A Reignited Flame

By Bob Ruggiero
Savannah, Georgia City Paper
Savannah, Georgia - April, 1995

Copyright 1995-2004 The Savannah City Paper

Buried in the liner notes to Jason and the Scorchers’ first record in five years, A Blazing Grace (Mammoth), there’s a Bible verse that singer Jason Ringenberg felt was particularly appropriate to the band’s own resurrection. Psalm 126:6 reads “He who goes out weeping/carrying seed to sow/Will return with songs of joy/carrying sheaves with him.”

“I was reading the Bible one day and Jeff [Johnson, the bassist] called up and said we needed some sort of thing or poem to put at the end of the record package, kind of to sum up what’s happened to the band,” the genial Ringenberg says in a telephone interview. “And I just looked at the page and thought ‘here it is!’”

But mixing the sacred and the profane is nothing new to this act and their signature country/rock/punk style that made them critical faves in the mid-’80’s with records like Lost and Found, Fervor and Still Standing. But when living out their songs in real life and personal problems got in the way of the music, the band broke up acrimoniously after 1989’s Thunder and Fire. Most thought it was the end of the band for good.

Then, in 1993 at the behest of Johnson, the band slowly came back - first playing some tentative road shows - and then once the ice had melted, returning to the studio with the original lineup of Ringenberg, Johnson, Warner E. Hodges (guitar) and Perry Baggs (drums).

“[The animosity] is pretty much gone now, but the first shows were absolute nightmares,” Ringenberg admits. “I had pretty much been in the country world [since the breakup], and now I was with this intense, loud chemistry...it was tough for me. I had given up on the Scorchers, and then to have it back...”

Of A Blazing Grace and standout tracks like “Cry By Night Operator,” “200 Proof Lovin’,” “One More Day of Weekend,” and “American Legion Party,” he says “Our lives have been in so much turmoil since the last record - this one is more personal than anything we’ve done in a long time. I mean, “Shadow of Night” is about my divorce!” He then pauses for reflection, probably running the not-too-kind lyrics through his mind. “I wonder what my ex-wife thinks of that?”

Clearly recharged and revitalized, Ringenberg is quick to say what the Scorchers do for his songs that no other backup combo could do. “It’s a total band chemistry once it’s past the writing stage. The Scorchers bring an energy and fire to the songs that studio guys can’t. And today, it’s more of a group effort [in writing] anyway.”

Fans at Scorchers shows often run the gamut from guys in cowboy hats to the earring-in-the-nose crowd, due in no small part to the pioneering blend of country and rock that, while now common, was not so some years back. And if your idea of “country rock” is limited to the mellow musings of the Eagles - then the Scorchers are much better described as “rock country.”

The reunion record/tour has both rekindled interest in the band among older fans and introduced a new base to their sound. This interview was another in a string scheduled for Jason this day, and one wondered if he was burnt out talking to reporters yet.

“There’s a lot worse fates!” he answers with a laugh. “It’s a lot better than showing up for a concert and saying, ‘God, is anybody here?’”

Caption: Jason and the Scorchers will perform a free show in City Market on Friday, April 28th at 10 p.m. as part of “Spring Fling ‘95” sponsored by Cross Roads and Malone’s.

© 1995-2004 — The Savannah City Paper — All Rights Reserved