He’s got a French girlfriend. His bass player is named “Niles.” Sounds like a movie script for a mock-rock band except that Jonathan Sexton is so real it pops you in the back of the head. SevierCountyNews.com spoke with Sexton this week about his latest music adventure and about why he decided to go for it after all.

The release party for Jonathan Sexton and The Big Love Choir’s “New Day” is scheduled for October 23 at the Square Room in Knoxville. Prior to that, he’ll be doing an in-store performance and signing at The Disc Exchange in Knoxville at 6 p.m.

SCN: I love the performance you did on WDVX in July 2008. I saw it online and it was really good. Who were the backup singers?

JS: Elodie, of course, who is in the band now and a couple friends. People I love. Mandy Lawson and Joy Davis. Joy was a director for Circle Modern Dance at one time.

SCN: You’ve gotten some praise from local heavy hitters like Jack Renfro and R.B. Morris. Good write-ups in Metropulse and the Knoxville News Sentinel too.

JS: I’m honored clearly. I love it. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. By the way, we played a show with R.B. Morris in Nashville and he blew us all offstage, so if he has something nice to say about our band, I’m grateful. I hope I can live up to what they say.

SCN: Some are making it sound like you are an overnight success. Took years, though, right?

JS: Well, we have had more success in the last year than in the previous eight. But I have been around music all my life. My dad (who also plays in the band) was always in bands and I grew up going to practice with him. When I first picked up a guitar at age 16, I just knew what to do somehow.

SCN: And you played Sundown this year too. Nice.

JS: Ashley Capps (AC Entertainment) is a good man and a great businessman. I went to Sundown so many years to see other bands and friends play and would say to myself, “Maybe next year I will be there.” And when I finally did get to play that show, we worked it like we were the only act that was going to be there. We made flyers and distributed them, we talked it up on Facebook and Twitter, all that. When we get a gig we don’t expect other people to do all the work to promote it.

SCN: This is your second album, “New Day.” And has more material than the last one.

JS: This album is 15 tracks as compared to 10 tracks on “Big Love” As a whole this album is more confident and more developed musically which is a natural circumstance of a five-person band rather than a three-person band on the first album.

SCN: And there’s a little something for everyone…

JS: (On New Day) There are rockers, folk, Americana, pop, piano songs, everything, but the message is still the same: Love yourself, and don’t go out looking for reasons to be sad. And Elodie wrote and sings lead on track 10, it is all in French. We like this album. It’s kinda like our first album, I mean Big Love was MY first album, but this is our first album as a band.

The band is: Jonathan Sexton – lead vocals, guitar
Dave Campbell “Animal” – drums
Andrew Sexton – guitar
Niles Haury – bass
Elodie Lafont – vocals, percussion

SCN: You wrote on the piano this time around?

JS: Track 5 is the first song I’ve ever written on a piano. It was written arranged and recorded all in one day at Waterworks recording studio in Nashville.

Additional musicians on “New Day” are Billy Contreras (track 6 and 9)
Rosemary Haskins vox- 5, 7, and Patrick Himes, organ, track 14. Patrick was the lead engineer on Ryan Adams’ “Heartbreaker” in 2000, now he has his own studio.

SCN: You had a lot going on in your personal life between the first album and this one.

JS: Yeah. I had a kid. And (previous band) Whiskey Scars had broken up and I did not want to do spin off on that. And my grandfather got really sick with lung dsease and I was taking care of him and going to school to get my Master’s degree. Yeah.

SCN: And after all that happened, and you started teaching, you decided to pursue a music career full throttle.

JS: After my son Athen was born, I got focused. I want him to see me go for it. I want him to have the experience of being around music like I did as a child and to know it takes guts to go after your dream.

SCN: And even when you were going through all that with your grandfather, you had a new dream for the music. It just had not gelled.

JS: Exactly. And this new album has a certain integrity and authenticity to it. It’s really me.

SCN: You mentioned that they were going to stream the Square Room performance.

JS: Yes! On www.knoxivi.com they will stream LIVE our performance, so we are going to make history! We’ll be the first live stream they will feature on that site. We’re excited about it. They will start streaming at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, with opening act Stephanie’s ID.

Photo of Jonathan Sexton and the Big Love Choir by Laura Long, SevierCountyNews.com