Born in Nashville youth revival, Jason, Scorchers still plugged in

By Larry Nager, The Commercial Appeal
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
March 31, 1995, Friday, Final Edition

Copyright 1995 The Commercial Appeal

The early '80s were tough on country music. Sales were deep in the post-"urban cowboy'' slump; synthesizers had put steel guitars on the endangered species list, Things were looking so bad that The New York Times published a front-page country-music obituary.

But just because things were going bad in Nashville didn't mean there was no life left in the music. Some young alternative rockers were catching the fire of the music, listening to the classic sounds of Hank Sr., Merle and Buck and giving them a post-punk spin. Out in California there were the Blasters, Rank & File, Maria McKee & Lone Justice, and a new guy from Ohio calling himself Dwight Yoakam. But only one band had the nerve to take the cow-punk revolution to Music City, U.S.A. - Jason & the Nashville Scorchers.

Not surprisingly, mainstream Nashville wasn't too impressed. But with a 1983 EP, ''Fervor," high on rock critics' lists, the group dropped ''Nashville'' and Jason & the Scorchers became mainstays of the growing alternative rock club circuit. Nashville soon realized that it needed a youth injection and that rock and country could find common ground. The country boom soon followed, as the new traditionalists and a handful of lite-country-rock bands topped the charts.

Meanwhile, the Scorchers kept plugging away on the club circuit, finally breaking up, virtually unnoticed, in 1989. Jason Ringenberg released his solo debut, ''One Foot in the Honky Tonk,'' in 1992, but with a voice more Johnny Rotten than Johnny Cash, Ringenberg wasn't destined to follow his labelmate Garth Brooks to the top of the country charts.

Ringenberg, speaking by telephone, said he never expected to be the next Garth, an assessment shared by Liberty Records head Jimmy Bowen. ''Bowen was like, 'There's no way this is ever gonna work.' He actually told that to my face once.''

But there was still an audience for Jason & the Scorchers, as a 1992 compilation proved. The time seemed right for a reunion, even though, Ringenberg admitted, "We weren't really wild about it at first. I wasn't, certainly. I'd kind of given up on the Scorchers, sort of just accepted the fact that it was over and done.''

Scorcher bassist Jeff Johnson wouldn't take no for an answer, however. ''He was just so persistent,'' Ringenberg recalled. ''He said the atmosphere was right for a return; that we could get along better; that everything would be a lot better this time around."

Jason & the Scorchers reunited and hit the road, including regular Memphis dates at the New Daisy, where the band returns tonight. Earlier this year, Jason & the Scorchers released ''A Blazing Grace'' on Mammoth Records, and Ringenberg now says they're back for good, with a bigger following than ever.

''We still have the same core of fans that have been with us since 'Fervor,'" Ringenberg said. ''But now there's also a younger crowd, like people who may go out and see (Scorcher-influenced bands) the Jayhawks or Uncle Tupelo and people like that, and the Scorchers are kind of like mini-legends to those folks.''

But now that the band's been back a while, Ringenberg says the crowds expect more from Jason & the Scorchers.

''The reunion tour was like, 'Oh, we're so happy you're back. God bless you.' This time it's like, 'OK, you guys are back now for real and you need to show us what you can do.' ''So now we're going out on these stages and really meaning business. The next gig, that's what's in front of our minds, nothing past that.''

WHO: Jason & the Scorchers with Squirrel Pants and House Flies
Where: The New Daisy
When: 8 tonight
PRICE: $ 8
INFORMATION: 525-8981

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