JULES BELMONT
Jules Belmont is a Nashville-based musician, guitarist, pedal steel player, composer, and band leader.
With a musical education gained at institutions from Sarah Lawrence College to Jim Hendrix's Electric Ladyland Studio, Jules has worked in genres from reggae to Latin to country. As part of Kendell Marvel's touring band, he has opened for Rich Speight favourites Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton.
On May 10th, 2024, Jules released his beautiful new album, 'Passages.
First off, can you tell us a little of how you came to be a part of Dick Jr & The Volunteers 2nd record?
Sure, yeah. I met Billy the previous December when I played in Radio Company for a show here in Nashville. The show actually became a live record as well. Billy and I connected on fuzz guitar pedals and silly things that can go wrong onstage. Billy gave me a call and asked if I’d like to join Dick Jr. and co for a show the following year and we rolled from there.
How did you find the experience?
Fun. They basically asked me to recreate some of what I had done live, to add options to an already well tracked core sound.
Rich, Billy and Zack have talked about how they're all perfectionists. Did they have a firm idea of what they wanted from you, or was it more collaborative?
I think they had a clear vision and wanted some extra ideas to play with. I tracked from Nashville and sent the files digitally. It’s a good way to work, and it leaves them plenty of space to pick and choose.
Photography by Jace Kartye
Let’s talk beginnings. Do you come from a musical family? If not, was there a particular record or artist that acted as a catalyst for you picking up a guitar?
I did come from a musical family. My dad is a working musician and educator. Lots of uncles and relatives who play as well. I was definitely the little kid side stage at festivals and shows with the ear muffs on. I actually played piano and saxophone before guitar, but I walked downstairs one day and asked pops to teach me ‘Purple Haze’ by Hendrix, and then it was all over from there on.
Your career has touched on multiple genres - Has that been a case of going where the work is, or a conscious decision to widen your skillset with different styles?
I always defer to that great Duke Ellington quote. “There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.”
I think I just enjoy music with integrity and a good groove. So many “genres” do that, it keeps me curious and excited to try and learn new things.
Rich has talked to me before about how seeing music as an outlet from the pressures of his day job, rather than another branch of his career. Do you have a hobby or passion that you turn to in order to rejuvenate your musicality?
Yeah, definitely an important thing. I’m still working on it. I love being outside, hiking, etc. And pets (dogs, cats) are a must as well. Much of my life and travel ends up being music or music adjacent, but it’s a fun balance.
You took up the pedal steel after moving to Nashville. Was that a case of adopting an instrument synonymous with country because of your location, or is was it a instrument that particularly spoke to you?
I actually had one a few years ahead of moving! But it was more a broad stroke tool than a way to express myself at that point in time. The sound definitely spoke to me. I would often emulate that riptide push and pull volume type stuff with my guitar before a friend of mine convinced me to get one (which I had no desire to do, ha!)
And for those who didn't grow up listening to Sneaky Pete Kleinow, can you perhaps explain the instrument a little?
Steel guitar is like an orchestra in a box. Most people know it as the electric emotion, Hawaiian sounding thing on old country records. But it’s having a full renaissance as an instrument, ending up on film scores and pop records. Really exciting.
You released a beautiful album, "Passages" earlier this month. A characteristic of streaming is of something I talked about with Rich, Billy and Zack ~ the lost art of an album's running order, in a time where music gets downloaded to a playlist and consumed on shuffle. "Passages" seems to tell a story when listening in sequence ~ to me, it's almost like a movie. How important is it to you that this album is heard that way?
Absolutely. Thank you for listening! I’d say you definitely get the aesthetic. Sequence is everything. I almost ended up releasing the entire project at once, or even as a single track. It is meant to tell a narrative, but in the end when you release something, it’s up to the listener to experience for themselves. With streaming being the way it is, the hope is that folks find the sound and find the full work.
Like "Fistfights & Hug-Outs", much of your record took seed in lockdown, and yet the album sounds to me like an American National Park. What was the inspiration?
I love that metaphor. The outdoors certainly was. I think I, like many, was craving open space and free movement. I had been so busy as a freelancer for many years, the time at home really helped me slow down and enjoy writing and creating without an agenda. An odd gift, especially when many of us had no idea what the way out was. The lesson has made me really grateful to continue this path though!
What's next for you?
To continue sharing my work and to help other artists with their work as well! I’ve begun the steps toward a next recorded project, and I hope to also collaborate on some film scores or art/sound projects. My wife and partner, Nellen Dryden, has a new record coming out in the future and I’m really excited about it. I played on it and was involved with the writing on many songs. I’ve mostly stopped touring and am hoping to live in the recorded realm for a while.