Based in Nashville, TN, roots-rock outfit Glass Cabin was formed by singer-songwriter Jess Brown and studio musician David Flint. After a decade of co-producing other artists, the two decided to produce their own project, the self-titled album, "Glass Cabin," released October 2021. Their follow up album titled “Glass Cabin 2” and slated to drop October 20th, 2023, is expected to continue their "eclectic fusion of rock, country, folk and Americana to create a stylistic album that is 100 percent their own."
Liner Notes For Glass Cabin 2
- Co-produced by David Flint & Jess Brown
- Engineered and Mastered by David Flint
- Jess Brown: Vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitar
- David Flint: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel, bass, banjo, mandolin, piano, bouzouki, keyboard/strings, Mellotron, drums
- Andy Hull: Drums - Closing Down the Bars, Weary Man, I Wanna Live
- Songs written by Jess Brown
- Except: "Some Kind of Love" (Flint and Brown) and “I Wanna Live” (Mando Saenz and Brown)
- RIG Nashville (c) 2023
BIOS:
JESS BROWN : Growing up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, with roots reaching back into rural West Virginia, Jess spent his early childhood hearing his mother's big band albums and the Appalachian music his mechanic father played while tuning car motors in his garage. But when he was eight, his father died at the age of 42.
Dealing with the loss, Brown started writing songs at 13. He played Dylan and Kris Kristofferson songs at local cafes and coffee houses, opening for local bands. The first two albums he bought were Me and Bobby McGee and Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. He started skipping school, spending summers hitchhiking through the southwest, sleeping in unlocked cars and under highway bridges before winding up at a relative’s goat ranch in New Mexico. He worked as a dishwasher and strung silver heishi beads he sold at flea markets to keep his guitar out of the pawnshop.
An avid reader, Jess calls John Steinbeck and playwright Sam Shepard early influences.
“I was kind of a nomad, wandering around in my teens. I had a string of close calls, but I was lucky. I think I joined the military just to get a roof over my head for a couple years.”
At 19, he discovered his Scots-Irish roots while connecting with his father’s brothers who relayed dark, sometimes comedic stories of Appalachian life. “My granddaddy's family ran moonshine and worked in the mines for generations, which can lead to an over indulgence of smoking and drinking at a very young age - an occupational hazard of writing as well."
Reclusive, and a reticent performer, it was Jess’ wife who convinced him to move to Nashville. “Nashville was a long shot but l was fortunate to sign with David Conrad at Almo-Irving Music (now Universal) and Barry Beckett (legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios producer and co-founder). Barry asked me what I was looking for and I said, “A home.” He smiled that big bear smile of his and gave me a writer’s room upstairs.”
As a signed writer for Almo/Universal and EMI, Jess had hits with Trace Adkins and Julie Roberts (Break Down Here), Lee Ann Womack (A Little Past Little Rock, Now You See Me) Trisha Yearwood ( Need You), Sarah Evans (I Learned That From You) and John Michael Montgomery (Cover You in Kisses, Rope the Moon) with his songs appearing on more than 25 million cds as well as being listed among the “Top Road Songs.”
DAVID FLINT: Hailing from upstate New York, Dave began taking piano lessons at age five. He reluctantly continued the lessons until he was eleven when he got his first guitar. He continued to take both piano and guitar lessons until his parents realized he would stick with the guitar.
“I was learning on an acoustic guitar before I got my first electric which was some sort of an old pieced together Fender…then I got an Ibanez Les Paul copy and an Ibanez “Iceman” and then a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. I wish I still had that Les Paul.”
He began playing in bands in the 9th grade, spending countless hours rehearsing in basements and garages of his and his bandmates homes.
“Like most kids learning guitar, one of my first influences were The Rolling Stones as well as The Beatles, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Van Halen.”
There were several incarnations of bands, but always with the same few people from school who were ‘players.’ They played at school dances, church functions, and at a local ‘teen’ club. They entered a series of ‘Battle of the Bands’ where they won a few contests and lost a few.
As a senior in high school, Dave applied to music school in Boston, Massachusetts but then at the last minute decided he didn’t want to ‘teach’ music or live the uncertain life of a musician, playing guitar for a living, so he went to school for business while continuing to play music casually.
“After my first year of college, some guys from high school contacted me about joining their band “Southbound”, later becoming “Billy Montana and the Longshots.” The boys decided to record an independent album and pitch it around Nashville. It caught the attention of the legendary Martha Sharp, VP at Warner Brothers at the time, which led to the band signing an artist deal.
But the group disbanded so Dave moved to Nashville, touring with several bands most notably the hit country group, Highway 101, touring with them for 8 years. A respected session musician, Dave continues playing in various Nashville studios, as well as producing artists at his home studio.
