J.D. Whittenburg's self-titled album came out in early May, but his official CD release show is tomorrow. Huh?

Allison V. Smith

J.D. Whittenburg: 'Sometimes a song will pop into my head while I'm mowing the lawn ... I'll think to myself, 'I've never heard this before,' then realize that I'm actually writing it.'

"Sometimes you'll schedule a CD release show and the album doesn't end up being ready because of printing and other issues," the 32-year-old Dallas singer explained in a phone interview this week. "So I just waited, and now that it's ready and out, we can really celebrate it."

He's perfected his brand of straightforward Americana after a decade of performing in Dallas, most notably with the band Trainwreck. That group fizzled out a couple of years ago, so to perform the new solo material live, "I wanted to bring in a few guys that I've never worked with before," he said.

The new band includes Travis Hopper and former Trainwreck bandmate Bruce Johnson on guitar, Eric Grubbs on drums, local blogger Amanda Newman on backing vocals (who knew?) and Josh Warr on bass.

"At first they wanted to completely emulate the album, which is fine, but I encouraged them to play it the way they would play it," Whittenburg said.

Sounds like he works well with others, which makes sense: He's part of an informal Dallas fraternity of singer/songwriters who do gigs together and play on each other's records. It's the closest thing to a "scene" the city has.

Whittenburg says his musical philosophy is to keep melodies simple and lyrics relationship-focused. "I just try to sort of get at life."

Hunter Hauk

Knowing how a songwriter's day-to-day habits can inspire his writing, we asked J.D. Whittenburg to name his five favorite places in Dallas:

JUPITER BOWL: "Travis Hopper and I have been bowling there for years. He wins every time. We drink White Russians made with powdered non-dairy creamer."

GENESIS THRIFT STORE: "I enjoy hunting for 1st edition books and old suitcases."

ELLIOTT'S HARDWARE: "It's like a toy store. I usually walk out with something I need and a couple of things I don't."

GOOD RECORDS: "They have lots of local music and in-store performances that never disappoint."

SONS OF HERMANN HALL: "This is where I would try out new material when I first arrived in Dallas, so it's fitting that my CD release show will be there on Friday."

J.D. Whittenburg plays first on a bill with Johnny Lloyd Rollins, Salim Nourallah and Smile Smile tomorrow night at Sons of Hermann Hall. Show starts at 9 p.m. 3414 Elm St. $10. 214-747-4422. Hear some music at www.myspace.com/jdw.