Hot new southern sounds; Jason and the Scorchers, Georgia Satellites

By JOHN SWENSON, UPI Pop Writer
U.P.I.
January 9, 1987, Friday, BC cycle

Copyright 1987 U.P.I.

Southern rock was one of the richest American musical developments of the 1970s.

Despite a formularization that made some of the midline bands clones of their more successful counterparts, the Southeast produced a number of great '70s groups - the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Wet Willie and Sea Level among others. The genre had all but disappeared in the '80s. But today, the Southeast once again boasts a number of the most promising new groups on the scene.

The two hottest are Jason and the Scorchers and the Georgia Satellites. The Scorchers are relative veterans who've been around since 1981, although their first major label LP, "Lost and Found," wasn't released until 1985. The Satellites, who just released their debut album last year, are the best new group in the country, period.

Both groups have been on tour recently, and those who heard any of the handful of shows they played together were treated to one of the year's hottest nights of live rock 'n' roll. Like the other great Southern groups, the Scorchers and Satellites combine a wide range of rock influences from roots blues, r&b, rockabilly and country to British rock variations on the same themes.

The Rolling Stones, for example, are a shared influence. "All of us have a soft spot in our hearts for the Stones," says Scorchers guitarist Warren Hodges. "But it's funny, I've never owned a Stones record. I guess the Keith Richards licks are easy and I'd heard all the Chuck Berry riffs which Keith stole and I just stole some from him. It's three chord rock 'n' roll."

"Still Standing," the current Scorchers album, features a blistering cover of the Stones' 1966 rocker "19th Nervous Breakdown." The Satellites counter with a remake of the 1970 Rod Stewart and the Faces classic "Every Picture Tells a Story." Both versions add something to the original while referencing the spirit of abandon that the Stones and Faces epitomized.

The bands' affinities go well beyond musical similarities. The Scorchers have shown unusual support for the Satellites. "They're a good band," says Jason Ringenberg. "They're gonna make it big. They'll be huge by this time next year."

Both bands feature outstanding songwriting. Ringenberg has been highly acclaimed for his tough-edged psychological reactions to contemporary life. Tracks like "Golden Ball and Chain" and "Take Me To Your Promised Land" on "Still Standing" add to Ringenberg's reputation. The Satellites' Dan Baird wrote several outstanding songs for the first Satellites record, including "Nights of Mystery" and "Keep Your Hands to Yourself."

Baird points out that "bands from the South always have to have a great guitar player." The Satellites' Rick Richards fills the bill with some of the most exciting slide guitar playing in years. Hodges is already an acknowledged axe master, and his playing repeatedly kicks "Still Standing" into high gear.

One element all these musicians have in common is that they are looking toward the long run rather than overnight success. "Southern groups may not always be fashionable," says Baird, "but they make records you can still listen to five years later. Remember a few years back when (British singer) Gary Numan was supposed to be the next big thing? Not even the oldies stations play his stuff now."

"Every move we've made," says Hodges, "we tried to make for the big picture. It's not that hard to make one great pop single, but a body of work is different, a nine, 10 song album that's cohesive. That's something else, and we want to do 10 or 12 of those that really hold up so that 10 years after we're gone you can still play the stuff and it still sounds good and still says something. In the process we'll get our just due."

"It's going to be an interesting year," promises Ringenberg. "You've got the Scorchers, the Satellites, Lone Justice, REM, all on tour with new albums out, of course there are probably others I'm forgetting. I think they'll be here 10 years from now. These are the bands that five years ago were in clubs, just starting out in the pizza parlors.

"Those four bands are getting ready to take on Genesis and Boston for radio space," vows Hodges.

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