JJ Lester

Jeffrey John "JJ" Lester (born July 16, 1968 in Edmond , Oklahoma ) is an American country musician and producer.

biography

JJ Lester was born in Edmond in 1968 as the youngest of three brothers and grew up in Stillwater, about 50 kilometers away . There he also attended high school. He began playing drums in a band in sixth grade before temporarily quitting in ninth grade due to other interests. After he finished school, he worked for Mercury Marine and started making music again.

Around 1990, when he was studying theology at Oklahoma State University , he met bassist Kelley Green at a rodeo event. Together with his brother Scotte, Lester founded the Red Dirt band The Great Divide in 1992 , which, in addition to Green, also included the singer, songwriter and producer Mike McClure . In this formation the group released their first studio album in 1994 and signed a contract with Atlantic Records in 1998 .

After fifteen years together, the band separated in 2007. Lester then worked only partially as a professional musician and got a job as a pastor in a church in Stillwater. In 2011 he performed with the other members on a comeback show. Since then, the four musicians have played a concert together about once a month.

Apart from The Great Divide , Lester has also appeared as a producer of other artists on the scene. In 2001 he produced Truckstop Diaries, the second studio album for the band Jason Boland & the Stragglers, founded in 1998 . Together with Mike McClure, he produced the album Highway 377 by Cross Canadian Ragweed in the same year . He could also be heard on the drums. He was also part of the band No Justice , for which he played drums and produced several albums.

Lester continues to practice his profession as a pastor. He also teaches theology and religion at college. He is married and has two children.

Discography

→ Main article : Discography of The Great Divide

Web links

• Biography ( Memento from June 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on thegreatdivide.com (English)
• Cean Wilson: Interview on Angelfire
• Credits at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JEFFREY JOHN LESTER. oklavoters.com, archived from the original on March 7, 2014 ; accessed on March 7, 2014 (English). 
2. ^ JJ Lester on LinkedIn
3. ↑ ^{a b} Jared F. Cranke: Great Divide Reunites for College Days ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , stillwaterscene.com, August 2011, accessed March 1, 2014 
4. ↑ Text by Jordan D. Pfeiffer , accessed on March 1, 2014 (English)