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A STRIPPED-DOWN SCORCHER TRIES A NEW KIND OF GIG

By JIM McGUINNESS, Special to The Record
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
November 3, 2000, FRIDAY; ALL EDITIONS

As frontman for Jason & the Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg spent the better part of two decades churning out some of the loudest, most punk-oriented country music ever to emanate from Nashville. So more than a few eyebrows rose when word passed that Ringenberg had recorded a solo acoustic album.

The lanky son of an Illinois pig farmer says he hasn't abandoned his roots, he's just digging a little deeper by emphasizing his folk, country, and bluegrass influences. "I've wanted to do an acoustic record for a long time," Ringenberg said in a phone interview. "I grew up with that stuff and I listen to it a lot. I hardly ever listen to rock-and-roll."

Titled "A Pocketful of Soul," the new album recasts Ringenberg the cowpunk firebrand as "folkabilly" troubadour. Blazing electric guitars and a bone-crunching rhythm section are gone, replaced by acoustic guitars, mandolins, fiddles, banjos, and pedal-steel guitars. The result is a sparse sound that provides an appropriate backdrop for Ringenberg's new songs about domestic bliss and his heritage.

To promote the album, Ringenberg is touring alone with just an acoustic guitar, a far cry from his rough-and-rowdy days with the Scorchers. But it suits Ringenberg, who lives on a farm 40 miles outside of Nashville with his wife, Susie, and daughters Addie Rose, 3, and Camille, 4 months (a third daughter, 10-year-old Kelsey, lives with his ex-wife.)

In addition to songs from "A Pocketful of Soul," Ringenberg is augmenting his live sets with bare-bones versions of some of the Scorchers best-known songs. After years of performing them at ear-splitting levels, Ringenberg is enjoying the new life the acoustic setting is providing for the band's compositions. "I'm not the greatest musician in the world," he says, "but I've got a pile of good songs. And good songs lend themselves to interpretation. People seem to like hearing the Scorchers songs stripped down with all the nakedness."

Produced by Nashville underground icon George Bradfute, "A Pocketful of Soul"is dotted with simple songs that honor Ringenberg's wife (the title track), daughter ("For Addie Rose"), and heritage ("Oh Lonesome Prairie"). But it's not without plenty of tension."The Price of Progress"is a fictional tale about a farmer who avenges an intrusive dam-building project. "Under Your Command"is a driving gospel anthem worthy of Ringenberg's punk roots, while a cover of Guadalcanal Diary's "Trail of Tears" harkens back to the Scorchers Eighties heyday.

Perhaps the album's singular highlight is "Last of the Neon Cowboys." Written with Kevin Welch, the song depicts the type of aging country singer who used to populate the honky-tonks around Nashville's Lower Broadway in the early Eighties. "In the ideal sense, I'd like to be that character, because after all he went through he still kept his soul,"Ringenberg says."That's very difficult to do in the Nashville music world. Or in the music world, period."

Ringenberg should know. As leader of the Scorchers, which formed in 1981, disbanded in 1990, and reunited in 1995, he mixed punk-rock vigor and country twang to great critical acclaim. Yet despite loads of positive press, the group, which also included lead guitarist Warner Hodges, bassist Jeff Johnson, and drummer Perry Baggs, failed to connect with radio programmers. The band's legacy is nevertheless heard in the music of groups such as Son Volt, Wilco, and the Jayhawks, all who borrowed mightily from the Scorchers en route to creating the current alternative-country landscape.

"In the early and middle part of the band's life, we were doing music that hadn't been done before," says Ringenberg, who sang and played harmonica and guitar with the group. "That's something you can be proud of all your life."

To facilitate his entry into the world of acoustic music, Ringenberg has released "A Pocketful of Soul" on his new Courageous Chicken label. "I really didn't want to go through the process of playing showcases and trying to get a record contract," Ringenberg says. "I know a lot about the music business after all these years. So I just decided to do it myself and I'm glad that I did. I'm making a lot more money and having a helluva lot more fun."


