DWIGHT TWILLEY

By Dave Chaney

The Album
47 Moons

The Track
"Better Watch Out"

The Label
Digital Musicworks International (DMI)

Discography
47 Moons (2005)
Have a Twilley Christmas EP (2004)
The Luck (2001)
Between The Cracks (1999)
Tulsa (1999)
XXI (1996)
The Great Lost Twilley Album (1993)
Rock Yourself (1990)
Wild Dogs (1986)
Jungle (1984)
Scuba Divers (1982)
Twilley (1979)
Twilley Don't Mind (1977)
Sincerely (1976)

Liner Notes
The year was 1981. I was the 2-6am deejay on big gun rocker KMET in Los Angeles. Killing time before my nightly slink down Sunset to Metromedia studios in Hollywood, I would cruise the short distance past the endless midnight ghouls and hookers, over to the funky and nearly defunct Shelter Records studios, where I would hang out on the recording sessions of The Dwight Twilley Band. It was cool. Legends like Leon Russell and Tom Petty recorded some of their best early work in the joint. Due to one lawsuit or another preventing him from recording or performing at the time, Twilley and crew would actually have to sneak in to lay down tracks in the dead of the night. We came up with own ritualistic toast to those ghosts from the glory days. During recording breaks, we would routinely smash our beer bottles against a massive wall across the alley, adding to a literal sea of broken glass below that would sparkle fabulously in the moonlight. Those were great times, or at least pretty good, as I recall. The music was the best, I know that. I felt like I was sitting in on the missing slapback link between Elvis and The Beatles.

I kind of lost track of my friend Twilley though through the '90s, like a lot of radio programmers, I suppose. But, come to find out, he never really went away. Twilley continued to record and release records and tour the U.S. and Europe. Being separated from his kids on the road inspired him to write and and illustrate a successful children's book in the mid '90s, Questions From Dad. Twilley went on a book tour and made the rounds, appearing on the Today show, and was named a spokesperson for The Children's Rights Council. He also took some time to paint and displayed his paintings in various galleries across the country (his artwork adorns 47 Moons). After enduring a long and nasty series of label and promotion company misfortunes, Twilley simply soldiered on. When his home collapsed back in the '94 L.A. earthquake, he decided to move back to his hometown of Tulsa where he built a home studio and things started to click again. “I’m On Fire,” his 1975 power-pop/rockabilly hit from the first album, Sincerely, with the late Phil Seymour, remains his biggest to date. The song still holds up well. His second-biggest hit was the early MTV hit, "Girls," from 1984's Jungle, featuring Tom Petty on backing vocals. Petty also played guitar on an earlier Twilley track, "Looking for the Magic," from 1977's Twilley Don't Mind, and guests on "Forget About it, Baby," from Twilley's previous studio album, 2002's The Luck. Listen closely and you'll hear Twilley singing backing vocals on the early, pre-superstar Petty track, "Strangered in the Night." Twilley's songs have been used in numerous film soundtracks throughout the years, including 1992's mega-hit, Wayne's World, where the film's co-star, Tia Carrere, covered Twilley's "Why You Wanna Break My Heart."

The title cut to the new 47 Moons was inspired by “listening to late night talk shows on UFO’s and zombies.” The album is vintage Twilley, featuring original Dwight Twilley Band lead guitarist Bill Pittcock IV (one of rock's best who is rumored to have taught The Heartbreaker's Mike Campbell a few licks). The new label seems committed to Twilley, and with the help of the Internet - where a heritage artist like Twilley that defies category can rekindle a fan base - he remains vital in spite of no heavy radio play of his new material so far. If there is any justice left in rock 'n' roll, Twilley may yet land another smash album before the last tour bus pulls away. Meanwhile, 47 Moons has plenty to offer, such as the opening rocker “Better Watch Out" and "Chance of a Lifetime," or the lush, layered harmonies of "King of the Mountain" and the title track, "47 Moons." DMI has a live album in the works, hopefully by the new year, which will include Twilley concert favorites like "TV," "Girls" and "Somebody to Love." There are also plans to release a ten-song Christmas album in the fall, a follow-up to last year's successful six-song Have a Twilley Christmas EP that received substantial radio airplay, including XM and NPR's Fresh Air. Twilley is a favorite on The Steve and Johnnie Show overnights on WGN Chicago and has been invited to perform on the nationally-syndicated show, World Café. “I'm On Fire” was featured recently on the soundtrack to the film, Sahara, staring Matthew McConaughey. 

Site
www.dwighttwilley.com

Spins
WGN Chicago
WMFO Medford-Boston
KUSF San Francisco

Quote
"…Even in 1975 his amalgam of '50s rockabilly, '60s Merseybeat and '70s power pop seemed outside its time. Today, on such tunes as 'Chance of a Lifetime,' 'King of the Mountain,' and the rocking 'Better Watch Out,' it sounds timeless."
—Ken Barnes, USA Today

"Power-pop cult hero Dwight Twilley has been a near-recluse for the past decade and a half, missing out on the after-the-fact acclaim that’s gone to his contemporaries, Big Star and the Raspberries."
—Boston Phoenix 

Tour/Appearances
Dwight Twilley Band performed in a SXSW showcase in Austin earlier this year.

Retail
47 Moons is now available.

Contact
Jan Mirkin, Artist Relations, DMI
512.413.6475