Jayson Starkey was born in Houston, Texas and raised south of the Red River. He’s Texas born and bred, a devoted Longhorns and Cowboys fan, but found himself planted in Oklahoma and the Oklahoma music scene 25 years ago.

“I am a singer/songwriter living in Southeastern Oklahoma. I was a side man in a few different bands over the last 20 plus years, playing keyboards and guitar - and occasionally filling in to play drums for a couple of different bands as well. It has only been the last three years or so that I have ventured out on my own as a solo artist and began writing songs. I never saw myself as a solo performer or even a songwriter, but I co-wrote a few songs with several close friends and they pushed me to start doing my own thing…and here I am now,” said Starkey.

Starkey’s musical influences started with older Texas country artists and singer songwriters such as Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, and Townes Van Zandt. His mother was a lover of these songwriters and the Austin music scene, so Starkey said any influence there was, was all because of her. Leon Russell was also a huge influence, and probably the reason he plays piano.

“When I was younger, I was into Texas blues…. The Vaughan Brothers, Stevie and Jimmy influenced me in so many ways and led me to blues artists such as Buddy Guy, Albert King, Freddie King…..HENDRIX - ohhh, my love for Hendrix is so real - even to this day,” said Starkey.

Starkey’s music career started at age 8 behind his grandmother’s old Wurlitzer piano. Church was really his first real exposure to playing music.

“I could play a few chords, but I was definitely no virtuoso. More seriously though I guess I started playing around in high school on drums with some friends and we formed a little band. We played some of the hits of the time, the mid 80’s, and tried to write songs - mostly about fast cars, beer and bikini-clad women - at our ages, and with our backgrounds we really knew nothing of the three. I drove a 1963 Chevy pickup then - it was not fast. Also, we really were horrible thinking back on it. But, musicians get chicks…I really think that was our motivation as teenage boys,” said Starkey.

He got a lot more serious in his 20’s, playing as a side man in several bands throughout the years. None of which were horrible, he says.

“We did not really write songs about fast cars, beer and bikini-clad women either.. but damn, it sure was a lot of fun. I still miss my Mamaw’s Wurlitzer piano and dreaming of being the next Leon Russell. I really think that is where it all started,” he said.

Starkey moved to Oklahoma about 25 years ago and was playing with a little blues band out of Texas called the Oliver White Group. Oliver and Starkey are as close as friends can get, and White is definitely one of the reasons he became a solo artist and started writing his own songs.

“My best friend at the time, Fernando Braxton introduced us - I played in a duo act and in a band called Junior Pride with Fernando early on as a keyboard and guitar player. Fernando and I wrote and played together for about three years before he moved off to New Orleans, but before he did, he introduced me to Oliver…. I have been playing in one project or another ever since. Sadly, Fernando passed away in 2009, and it dulled my love for music, and I left OWG at some point in 2010 because of it… there were other personal reasons for my leaving the band and not playing music anymore, but we will save those stories for a night when I have had too much whiskey,” said Starkey.

After moving to Oklahoma, he started working at the local music store in Durant, Oklahoma - Welborn Music. Over the last 20 years, he has become a very respected luthier and repair tech, and has built many musician friendships along the way.

“I take great pride in the work that I do, and the happiness of my clients and customers is a huge reason why. I have worked on local musician’s instruments and amplifiers, as well as some of the most prominent artists in the Oklahoma music scene. I don’t see myself ever stopping that sort of work, it is far too rewarding, and I have built a reputation that I am proud of for sure,” he said.

Now that Starkey has reached his 50’s, the past decade or so has seen him go back to music that his mother loved and introduced to him as a child. The singer/songwriters — the artists that can stand on stage with nothing but stories and an acoustic guitar and entertain everyone. He has picked up more artists that inspire him over the last several years. Songwriters such as Mike McClure, Tom Skinner, John Moreland and Todd Snider.

“Todd Snider is one of my favorite songwriters and probably the best storyteller I have ever seen. I love bands such as The Damn Quails and The Wight Lighters, and the songwriters within them. Bryon White is definitely an influence, and is actually a part of the new record I am recording. Then there are the lesser known Oklahoma songwriters like Ben Brock, Derek Paul, Chad Sullins, oh my goodness, Chloe-Beth Campbell — I love her. And Ben McKenzie, probably one of the best songwriters and most talented people I have ever met,” said Starkey.

