Jerry David DeCicca

I’m late to the game when it comes to the music of Jerry David DeCicca, but he’s a true veteran of the modern music world, having lived on the road for many years with his band Black Swans before opting for a “Quiet Life” (get it? that’s a song title) when he moved to Texas with his partner a few years back. In addition to making music, he’s also produced a good handful of albums for the Numero Group and Tompkins Square Records, and authored liner notes and articles for Aquarium Drunkard.

His most recent album, 2020’s The Unlikely Optimist and His Domestic Adventures, wavers between the whimsical and worldly, at times existential and pondering issues of class, mortality, and location; while also crooning about his beloved pets (“Texas Toad”) and food (“Grape Jelly”). Jerry is a master of metaphor though, as revealed in “Coffee Black,” a song about lightening up with age. As you’ll hear in our conversation, the standout song to me is “West Texas Trilogy,” an epic exploration of the Texas landscape, its inhabitants, and ultimately, its legacy.

This song particularly drew me to the album and prompted to me to ask JDD about his relationship to location, and how he feels aligned with the spirit of Texas’s Hill Country. The stirring line, “I came here to be close to these songs” moved me, and we discuss whether or not in fact relocating there did in fact make him feel closer. I think he’s certainly following in the foosteps of the best songwriters Texas ever produced. Native or not – DeCicca is a very fine songwriter and I do believe he is following the path of TVZ, Clark, Shaver, and Walker.

Snag The Unlikely Optimist and His Domestic Adventures on Bandcamp and keep your eyes peeled for a vinyl release someday soon!