Jesse Dayton AKA Captain Clegg Interview
Jesse Dayton is an accomplished solo honky tonk/county musician with a dedicated, cult following of fans, but horror fans will recognize him as Captain Clegg, the frontman of the fictitious band Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures from Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (review). He also created the music for the in-movie band Banjo and Sullivan in The Devil’s Rejects and will embark on a tour with Zombie soon. The Texas musician took the time to answer some questions about the new Clegg album, working with Zombie, his innovative solo career, and, of course, horror flicks.
How did you get into music?
I got into music as a kid growing up in Texas. Watched a lot of blues and honky-tonk acts down there. I had cool parents who liked taking me to cool shows.
You did the Banjo and Sullivan music for The Devil’s Rejects and then became Captain Clegg for Halloween II. When did your relationship with Rob Zombie begin?
I met Rob through my friend Lew Temple, who was Adam Banjo in The Devils Rejects. Rob and I got on really well, so it seemed like we were gonna do more work together.
The Captain Clegg album, Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures, was released a few weeks ago. Tell us about that.
Rob and Sheri came out to a show I was playing with Social Distortion in LA. They came backstage and hung out, and that’s when Rob asked me to be Clegg in Halloween II. Pretty amazing night. After that we talked and talked about Clegg’s back story and how his music would sound and all these weird American hybrids of music we’d like to try out with the Clegg record.
What’s it like doing these pseudo-bands? Does Rob have creative control or does he let you do your own thing?
Rob invents the initial concept of the band and then let’s me run with it as far as writing the material. Of course I try to stay close to his vision while I’m working on any of his projects, but Rob seems to let the people he works with have some creative say. Doing these pseudo-bands has been a fucking blast!
You’ve released a few music videos and webisodes for Captain Clegg. What was the creation process behind them like?
I worked on the videos and Cleggisodes with a friend of mine, John Bradley, in Austin. We’re both film freaks, and John’s a film school grad, so we just grabbed some cameras and went for it. John and I are working on what we hope will be a full feature indie film right now that we hope to shoot in the French Quarter in New Orleans. It’s an exciting time.
Are there plans to release more material as Clegg?
I’ve just written a Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures EP of all psychobilly Christmas songs that are really fucked up. I think us freaks needs some totally evil Christmas tunes to jam to while all these other creepy, straight people listen to “White Christmas.” I’m dreaming of Black Christmas! [laughs]
Halloween II received mixed reviews from critics and horror fans. What’s your honest opinion of it?
My honest opinion of Halloween II is that it’s a kick ass movie that is pure escapism. I think the critics who didn’t like it are people who have a dramatic sensitivity to violence and feel like they should be down on it because of the violence. Honestly, they should look at it like a roller coaster ride that’s scary as hell. Hello! It’s escapism, folks. Lighten up! By the way, I thought Sheri Moon was creepy looking and hot looking at the same time. That’s a hard one to pull off!
What was filming your Phantom Jam scenes like?
Rob creates such a feeling of good will on his set it makes everyone wanna kick ass for him. We shot two fifteen-hour days for the Phantom Jam scene in a barn out in the middle of nowhere. This barn was brutally hot and we had 300 extras, us, and the film crew, and I realized after we got done that not one single person bitched the whole time. Shooting it was bizarre. Rob also filmed us for a couple of days in a Civil War graveyard, so he has videos for every single song from the Captain Clegg CD.
Would you return for another film if you were asked?
Definitely, I’d return for another film. It’s an honor to be asked, not something to be taken for granted.
Were you a fan of the Halloween series prior to being a part of it?
Oh yeah, I’m a Halloween fan. Jamie Lee Curtis running through Haddonfield was on my radar big-time as a kid. Some of the movies are better than others in the Halloween franchise, but I’m a fan, so grabbing some popcorn and getting the shit scared out of me is a favored Jesse Dayton past time.
What’s your favorite horror movie?
My favorite horror movie… Wow, that’s a hard one. I’d have to go old school and say the Italian stuff that I saw as a kid is my favorite. Mario Bava’s Black Sunday with Barbara Steel was the one that scared me and turned me on all at the same time. Of course, growing up in Texas, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre blew me away.
You’re going to tour as Captain Clegg with Rob Zombie. What was your reaction to that offer?
I was blown away when Rob called and asked me to tour with him as Captain Clegg. This show is gonna rock your fuckin’ face off!
I’ve got to check out that show. Any idea when we can expect tour dates to be announced?
They’re supposed to announce the tour dates soon. Yeah, y’all should come out and hang with us for a night, maybe drink a beer.
In addition to your work in the aforementioned movies, you also have a solo career under your name, Jesse Dayton. Tell us about that.
My solo career has been pretty blessed. I starting out recording as a lead guitar player for some of the original country outlaws like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Ray Price, and the list goes on. As a solo artist, no one knew what to do with me at first. I mean, I was making outlaw country records before Hank 3 or Mike Ness, so I was the first one to really go on tour with full-blown punk rock bands like X, Social D, and the of course the Supersuckers, who I played with on their Must’ve Been High record, playing full-on honky tonk music. I’ve got a loyal, cult following worldwide of fans called Hardchargers, and they are too cool for radio and big corporate bullshit. I’m lucky.
What else is in store for the future of Jesse Dayton?
I’m gonna put everything I have into this tour, then when we get done, John Bradley and I are gonna start working on this little indie movie. I also have a book that’s gonna be coming out that’s a kind of cool version of Zagat from a musicians point of view, about all the great dives to eat and drink and where to go see cool music around America. Like the Johnny Cash song says, “I’ve been everywhere, man!”
Do you have any closing remarks for the readers of Horror-101.com?
I’d like to tell all the Horror-101.com freaks thank you for getting off your asses and seeing the new Halloween II movie. We didn’t make the movie for a bunch of overly sensitive pussy critics; we made the film for you, the true horror movie fans. Y’all rock!
Thank you for your time.
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