Did Dalton Domino Just Quit Music?
The fans of much-beloved Texas music songwriter Dalton Domino were disappointed to scroll through their social media feeds on Saturday (3-14) to see a missive from the Lubbock, TX native that seemed to imply he’s done with music. Finito. Game over.
“Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you,” Dalton posted along with the universally-recognized ‘That’s All Folks!’ graphic from the classic Looney Tunes cartoons. “The amount of memories I have made playing on a stage will last a life time. Only thing I got left to say is support the songwriters. Until next time friends. Whenever that time may be.”
Concerned fans already rattled by the mass cancellations due to the Coronavirus shared their appreciation and disappointment at the news, without a lot of clarification or context if it really meant it was all over for Dalton, or just over for now.
Dalton Domino is managed by the same guy that manages Wade Bowen, and Dalton’s last record, Songs From The Exile was released on Lightning Rod Records. Saving Country Music could have reached out to these respective parties or others, or to Dalton Domino himself for some clarification. But that feels like it would be a disrespect to the spirit and the mystery with which Dalton Domino has chosen to share this news.
The best way to digest Dalton’s message is just to understand that this is Dalton Domino. He’s always been a sort of unusual bird for the often straight-laced Texas music scene, with inner conflict clearly at work, often playing out in his highly-regarded songs over his three critically-acclaimed records.
Among his peers and many of the people in the Texas music business, the respect for Dalton as a songwriter is unquestionable. But finding his proper place has been somewhat of a struggle. He tried the big rocking stage show lineup, with the two lead guitar players flanking him like you commonly see from the headliners of the Texas music scene. He tried a more stripped down approach, working in more keys and acoustic guitar. Most recently Dalton Domino has been on a house show tour, just playing to intimate crowds in living rooms.
First and foremost, Dalton Domino is a songwriter, and that’s a career path where sometimes it takes decades of service before the deserved recognition is finally awarded. And beyond the struggle all songwriters face to find sustainable traction in their careers, or to calm the inner conflict to make it into an occupation, Dalton has had some personal struggles beyond that, including going to rehab in early 2019.
In his relatively short career, it’s almost like Dalton Domino has lived multiple lives. Even looking at photos of him over a period of time, Dalton can almost appear unrecognizable from a previous incarnation as he sheds previous personas in an attempt to discover his true self. Perhaps stepping away for a while is a way to aid that process. As he says in one of his signature songs called “Corners,” “But if I die I’m gonna die with me knowin’, who I was ain’t who I am.”
Have we heard the last from Dalton Domino? I wouldn’t make that bet. But his return and the nature of it should be of his choosing, and not due to pressure from fans or professionals in the music business with expectations that he may or may not be able to meet, let alone the expectations and pressures he puts on himself. Besides, in early February Domino also posted that he was planning a very limited tour schedule through September, and wanted to spend more time with his family. This latest message seems to coincide with that, even if it carries a more fatalistic tone.
And what better time to take a hiatus than now when the world is shutting down anyway, and gathering in groups has been deemed too dangerous by many?
So c’est la vie Dalton Domino, for now, and until, and as such. We’ll still be here.
Will stewart
March 16, 2020 @ 11:29 am
I promise you it’s not
Wes
March 16, 2020 @ 11:36 am
Well he wasn’t getting a return on his investment. usually when you release a new album you expect for your listener numbers to go up. On spotify he has been hovering around 65-69 k before and after his latest release. Most bands in Texas that do this full time and make comfortable living generally have at least 100k or they just part time tour. Unless your starting out to try to build your fan base you’ll have less listeners but try to grow. Dalton was at the point after 3 albums and well over 5 years in this were you have to make a decision. He wasn’t really trending in an upward direction when it comes to fan swell. If you dont have a mike and the moonpies die hard fan base 69k as a main act wont cut it in the long run. It was something I noticed last year and I was wondering what he was going to do. I guess we have our answer. He has left music.
Trigger
March 16, 2020 @ 11:50 am
I totally understand what you’re saying Wes, and don’t disagree with your assessment. But you might be looking at this a little too analytical. Yes, Dalton wasn’t trending to headliner status, and I think trying to assuage Dalton in that direction would probably be damaging to him. He’s just not that kind of performers. But songwriters write. That’s what they do. And you can’t just turn that off. I think that’s why Dalton’s been playing house concerts recently. I really don’t have an answer of where he’s headed, but I don’t think he’s going to start working at Home Depot and call it quits. At least in the long term.
