Jesse Vest (born May 10, 1977) is an American rock

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for the bands The Crashers and the supergroup, Blisskrieg. Vest was one of the three original

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

members and founders of the

post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...

band,

Days of the New Days of the New was an American rock band from Charlestown, Indiana, formed in 1995. The band later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. They consisted of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best know ...

and the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, Tantric, playing bass alongside guitarist Todd Whitener and drummer Matt Taul.

Early life and beginnings

Jesse Vest was born and raised in

Charlestown, Indiana Charlestown is a city located within Charlestown and Utica Townships, Clark County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,775 at the 2020 census. History Early History and Founding Charlestown was established in 1808, named after one ...

and his career in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

at an early age. The son of a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

player and avid bluegrass fan, his first instrument was a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. At age 10, however, he discovered

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, trading his

for an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

, then

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

. Over the next several years he played and collaborated with various local

musicians A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

around his hometown, and found a creative bond with two of his classmates from

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

, Matt Taul and

Travis Meeks Travis Shane Meeks (born April 27, 1979) is an American musician and the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for acoustic rock band Days of the New. At age 17, Meeks was signed to Geffen Records, and from 1997 to 2001 his band of rotating music ...

. The trio began playing together in 1994 and were, originally a

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

sound-alike band with the name ''"Dead Reckoning."'' Within just two years Vest, Meeks and Taul had gained enough musical experience and written enough material for a full album, and the group added

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Todd Whitener to the band's lineup and then changed their name to

, adapting their style into one favoring

acoustic instruments Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the ad ...

instead of the standard

electric guitars Electric Guitars were an English band formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport (vocals, lyrics) and Richard Hall (bass, vocals) who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Sander ...

that dominated the 90s

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

sound. Vest and his

bandmates entered a local musician contest in 1996 where they caught the attention of producer

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most ...

, known for working with

R.E.M R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first ...

and

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, which lead to the band signing a

record deal A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with his label Outpost Recordings. The group recorded its debut album in late October and early November 1996 at Woodland Studios in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Just one day after graduating

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Vest along with the members of

embarked on a nationwide tour in support of their debut album released earlier that month.

Career

Role in Days of the New

Vest began as the bassist in an experimental rock/metal trio called ''Dead Reckoning'', with

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Matt Taul. When they turned to an acoustic sound, they changed the name of the band to ''

'' and added

lead guitarist Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...

, Todd Whitener to the lineup.

led to Vests' rise to fame when the band's 1997 self-titled debut album fared very successfully, leading to the group's music appearing on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, appearing on the

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

, and opening

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

for bands like

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

which helped the album eventually be certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and their single "

Touch, Peel and Stand "Touch, Peel and Stand" is a song by the rock band Days of the New and the lead single from their self-titled debut album. It was released in July 1997 to mainstream rock radio and then in September 1997 to modern rock station. It remains arguabl ...

" reach number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock chart Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

and stayed their for 17 weeks, and the album's other singles "The Down Town" and "Shelf in the Room" each were top 40 hits and featured

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

that received airtime on

. Citing clashes with

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

over the direction of the band along with Meeks' unstable

mental state A mental state, or a mental property, is a state of mind of a person. Mental states comprise a diverse class, including perception, pain/pleasure experience, belief, desire, intention, emotion, and memory. There is controversy concerning the exact ...

and struggle with

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

in February 1999 Vest, Whitener, and Taul departed

and quickly began working to form a new band. In 2021, ''

'' magazine named

's 1997 single, "

" as the "Greatest

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

song of all time", ranking it number one out of a chart of 100 songs.

Role in Tantric

Shortly after all three

band members departed the

, Whitener, Taul, and Vest would go on to form a new band named ''"C14"'' that would be renamed '' Tantric'' with

Hugo Ferreira Hugo Fernando da Silva Ferreira (born March 7, 1974) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Tantric. Early years, Merge and formation of Tantric Ferreira was born on March 7, 1974, in Luanda, Angola, which at t ...

as the lead singer. Tantric, whose self titled debut album was released in February 2001, resulted in much of the same success as Days of the New had seen, with their debut single " Breakdown" reaching the number-one position on the ''Billboard''

leading to the band performing promotional appearances on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

'', ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

'', and sharing the stage, opening

for

3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down is an American Rock music, rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band's music is described as post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock. The band's 2000 debut single "Kryptonite (3 Doors Down song), Kr ...

and

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

. Tantric's self-titled debut album spawned two more singles, " Astounded" that reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart in August 2001 and "

Mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

" that reached number eighteen on the same chart in December 2001 with each single being released with official

that received airtime on

as well. Vest returned to the studio with Tantric in 2003 to begin writing and recording their second album '' After We Go,'' which would be released on February 24, 2004. The album sold more than 200,000 copies and peaked at number fifty six on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

with the lead single " Hey Now" reaching number eight on ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart, a cover of the

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

song "

The Chain "The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album '' Rumours''. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John ...

" reaching number twenty two on ''Billboards Heritage Rock chart and thirty-six on the Mainstream Rock chart, and the album's title track, " After We Go" reaching number thirty on the Mainstream Rock chart. In late 2004, it was announced by the band that Vest would be leaving the tour for to take some time off and take care of personal things at home, stating in a message on the band's official website: but stated he had not left the band permanently and Bruce LaFrance would replace him on

during his absence. However, later in 2005 Tantric posted a statement on their website that Vest had officially decided to leave the band for good, wishing to spend more time with his family living in

Role in the Crashers

The Louisville Crashers was formed in 2004 by the brothers Max and Mark Maxwell, with Vest, Shane Isenberg, Geoff Gittli, Howard Gittli and Rodney Wurteletook joining the band at later dates. The band changed their name, dropping "Louisville" and simply changing it to "The Crashers" in 2012 to appeal to a national audience instead of locals in the

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

area. The band released their self titled debut album on July 2, 2013.

Blisskrieg

In June 2020 it was announced on Facebook that Vest got together with his former

and Tantric bandmates guitarist, Todd Whitener, and drummer, Matt Taul, to form a new band "Blisskrieg" with former

Eye Empire Eye Empire was an American rock band formed in 2009, consisting of Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit, Donald Carpenter, Garrett Whitlock and Dixie Duncan. Will Hunt joined the band in 2010 before departing in 2011, replaced by Ryan Bennett. ...

and

Submersed Submersed (sometimes typeset as SubmerseD) is an American rock band from Stephenville, Texas. They first disbanded in 2008, reuniting in late 2021, early 2022. History Submersed was signed to Wind-up Records, and worked with Alter Bridge ...

singer, Donald Carpenter as the new band's lead singer. In November 2020 Vest revealed via his

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

profiles he had finished recording a new album with ''Blisskrieg'' which would serve as the band's debut album with a release date in early 2021. Their debut album, ''Remedy'', was released on February 22, 2021. Vest returned to the studio and took part in the making of Blisskrieg's second release, "3 Days -EP" that was released on April 20, 2024.

Discography

Blisskrieg

*''Remedy (2021)'' * ''Day 3 -EP (2024)''

The Crashers

*''The Louisville Crashers (2013)''

Tantric

* ''Tantric -EP (2000)'' * '' Tantric (2001)'' * '' After We Go (2004)''

Days of the New

*''

(1997)''

References

External links

Jesse Vest Biography
*
thelouisvillecrashers.com

Blisskrieg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vest, Jesse 1977 births Living people American rock musicians Songwriters from Indiana Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky People from Charlestown, Indiana Songwriters from Kentucky Rock musicians from Kentucky Guitarists from Indiana Guitarists from Kentucky American male bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters