bio
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, 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.
Insley formed Chaingang in 1983 with Kevin Tank and Ken Norman, while
living in Tempe, Arizona. Playing traditional Country music for Punk Rock
fans, the group was a puzzling, yet critically acclaimed entry into the
Tempe scene, which at that time included the Sun City Girls, the Meat
Puppets, Jodie Fosters Army, Junior Achievement, Hellfire, 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 mid 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 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
next album "Here With You Tonight" was released on August 8, 2006,
debuting at # 1 on the FAR chart and earning Dave numerous accolades. The latest
album, "West Texas Wine" (March, 2008) was co-produced by Austin guitarist
Dale X. Allen and features Dave & Dale along with Daniel Jones, Vance Hazen,
Chip Dolan & Bobby Snell (a group he call's "the Careless Smokers")
Dave continues to tour the United States making club, radio & festival appearances.
He currently resides in Austin, Texas.
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“Parched humor and Country grit”
- Andy Van De Voorde, New Times, October 3rd 1984 |
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“Dave
Insley, whose Chaingang achieved a new high in demented
lounge buffoonery before ‘taking some time off’ has reformed the original lineup under the name the Franks. ‘It’s the usual Acid-Country-Jazz-Rock Fusion kind of thing’ reports
Insley, who brought his wieners back with a bang opening for
the True Believers last week at the Mason Jar." - Andy
Van De Voorde, New Times,
May 8th 1985 |
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Chaingang Debut, 1983 |
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“Few artists have been as umbilically tied to the local Country scene as Dave
Insley. From his mid-80’s Chaingang to his recent work as leader of the Nitpickers and Trophy Husbands,
Insley has long been at the fore of Valley twang, and has quickly
earned a heap of critical kudos and growing legion of fans.” - Bob
Mehr, Phoenix New Times,
April 2000 |
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