As for Mike and the Moonpies, I’ve been a little surprised they haven’t blown up quick with all the praise they received for their last record, and how badass they are live. It’s definitely growing and going in the right direction, but I’m surprised it’s not at the headliner status yet. Maybe here soon, though Coronavirus is not helping them. Out of the road is where they’re going to make new fans.
Jake Cutter
March 16, 2020 @ 1:04 pm
Whenever I think of songwriters not being able to write because they get a day job or something I think of Lori McKenna.
This is well written, and kudos for respecting the mystery.
Ian
March 16, 2020 @ 5:49 pm
For me one of the best ways to write is in the steel shop or on a jobsite. If I can manage to work on a song all day and keep it in my head it is usually better. Caught one today speaking of.
THass
March 17, 2020 @ 11:42 pm
As far as Moonpies go, I’m not surprised.. while I love them and their shows, they’re a little too “niche” (I mean, while recording an album at Abbey Road and using the London Symphony is incredibly ballsy and badass and I have the utmost respect for them, it’s not the type of thing that makes mass market appeal). Mike’s in his… late 30s/early 40s? And not exactly the looks of a frontman. I wish this wasn’t the case because I genuinely love what the Moonpies do, but they’re not the horse to hitch your ride on from a marketing perspective. Again, I love the band, I’ve seen them a number of times and have brought them road food and road gifts, I know how much it sucks spending most of the year away from the people who love and care about you trying to chase something that can barely pay the bills.
For Domino, he’s struggled with his own demons for a long time, I just hope he’s getting the help he needs at this time. This 4-8 weeks of isolation is going to be hell for a lot of people who suffer from mental health issues, this is going to hurt a lot more than the bottom line for a lot of songwriters.
Wes
March 16, 2020 @ 11:39 am
Not to mention His live act was fairly pedestrian in my opinion. You couldn’t hardly understand his voice live unless you knew every word already it sounded like garbled gibberish. Not a great voice for crowded dance halls is my conclusion. One hell of a writer however. Hopefully we see song credits with his name mentioned in the future.
TXMUSICJIM
March 16, 2020 @ 11:44 am
Damn Shame fine songwriting and an engaging performer especially solo acoustic in a listening room environment. God Bless Dalton on this next leg of his journey.
Matsfan/Jatsfan
March 16, 2020 @ 11:47 am
I know this is off the Dalton Domino topic but just yesterday I learned that Dan Baird(Georgia Satellites, Yayhoos, Dan Baird and Homemade Sin among others) also tapped out. I most recently saw him last summer and he was fantastic. Warner Hodges of Jason & the Scorchers was on lead guitar and ripped as great as he did 35 years ago. Baird made the announcement on his web site in November but I just came across it. Looks like he still might release some music but no more touring. Not a country dude, but good ol’ American rock n’ roll.
sbach66
March 16, 2020 @ 4:46 pm
I seem to remember reading something somewhere that he’s been battling health issues for a while. I’m guessing that they finally made it too tough to continue on with his music career.
JF
March 16, 2020 @ 11:48 am
Met him when he was opening West Coast dates for Wade and Stoney. Really nice guy. Love his music. “July” is the greatest song no one has ever heard.
Don’t blame him, or any musician, for becoming burned out and disillusioned. Life for most of the musicians we all listen to is incomprehensibly difficult. If you can do anything else, you probably will. Look forward to his return.
Black Boots
March 16, 2020 @ 12:28 pm
When i go to the comments of a random article, it’s pre-liked certain comments before I’ve ever seen them. That’s so strange.
Kevin Smith
March 16, 2020 @ 2:44 pm
Trigs using an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict what comments you will like in advance of you reading them! Fun Huh?! (sarcasm)
Kevin
March 16, 2020 @ 7:26 pm
Me too but it’s only through my Twitter app. It’s so damn weird it pre likes the exact same comments I would like. Makes me think I already been there…
RedDirtCyclone
March 16, 2020 @ 2:59 pm
I enjoyed the heck out of him when I saw an acoustic show at Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio last winter. I can’t say I listen to him much, so maybe it’s people like me that are the problem.
