Jason and the Scorchers hoping the third time's the charm for fame

By Steve Dollar
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
March 17, 1995, Friday, ALL EDITIONS

Copyright 1995 The Atlanta Constitution

Who: Jason and the Scorchers. With Cowboy Mouth. 8 tonight. $ 13.50. The Roxy, 3110 Roswell Road N.W. 249-6400.

What's the frequency?:

About the third time around the block for these stalwart Nashvillians, one of the premier live acts of the same early-to mid-'80s scene that teemed with bands like the Replacements, the Long Ryders, the Fleshtones, Black Flag and Guadalcanal Diary.

Vocalist Jason Ringenberg could sing as plaintively as a sinner stripped bare
or rage like a hellcat setting the woods on fire. But the band's shotgun wedding
of punk-inspired rave-ups and redneck roots never won the wider reception it might have in an era more slavishly attuned to MTV's "Buzz Bin."

"Blazing" a comeback trail:

Which probably explains why the group has reformed for a new album ("A Blazing Grace") on a new label (North Carolina's Mammoth Records) a couple of years after Ringenberg failed to muster much credence as a solo country act. Musically and lyrically, there's not a lot of distance between '80s Scorchers and '90s Scorchers - save a sadder and no doubt wiser Ringenberg, who got a recharge when he picked up a "best of" release of the band's tunes in 1993.

It's the same band (notably guitarist Warner Hodges, whose readily ripped
chords hold their own against anyone from Steve Earle to the Georgia
Satellites). Even the same John Denver cover (a hootin', hollering "Country
Roads" reappears on the new CD). For all its rowdy reputation, however, it's the
slower tunes - "Where the Bridges Never Burn" and "Somewhere Within" - that ring
truest. This is one group that fervently hopes career redemption is around the
corner.

Recommended recordings: Jason and the Scorchers' best stuff is out of print,
but "A Blazing Grace" (Mammoth) captures the band's reckless fusion of Hank
Williams Sr. and the Ramones as well as anything.

To hear a cut from Jason and the Scorchers' "A Blazing Grace," call Soundline
at 511, enter 8600, then enter access code 394. Three free calls per month.
Additional calls are 50 cents each. See Page A/02 for details.

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