Duane Jarvis

Singer/songwriter Duane Jarvis has been on the move most of his life. Born in the Pacific Northwest, <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a>' dad was in the Coast Guard, so he spent his formative years up and down the West Coast (with a brief stay in Florida). As a musician, he has played throughout Europe and spent time in the music scenes of Portland, OR, and Los Angeles. He has come to rest in Nashville and is pleased with the opportunites offered in Tune Town. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a>' songwriting, and his touch on the guitar, have elicited a good deal of praise, particularly from other artists such as <a href="spotify:artist:60ht0hWRy1yjUDfNsLuHuP">Lucinda Williams</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6RwBVkrxTbbtS4bwxYQXcp">Buddy Miller</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:112VrRSCpsoUkVgnxZvD1w">Rosie Flores</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0nJUwPwC9Ti4vvuJ0q3MfT">John Prine</a>.

His musical background is quite eclectic. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> began his advanced music education with the John Burroz Blues Band in Portland. He eventually moved on to the power pop group <a href="spotify:artist:1MVQ4bbrG5VdRyozjajZQp">the Odds</a> and worked the I-5 circuit. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> has noted that while he began his music life in a blues band and subsequently worked with a rock outfit, he grew up under the influence of his dad's country music albums. He also cites radio as a major source of inspiration, recalling the days when commercial radio was actually interesting and playlists had some diversity. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a>' move to Los Angeles was pivotal. As he recalled: "I was sort of starving in Portland in the mid-'80s, so I figured I might as well go starve in L.A. where it's warm. And there were so many great bands down there at the time. <a href="spotify:artist:5dr7fkIRO4K14g7U8SCue5">The Blasters</a> were happening, as well as <a href="spotify:artist:3UJInulwu7s3B8QqjBj1XT">Rank & File</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6OWapcJm9xd55ci9CYbAuT">los Lobos</a>, the Plimsoles, <a href="spotify:artist:771bZ8ZHkvOqkI7baL68X3">Peter Case</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2OFpmma3V9yxT5XXgytGns">Lone Justice</a>. My first year in L.A. sucked, but I did okay after that. It's difficult to move from a very comfortable place to one of the biggest cities in the world, especially without any friends, but it worked out great. I eventually got to play with a lot of my heroes." <a href="spotify:artist:15Gagth2F4IJZNGhknhz4y">Marvin Etzioni</a>, founding member of <a href="spotify:artist:2OFpmma3V9yxT5XXgytGns">Lone Justice</a>, proved to be a major source of help and inspiration for <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a>. It was through <a href="spotify:artist:15Gagth2F4IJZNGhknhz4y">Etzioni</a> that <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> met <a href="spotify:artist:60ht0hWRy1yjUDfNsLuHuP">Lucinda Williams</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0nJUwPwC9Ti4vvuJ0q3MfT">John Prine</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2sxmKe3CUrWnx7eoXMhOlW">Dwight Yoakam</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:112VrRSCpsoUkVgnxZvD1w">Rosie Flores</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> also played in <a href="spotify:artist:15Gagth2F4IJZNGhknhz4y">Etzioni</a>'s band Long Tall Marvin in 1986-1988. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> honed his songwriting talent during his L.A. days, influenced by the work of <a href="spotify:artist:2OpqcUtj10HHvGG6h9VYC5">George Jones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6spXkXEP6teMn2cu9sWbBR">Ray Davies</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1QSEKTN8PPjVzniAkpJ90p">Dave Alvin</a>, among others.

After 11 years in Los Angeles, however, <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> was ready to move. He was set to head for Austin, TX, but a phone call to <a href="spotify:artist:60ht0hWRy1yjUDfNsLuHuP">Lucinda Williams</a>, who had relocated in Nashville, convinced him to check out Tune Town first. "I spent three weeks in Nashville, went home and packed my bags," <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> said. "I was sold on it." <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> arrived in Nashville in 1994, at the time his debut solo album, D.J.'s Front Porch, was released on Medium Cool Records. His second record, Far From Perfect, followed in 1998 on the now-defunct Watermelon label. His latest U.S. release, Certified Miracle, was released by Slewfoot in 2001. <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> also released an album titled Combo Platter for the German label Glitterhouse in 1999. In addition to his recording projects, <a href="spotify:artist:13W7XLRXdWeLmIu9vacE1w">Jarvis</a> has also been a staff writer for <a href="spotify:artist:3oL5CpaC5cBSVmERMXuV7d">Lieber</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1wsgQOJMWtqd2GF0sGSRUm">Stoller</a> since 1998. ~ Philip Van Vleck, Rovi