Ben McKenzie, a good friend of and major influence on Starkey, is currently producing Starkey’s first solo record, Stories. On that album, Chloe-Beth will be doing a duet with Starkey, that he wrote with his best friend Zack Jones, who is also a part of the Oklahoma Music Scene. Jones has had a band for about 15 years called Level Route that has enjoyed some success. Starkey has also recently been playing some gigs with them as a keyboard player.

While Starkey is currently working in the studio on his first album, he says he has been working towards this album since he was 13 years old and dreamed of making a record. Back then it was a rock and roll record, then it was a blues record, later on it became a funk or soul record. Now finally, while he has found his groove, as of yet he hasn’t found a genre.

“Oklahomiacana, is that a genre? It is just music that I wrote, that I co-wrote, that friends wrote and that my producer put together to help put me on the map so to speak. The songs mean something to me, and there is a sweetness to the irony they portray. I never really wanted to be a big star... just play music with my friends, get to experience some cool venues and festivals from the stage…sing my songs to people that listened and loved them. But mostly, I just want to be a part of the conversation. Especially with Oklahoma artists. I really have a hard time picking a favorite. I might be lying - I love McClure. I love them all so much. They have all been very supportive of my music. That is really what makes all the struggle to produce this record worth it,” said Starkey.

The album Stories is tracking at Spacebrain Recording in Ardmore, with Caleb Shirtum. Ben McKenzie is producing the album, and guests include a star-studded list of Oklahoma and Texas popular artists, musicians and singer/songwriters such as; Chloe-Beth, Oliver White, John Tyler Perry, Bryon White, Walton McMurray, Caleb Shirtum, Mike Tuck, Buffalo Rogers, Aaron Gibson and a few others. All tracks are being mixed and mastered by Luke Tallon.

The first single from the album, Dirty 6th Street, was released on October 1st. It’s a soulful slow-moving tune, showcasing Starkey’s husky yet smooth bluesy vocals, with choir like background vocals which makes it seem all that more spiritual of a song. It’s like you are at a church of the blues, you can close your eyes and feel it in your soul. The guitar solo is tasty and adds just the right amount of funk to balance it all out. It’s an impressive first look at Starkey’s music, and a great way to reel you in.

“You know, from the very beginning of being out on my own as a solo artist, this song has grown. It is probably the only one of my songs that has grown to mean more to me than others. One of my best friends Mark Shelton wrote this song, all I did was help the guy die in the end and make it sound like me. Co-writing a song like this meant a lot to me early on, especially in the meaning behind the song,” said Starkey.

The story of the song is that a man goes to Austin to make it big in the music scene, ends up broke and penniless with nothing but a bottle and a beat-up old guitar. It tells the story of the homeless man sitting on the steps in front of a mission on 6th in Austin. Broke and penniless and playing gospel songs on a guitar with only five strings left.

“Dirty 6th Street is a term used by the locals in Austin to describe the entertainment district of 6th - only seemed fitting to put him down on dirty 6th street,” said Starkey.

Ben McKenzie sings harmonies and backup vocals on the song, while Starkey plays the B3 gospel organ part, acoustic guitar and lead vocals. It features Oliver White on electric guitar with John Tyler Perry filling in the blanks on slide guitar. Caleb Shirtum is on bass and Walt McMurray on the drums.

“We can all find a little humanity in this song. Help pick someone up when they are down. Understand that sometimes the decisions we make in life will affect us for the rest of it. Don’t ever stop following your dream, even if you can’t find your way back home,” said Starkey.

Starkey says that he loves music in a way that few do. Music for him is fellowship. It is playing until dawn with his friends. It is writing a new song and not being able to wait for people to hear it. It is knowing that everyone in the scene has a place, and they all matter to him. He may be Texas born and raised, but he loves Oklahoma and the music here.

“I love the artists and the musicians. I love the venues and the people I meet on the road. I want to be a part of this for the rest of my life. I want people to remember the Chillbilly from Southeastern Oklahoma that wrote and played some pretty damn good songs, even if he never found a genre. They say ‘Oklahoma Music’… I like that as a genre. I am a little more ‘Oklahomie’ though.” Said Starkey.

The next single is scheduled to be dropped in about a month, while the target release date for the album is on Christmas Day. You can find out more about Starkey and his upcoming shows and releases on Facebook as Jayson Starkey Music, on Instagram @if6wuz9, TikTok at Jayson Starkey, or go to the website that is getting a makeover at the moment, jaysonstarkey.com.

Spotlight on Jayson Starkey and his Dirty 6th Street