Nephew of Indians’ owner gets shot at opening for the Eagles on tour

July 6, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

Imagine if in addition to owning the Cleveland Indians, Larry Dolan decided to form his own nationally touring polka band. Not only would he be viewed as an outsider by the “Roll Out the Barrel” crowd, but he would draw plenty of derision by the local media.

That’s exactly what his nephew James Dolan, who owns the New York Knicks and also runs media giant Cablevison, has been doing for more than decade with his band JD & The Straight Shot. However, this is more than just a weekend warrior type of affair for James, who as a child frequently visited family in Northeast Ohio.

“I was a musician well before I was a businessman,” said James, calling from his Madison Square Garden office. “I’ve always loved music and dreamed of being able to compose the kind of music I’m composing now. It’s really been a lifelong love, and I’ve never considered it to be a hobby. I’ve always considered it to be something that if I could ever get my skill level up to the point where I could be professional at it I could pursue it. For me, this is more than weekend warrior stuff. This is real serious.”

In addition to releasing its fourth studio effort last summer, “Midnight Run,” the act has opened for The Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Joe Walsh and the Eagles. In fact, JD & The Straight Shot will be opening for the latter band Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena and July 23 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

James said he really started to take JD & The Straight Shot seriously five years ago when he brought guitarists Marc Copely (B.B. King) and Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Amos Lee) into the fold as band members and songwriters. The outfit also includes keyboardist Brian Mitchell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm), drummer Shawn Pelton (Rod Stewart, Pink, Daryl Hall, Buddy Guy), bassist Zev Katz (Aretha Franklin, Elton John) and violinist Lorenza Ponce (Sheryl Crow, Ben Folds, Bon Jovi).

As for “Midnight Run,” James said the album marks a departure from the group’s blues-rock roots into more of an Americana arena, with acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica and violin.

JD & The Straight Shot will be playing material from all of its albums, as well as a reworked version of Little Feat’s “Let it Roll” and a cover of “White Bird” by somewhat obscure late ‘60s and early ’70s band It’s A Beautiful Day.

“There will be a significant percentage of Eagles fans who know ‘White Bird,’” James said. “You have to be a little older to remember it. It’s timeless in its composition. It’s a very complicated piece and a beautiful song. The solo on it is crazy with intertwining melodies between a violin and a classical guitar.”

Another notable aspect of JD & The Straight Shot is the fact its tune “Can’t Make Tears” is the theme song from AMC’s “Hell on Wheels” series about the post-Civil War America and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Invariably, the series features many rebellious characters, not unlike the cutthroat music industry. When asked which character he enjoys the most, Dolan said, “I like [Elam Ferguson played by rapper-actor] Common. He’s really good in it.”

Perhaps Dolan can relate to the notion of being an outsider trying to fit in.

He quipped, “Something like that.”