NYC singer-songwriter Jessie Kilguss presents her latest single 'Howard Johnson's', previewing her sixth album 'They Have A Howard Johnson's There', which was engineered, produced, mixed and mastered by Charlie Nieland (Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Blondie, Scissor Sisters) at Saturation Point Studios in Brooklyn.
For this single, Kilguss is accompanied by John Kengla (David Byrne, Ben Kweller, Serena Ryder) on guitar, bass and keys, Rob Heath (Madison Square Gardeners, Julia Nunes) on drums and percussion, and Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Gramercy Arms, Lloyd Cole) and Charlie Nieland on backing vocals. Other tracks on this album features Andrea Longato (Duncan Shiek, Jeremy Jordan, Alphonso Ribeiro), guitarist Kirk Schoenherr (Tegan and Sara, Elle King, Chet Faker), and Rembert Block (Rembert and the Basic Goodness).
"This song originated from some writing I did in a poetry workshop with performance artist Karen Finley. I had seen her read at the fantastic On The Verge Festival, which celebrates women artists of all disciplines at the Wild Project, produced and curated by my friend Heather Litteer. I was drawn to Karen's writing and saw a post of hers on Instagram advertising an online poetry workshop inspired by the movie 'Dog Day Afternoon', as well as dogs in general. I had never taken a poetry workshop before but I am a huge dog lover and thought "what the hell". I like pushing myself out of my comfort zone," says Jessie Kilguss.
"In the movie, Al Pacino is speaking with his lover about what he’ll do to prove his love and he says something like “I’ll charter a plane to Algeria. They have a Howard Johnson’s there”. It stood out to me because it was so ridiculous and also, my father Howard had passed away a month earlier. So the song is a tribute to my father, Howard Kilguss, and is also inspired by 'Dog Day Afternoon'. My father had a deep connection with dogs, so I thought it was even more appropriate to write this song for him".
This offering follows her single 'Too Far From Texas' (a collab with Jim Andralis), 'You're the One' and 'Wuthering Heights'. Kilguss' 2022 album 'What Do Whales Dream About at Night?' LP features drummer Brian Griffin (Patti Smith, Brandi Carlisle, Lana Del Rey), bassist Whynot Jansveld (The Wallflowers, Butch Walker, Sara Bareilles), composer-producer Naren Rauch, and Nathan Schram (Bjork, David Crosby, David Byrne), with whom Kilguss ran the non-profit organization Musicambia.
A former actress, whose acting highlights include 'The Crucible' (with Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder) and the stage production 'As You Like It' (directed by Royal Shakespeare Company founder Sir Peter Hall), Kilguss made songwriting her focus after working with musical heroes Marianne Faithfull and Mary Margaret O'Hara in the Tom Waits / William Burroughs musical 'The Black Rider'.
Apart from writing and performing her own music, Kilguss sings with the Loser’s Lounge, Gramercy Arms, Jim Andralis and the Syntonics and Benjamin Cartel. She's also performed at the Sundance Film Festival and with Freddie Stevenson, touring as support for The Waterboys' European tour. In June 2025, Kilguss was an artist in residence at Fish Factory Creative Center in Stodvarfjordur, Iceland where she wrote 9 new songs.
'Howard Johnson's' is out now, available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp with the full album to follow on November 14th. Kilguss performs next on September 23rd at New York's 11th Street Bar, together with Rembert Block and Erica Smith. On November 5, Kilguss' Record Release Show is at Berlin Under A, with Life in a Blender and Charlie Nieland, who marks the release of his 'Stories From The Borderlines' album.
ALBUM CREDITS
All songs written by Jessie Kilguss, except 'Jesus Was a Crossmaker' (written by Judee Sill)
Produced, engineered, mixed & mastered by Charlie Nieland at Saturation Point Studios, Brooklyn
Jessie Kilguss - vocals, arrangement
John Kengla – guitar, bass, keys on Howard Johnson’s, Fool’s Fight, Lost Causes, Jesus Was a Cross Maker
Kirk Schoenherr – guitar and keys on Chasing Down a Ghost and St Teresa in Ecstasy
Andrea Longato – guitar on St Teresa in Ecstasy
Rob Heath – Drums and percussion
Rembert Block – Backing vocals on Fool’s Fight, Chasing Down a Ghost and Lost Causes
Dave Derby - Backing vocals on Howard Johnson’s
Charlie Nieland – bass, violin bow guitar and keys on St Teresa in Ecstasy, Fool's Fight and Lost Causes, backing vocals on Howard Johnson’s
Single cover photo by Shervin Lainez
Graphic design by Scott MX Turner
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
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