Jayson
March 16, 2020 @ 7:05 pm
Dalton is a hell of a songwriter, and his albums are great. It’s a shame we never had the chance to own them on vinyl. Lightning rod records never really gave him a push, in my opinion. I’ll buy what I can now and hope to hear more from him in the future.
Nicolas De Vos
March 17, 2020 @ 12:29 am
Hi Trigger
Unrelated question/suggestion.
Now in times of COVID-19, most of the tours are canceled which will be a financial blow to the artists.
Some of them are coping by doing livestreams, for instance BJ Barham and Michael Dean Damron are on StageIt. This is a good way a. for them to make a buck and b. for fans to stay busy during these lockdowns.
I would love to see an article, with your business inside knowledge, about all the options floating around for all platforms and artists.
I think that would make a killer article.
Stay safe!
Nicolas
Trigger
March 17, 2020 @ 10:15 am
Hey Nicolas,
I’m probably going to have an article on COVID-19 coming up. But the simple fact is there is no platform or solution to this crisis for the music industry. An artist like BJ Barham can do a live stream to help connect with fans, but even if a performer is asking an admission price or is passing around a virtual tip jar, they’re earning pennies on the dollar from what they would on the road. Some artists don’t have enough of a fan base to even earn those pennies from an online presentation. Also, this does nothing for the side players in American Aquarium, for example. It does nothing for the venues they would have played, the sound engineer, the doorman, the bartender, the festivals that are also struggling that have been cancelled, or postponed. It does nothing for their booking agency, or their label.
People don’t need for me to tell them that buying merch directly and other things to support independent artists is important at this time. If you read Saving Country Music, you already know this. But there is no virtual solution to this problem. In fact I’m very concerned that this crisis might result in a new normal where certain artists may forgo touring for these streaming concerts, or that we’re okay with the cancelling of public gatherings at the mere hint of a public health concern. Nothing replaces live performance and being there in person. I don’t want to downplay the efforts by people to provide these live streaming performances. But in the greater scheme of things, it’s just a very marginal way to distract us from the real problems the music industry and artists are facing at this time.
Nicolas De Vos
March 17, 2020 @ 11:12 am
Hi Trigger,
I tend to agree and not agree with you. Luckily some people can still do that.
I truly believe, and that might prove to be a wrong assessment in the future, that going to shows, seeing the artist live, interacting with fans, etc., will still prove to be a viable way of income when things get back to normal. And I truly hope that this corona pandemic will be solved sooner than later, without changing the way we enjoy music indefinitely. So, I guess I disagree with your fear that online streaming will transplant actual touring.
Also, I think I might disagree with “cancelling of public gatherings at the mere hint of a public health concern”. I agree wholeheartedly IF this was a mere hint. I’m from Europe, and I used to be on your side of that idea. I told myself that this was ridiculous for a very, very long time. We’re on lock down in Belgium now. We had 2500 deaths so far in Italy, for a disease that has no cure, vaccine or antibodies. We just started getting towards the peak, expect more deaths and infections the next week. Worst thing is, the US is two weeks behind us… you will get there too. And it’s not even the point if you believe that the disease is that bad or not. The government WILL follow the same path as we did. So whatever this COVID-19 is, you will have government mandated effects which will hurt every part of the economy. And don’t believe the hype that this will be over in two weeks.
So, you might wonder, where do I agree… well I definitely see the issues with all the band members, technicians, doormen, venues, etc. But I doubt there is much to be done for them, except for an all out financial support for those people. But to be honest, there’s too many businesses outside of just music suffering from this situation to justify a injection of money to just the music business.
I guess my angle is this. If you are an artist, and you are in a situation where you cannot perform (whether you believe the decisions of the government are right or not, or if the virus warrants these decisions, is at this point mute), what can you do.
There is a possibility to do full band shows virtually, and split the money evenly (even though it’s nowhere near the money of a regular real show). But I guess in most cases, not everyone is willing to put up a show for pennies and it might actually end up costing you more than you earn (location, movement, set up, etc.). Also, an actual lock down might even prevent you from going outside. The only thing that remains is doing house shows and broadcasting them online.
This is probably where we disagree the most. In times where people get bored and are stuck inside their house, they either will have time to focus on the things they love or will need a diversion during trying times where they lose their original routine. If you are an artist, you CAN cash in on this (long term wise).
Artists under the radar, will have the chance to reach a new fan base as those people have more time to explore the depths of the genre they like. Artist who already have a big fan base, can reconnect with them or get closer by giving people the chance to see them (although virtually) in a more private setting.
