DON'T MISS FREE JASON;
SCORCHERS PART OF FRIDAY NIGHT'S 'WESTERN BEAT' TAPING AT EXIT/IN
By PETER COOPER Staff Writer; The Tennessean March 23, 2000, Thursday

Copyright 2000 The Tennessean

Since the early 1980s, Jason & The Scorchers have been Nashville's own Sex Pistols, setting up and mowing down the powers that be in a whirl of motion and noise. The group began as a loud, rude affront to a Music City then dominated by middle-of-the-road acts Anne Murray and Kenny Rogers.

The country-goes-punk approach might have worn thin were it not for an unbroken string of original songs that work with or without the amplified bluster. It's no news that lead singer Jason Ringenberg is Nashville's most electrifying live performer, but his most enduring attribute songwriting is also his most criminally overlooked.

Some lyrical nuances may be lost inside The Scorchers' wall of sound at Friday night's taping for Country Music Television's Western Beat With Billy Block show. Jason & The Scorchers' last television appearance was perhaps the loudest performance in the history of Conan O'Brien's late-night show on NBC.

The Exit/In taping is free, and though the band will not play a full-length set, any chance to catch one of the Scorchers' increasingly rare hometown gigs is not to be missed.

Look at the accompanying story for the full outline of the Block tapings. But one thing that's for sure, at least from this critic's viewpoint, the Friday show is a do-not-miss event.

It all begins at 6 p.m. with Lee Roy Parnell, The Bum Steers and Jon Randall. Jason and the guys take the stage at 9:30 p.m. Also playing during that late segment is bluesy rock singer-songwriter Jamie Hartford.

The Exit/In is at 2208 Elliston Place. Call 321-4400 for more information.

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