A Brief History of Time

   The Lonesome Debonaires were formed in New York City by songwriter-guitarist-singer Jonathan Gregg, who had previously played with Rhode Island new wavers the Mundanes. A prototype of the Lonesome Debonaires with former Mundane John Linnell on accordion and clavinet and Al Houghton on bass played six gigs with five different drummers in 1985 before succumbing to logistics, mainly Linnell's increasing success with They Might Be Giants and Al's involvement in Dubway Studios.

   J.G. joined Life in a Blender (with whom he ended up playing for several years) and did a short stint with NYC country siren Lonesome Val (no relation), after which he started a permanent version of the band in 1986.

   The first full-time Lonesome Debonaires lineup consisted of J.G. on lead guitar and vocals, former Mundanes bandleader (and future "Beavis and Butt-head" producer) John Andrews on guitar, Judd Fuller on bass, and drummer Ken Meyer (Life in a Blender). By 1989, the Lonesome Debonaires had evolved into the core lineup of Gregg, Meyer, guitarist Michael McMahon and bassist Chris Smylie. (A Spinal Tap-like procession of drummers has graced the roster since, most recently Nat Seeley, who joined in 1996.)

   The band's first CD, "Blue on Blonde," was released in December 1991 and immediately received wide acclaim from magazines and newspapers nationwide, including three and a half stars in Rolling Stone. The band toured the eastern U.S. several times, sometimes supporting They Might Be Giants at venues such as First Avenue in Minneapolis and the Riviera in Chicago. Tours included performances on many radio stations, and back home they were guests on Vin Scelsa's legendary K-ROCK show, Idiot's Delight.

   In 1994, the boys released their second CD, "Unconditional," which was also critically acclaimed in the Washington Post, CMJ and Stereo Review.

   In early 1998 came "The Hardest Goodbye," the band's most fully realized work and the peak of years of collaboration with Al Houghton at Dubway Studios, where all of their CDs have been recorded.