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News Meet The Scorchers Learn Back to Articles > Look		A STRIPPED-DOWN SCORCHER TRIES A NEW KIND OF GIG By JIM McGUINNESS, Special to The Record The Record (Bergen County, NJ) November 3, 2000, FRIDAY; ALL EDITIONS Copyright 2000 Bergen Record Corp. As frontman for Jason & the Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg spent the better part of two decades churning out some of the loudest, most punk-oriented country music ever to emanate from Nashville. So more than a few eyebrows rose when word passed that Ringenberg had recorded a solo acoustic album. The lanky son of an Illinois pig farmer says he hasn't abandoned his roots, he's just digging a little deeper by emphasizing his folk, country, and bluegrass influences. "I've wanted to do an acoustic record for a long time," Ringenberg said in a phone interview. "I grew up with that stuff and I listen to it a lot. I hardly ever listen to rock-and-roll." Titled "A Pocketful of Soul," the new album recasts Ringenberg the cowpunk firebrand as "folkabilly" troubadour. Blazing electric guitars and a bone-crunching rhythm section are gone, replaced by acoustic guitars, mandolins, fiddles, banjos, and pedal-steel guitars. The result is a sparse sound that provides an appropriate backdrop for Ringenberg's new songs about domestic bliss and his heritage. To promote the album, Ringenberg is touring alone with just an acoustic guitar, a far cry from his rough-and-rowdy days with the Scorchers. But it suits Ringenberg, who lives on a farm 40 miles outside of Nashville with his wife, Susie, and daughters Addie Rose, 3, and Camille, 4 months (a third daughter, 10-year-old Kelsey, lives with his ex-wife.) In addition to songs from "A Pocketful of Soul," Ringenberg is augmenting his live sets with bare-bones versions of some of the Scorchers best-known songs. After years of performing them at ear-splitting levels, Ringenberg is enjoying the new life the acoustic setting is providing for the band's compositions. "I'm not the greatest musician in the world," he says, "but I've got a pile of good songs. And good songs lend themselves to interpretation. People seem to like hearing the Scorchers songs stripped down with all the nakedness." Produced by Nashville underground icon George Bradfute, "A Pocketful of Soul"is dotted with simple songs that honor Ringenberg's wife (the title track), daughter ("For Addie Rose"), and heritage ("Oh Lonesome Prairie"). But it's not without plenty of tension."The Price of Progress"is a fictional tale about a farmer who avenges an intrusive dam-building project. "Under Your Command"is a driving gospel anthem worthy of Ringenberg's punk roots, while a cover of Guadalcanal Diary's "Trail of Tears" harkens back to the Scorchers Eighties heyday. Perhaps the album's singular highlight is "Last of the Neon Cowboys." Written with Kevin Welch, the song depicts the type of aging country singer who used to populate the honky-tonks around Nashville's Lower Broadway in the early Eighties. "In the ideal sense, I'd like to be that character, because after all he went through he still kept his soul,"Ringenberg says."That's very difficult to do in the Nashville music world. Or in the music world, period." Ringenberg should know. As leader of the Scorchers, which formed in 1981, disbanded in 1990, and reunited in 1995, he mixed punk-rock vigor and country twang to great critical acclaim. Yet despite loads of positive press, the group, which also included lead guitarist Warner Hodges, bassist Jeff Johnson, and drummer Perry Baggs, failed to connect with radio programmers. The band's legacy is nevertheless heard in the music of groups such as Son Volt, Wilco, and the Jayhawks, all who borrowed mightily from the Scorchers en route to creating the current alternative-country landscape. "In the early and middle part of the band's life, we were doing music that hadn't been done before," says Ringenberg, who sang and played harmonica and guitar with the group. "That's something you can be proud of all your life." To facilitate his entry into the world of acoustic music, Ringenberg has released "A Pocketful of Soul" on his new Courageous Chicken label. "I really didn't want to go through the process of playing showcases and trying to get a record contract," Ringenberg says. "I know a lot about the music business after all these years. So I just decided to do it myself and I'm glad that I did. I'm making a lot more money and having a helluva lot more fun." © 2000-2001 Bergen Record Corp. — All Rights Reserved


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