After serving in the Navy, he moved to Philadelphia, and founded the iconic local band, "Steamroller Picnic". After performing over 200 shows, and obtaining major corporate endorsements, he moved on to a solo career. As a solo artist, he has shared the stage with a great deal of renowned national artists, and has earned many awards.
We caught up with him during a special recording session at Brittingham's, in Lafayette Hill. He performed songs from his most recent release entitled "Dia de los muertos".
The following is his biography
I was born and raised under a bright blue sky in a small town called Bennington in the Green Mountain State of the U.S.A. I have a real good family and lots of great memories from my childhood. I remember my Mom would bring me to the record store about once a week and we would buy one or two 45 singles, then take them home and learn the lyrics. My Mom knew shorthand, so she was able to jot down the lyrics fairly quick. I always loved to sing and played a pretty decent air guitar in my bedroom.
After high school graduation I was eager to ramble on, so I joined the NAVY, got on a boat and was "underway". I went to a lot of exotic places and met some great people but soon came to realize that it was not the life for me.
I got off that boat and moved to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Played in a few different bands with some cool and dramatic folks, hung out a lot and immersed myself into the local music scene. I founded the pop/rock band Steamroller Picnic in October of 1993, in which I sang and fronted until September of 2004.
Steamroller Picnic performed more than 200 shows a year for over 10 years. We had some big corporate beer sponsors, (COORS Light 1996-2000) and (BUD Light 2000-2004) and got our own billboards on Interstates 95 and 76, (courtesy of COORS Light). We released an independent CD, Grow, in 2002, engineered by Andy Kravitz (Billy Joel, Paul Simon) and got on the MTV (Advance Warning, July 2003). During this time I also founded, produced and booked the Y-100 Tuesday Night Music Club, a local, regional and national music showcase.
In September 2004, I began to work with Gerry McWilliams and in January 2005 we released, Malone and McWilliams, Greatest Hits, engineered by Pete Donnelly (The Figgs, Graham Parker). Gerry and I then went out west to record and in March 2006 released Malone and McWilliams, Los Angeles, engineered by Barrie Maguire (The Wallflowers, Natalie Merchant, Amos Lee).
May 2008 brought the release of my first solo EP, Dia de los Muertos, once again engineered by Pete Donnelly and recorded at Philadelphonic Studios in Philadelphia, PA. In December 2007, I was selected as a semi-finalist in The Plowshares national songwriting contest and in May 2008, I was one of six winners in The Philadelphia Songwriters Association contest.
I have shared the stage with many national acts: Third Eye Blind, Eve 6, Sugar Ray, Vertical Horizon, Fuel, Familiar 48, Living Colour, The Fixx, July for Kings, Lola Ray, Robert Hazard, Silvertide, John Faye Power Trip, The Martians, The Bogmen, Dee Snyder, John Eddie, Danelia Cotton, Craig Bickhardt, Jim Photoglo, Idlewheel, Eric Andersen, Tom Gillam and Phil Vasser.
Life is sweet. Every morning when I wake up that bright blue sky has no limits. I enjoy hanging out with my wife and kids, I've been discovering all kinds of "new to me" music, writing lots of songs and playing live here and there. I just love to sing and play and get together with folks who "do" music because they love it too.
I hope life is sweet for you
Eat, drink and enjoy each other's company
Peace
J.D
Please enjoy the performance video from his show Brittingham's in Lafayette Hill, PA
You are now Tuned In to JD Malone
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