You might wonder, this still does not help the people backing those front men up. Well, it does. I strongly believe in a month or two, we will start getting back to normal (in the music world, God knows what will happen with all the crashed stock markets). The virtual shows, the focus on online promotion (if done right), will create more followers of a band/artist during this time of mandatory “boredom”. This is good news as well (eventually) for the band members and everyone involved. Yes, they will have to ride this out for a while (and venues and people working for venues don’t get any bonus from this at all, I realise). But, as you said, those artists asking for tickets/tips online also don’t make a great deal of money.
So the conclusion for me at least… Whether it is because the artists/bands who continue performing online do it because they are truly musicians that need to keep doing what they’re doing, for the money (doubt it) or because they want to keep spreading the word of their craft; I strongly believe it is worth our time as fans to support it, and help spread to word. And when things get back to normal, I hope they will have new fans and bigger venues to play it, so they can get back on their feet and keep making the music we all love so much. So I wouldn’t mind a rundown of all the possibilities for all the people stuck inside, to keep themselves busy while still supporting and sharing the music.
PS – I get your annoyance and mistrust for online streaming. You love real performances and supporting the artist/band, so do I. That’s a valid article by itself, and needs to be addressed. I just don’t think now is the right time, since we are in a situation where we cannot.
Long, very long… two cents.
Trigger
March 17, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
Nicolas,
First off, my opinions about the Coronavirus were misunderstood by many. I do not have a problem taking the drastic measures to reduce the spread of the virus we’ve been seeing. I had a problem with the way the City of Austin did it. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but foresight on the matter is still relying on worst case scenarios that are unlikely to come true. We’re just going to have to see where this whole thing ends up to make a fair assessment of it.
Streaming concert companies and services have been around for years. It’s really cool for some events, like awards shows people can’t be at, Austin City Limits tapings, and other special events. But I hate the idea of streaming concerts in general. I actually did this and had a whole apparatus on Saving Country Music for doing this for a while, so I have intimate first hand experience with it. I thought it was a cool idea, but it just doesn’t replace the live experience. But I can definitely see this idea getting a greater foothold during this crisis, and causing a permanent change in how we interface with live music in the future. Will there be some music performer that uses this opportunity to make it big? My guess there will be. And I think it’s cool artists are doing their nightly streaming shows. But to me, it’s like trying to listen to your favorite album on earbuds. It’s more frustrating that fulfilling for me. I’d rather engage in something meant for the streaming medium like a movie.
I think the best thing we can all do at the moment to support music is to stay home, wait for this thing to subside, and save our live entertainment dollars for when tours and festivals get back up and running.
Musiccityman
March 17, 2020 @ 9:47 am
This guy has great taste in names. And terrible taste in hats.
KT
March 17, 2020 @ 10:16 am
He posted on instagram after his “that’s all folks” post that this article is referring to and said he’s postponing house shows to the future because of COVID.. So… he’s not done?
“I Still See You” is my freaking jam. What a song. Don’t leave forever Dalton!!
Trigger
March 17, 2020 @ 10:20 am
I don’t really think that’s a factor in this. Due to the litigious nature of our society, everyone is being tasked by legal departments to post public statements addressing COVID-19. Banks, insurance companies, grocery stores, everyone is having to release statements just in case someone chooses to sue. The statement was an image, not written in text. Again, I don’t think Dalton is done myself. But that was a missive pushed out by his management just in case someone chooses to sue.
kapam
March 18, 2020 @ 7:27 pm
I’m truly heartbroken to think that Dalton Domino could be retreating from the music scene. I guess I can’t be too surprised, in this age of pop divas and electronica, dominating mainstream music as they do nowadays. From the first time I heard of him on SCM, I have been a massive fan. To me, his stress-worn lyrics and beautiful soundscapes have an almost “Springsteen-esque” vibe about them. If he had arrived in the late 80’s or early 90’s I feel sure he would’ve been a superstar. I’m just glad the albums he’s leaving behind are something I can hang onto.
Brian
March 26, 2020 @ 11:16 am
Dalton just clarified a little bit ago on his Facebook he’s just taking a break from the road this year. And has a new album ready.
Zach
February 25, 2022 @ 12:43 pm
He knows he’s been posing as a gritty country boy and you can only pretend for so long.