a taxicab in Helsinki, Finland, waiting for Jason Burns (the Road Kings bass player) to kiss a girl goodbye."
11 . Time To Go "Ah, this is a true story about a close family member ... watch your back with corporate America."
12 . Raisin' Cain "Texans -- now and forever -- love their trucks, good country music, and Saturday nights."