by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
After a month of touring up and down the East Coast, local acoustic band The Daeighlies is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The Daeighlies are a southern folk swing act formed earlier this year by guitarists and vocalists Jessica Pounds and Shawn Lightfoot. The two recently returned to Jacksonville from a month-long tour that gave them fuel for some new songs––and a thicker skin.
“I got my first negative review while on that tour,” said Pounds. “It was good though, you’ve got to be able to take criticism.”
Prior to performing together, both performed solo with moderate success. Pounds, a Jacksonville native, sang for about nine years around the Riverside, Avondale and San Marco areas after an initial musical stint playing guitar with an all-girl band. Lightfoot was born in the Philippines and grew up all over the United States, but he’s been playing guitar for six years in Jacksonville – both solo and with groups like the Lightfoot Brigade and Hank El Diablo.
After realizing the chemistry they had together on stage, Pounds and Lightfoot decided to give some creative collaboration a try. They describe their sound as a blend of country and old-timey jazz. The band cites older country music acts, like Johnny Cash and the Carter Family, and jazz greats Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn, as the main influences on their style.
After playing dozens of small gigs around Florida, The Daeighlies finally got the chance to tour for a month in the fall of 2006, traveling up the coast to New York City, west to Cincinnati and back down to Jacksonville through the mountains.
“It was a really great experience. We had a little over 20 stops on the way, and a lot of the shows turned out really well,” said Pounds. “We got the opportunity to see what’s going on musically in other areas and get ourselves out there.”
Within the next year, both Pounds and Lightfoot hope to complete compact discs and continue to play live, either with The Daeighlies or solo. But while they see success in their futures, Pounds and Lightfoot are still keeping their daytime jobs.
“We both supported ourselves solely through our music for a while, which for me was difficult but rewarding,” said Jessica. “Currently, Shawn is substitute teaching and I just started working at a tea store for the holidays.”
The Daeighlies perform one weekend a month at The Grape in the St. Johns Town Center and two Wednesdays out of the month at The Casbah in Avondale.