Jesse Malin

Jesse Malin began his music career as the lead singer of the glam-rock, hard rock band D Generation, this he did for eight years. They weren't a metal band, but critics quickly dismissed 'D Generation' as

Jesse Malin began his music career as the lead singer of the glam-rock, hard rock band D Generation, this he did for eight years. They weren't a metal band, but critics quickly dismissed 'D Generation' as Johnny Thunders copycats, but substance and song structure were there. As one of New York City's more talented acts of the 1990s, the band released three albums before disbanding in April 1999. Malin didn't stop writing music. His love for Neil Young, Tom Waits and Steve Earle affected his work; he spent the next two years working on a fresh, countrified sound. Ex-Whiskeytown frontman Ryan Adams, who'd been a friend of Malin since the D Generation days, was impressed with Malin's new material. Adams offered to produce Malin's debut album despite the fact that he'd never produced a record before. The two headed into Loho Studios in New York in January 2001 and made an album in just six days. A deal with Artemis Records soon followed. 'The Fine Art of Self Destruction' appeared in the UK in October 2002; The first single, "Queen of the Underworld" was a moderate hit and the British press quickly hailed Malin's debut as one of the year's best. Stateside fans finally got their hands on 'The Fine Art of Self-Destruction' in January 2003. Tour dates followed, both in America and the UK. Malin contributed a version of "Hungry Heart" to the benefit album Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen; he also picked up a nomination for the Shortlist Music Prize. By November he was back in the studio, laying down tracks for Self-Destruction's follow-up: 'The Heat' which was released in June 2004, accompanied by a string of tour dates on both sides of the atlantic.

Malin has also collaborated with Ryan Adams to form the band 'The Finger' (the pair adopted the pseudonyms 'Irving Plaza' and 'Warren Peace' respectively) who released two E.P.s which were later collected into the album 'We Are Fuck You'.