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Jason and the boys end six-month dry spell By JAY ORR, Staff Writer Copyright 1999 The Tennessean
Sure, vocalist Jason Ringenberg, guitarist Warner Hodges, drummer Perry Baggs and bassist Kenny Ames will be in the spirit of things when they celebrate the new year. But they'll also be marking the 19th anniversary of the debut of the classic Scorchers lineup, with Ringenberg, Hodges, Baggs and former bassist Jeff Johnson. Next year, their 20th anniversary, will be really important for the band, promises guitarist Hodges. "That's a pretty big deal," says Hodges. "Twenty years, for us, is pretty impressive, especially without any real commercial success. I never thought in a million years it would go that long." On New Year's Eve 1980, the group bowed with a performance at K.O. Jams, a little dive in Murfreesboro co-owned by Nashville club veteran Bruce Fitzpatrick, who still oversees things at Exit/In. "It was wild, wild, wild, wild," Hodges recalls of that first night. "Way too much beer and way too much fun. It was just a bunch of racket and a whole lot of fun." The Scorchers would become one of the defining groups of the so-called cow-punk genre of the '80s, blending the honest emotion and quality songwriting of country with the all-out, rocket-fueled, go-for-the-throat musical approach inspired by punk. All four members, in their own ways, established a reputation for playing with uncommon energy and abandon. Ringenberg, especially, pushed himself to the limit every show, climbing on speaker cabinets, billboards, rafters anything he could find and taking his frenzied delivery straight to the audience. Hodges would sling his guitar in wide circles around his neck, swill beers proffered by members of the audience and dangle a cigarette from his lips with as much style as The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards. Meanwhile, Baggs and Johnson locked into a hard, tight groove. Together, the four of them were a wonder to behold. With Ames now ably replacing Johnson, the group last worked together in May. Originally, they had no plans to play this New Year's Eve. Offers came in from clubs out of town, but band members had misgivings about going on the road, what with all the dire Y2K predictions. But then Exit/In called. "Worst-case scenario: home's just right up the road," Hodges reasoned. Exit/In, after all, has been the site of at least four great Scorchers performances: the celebration of the release of their classic debut, Fervor, in the mid '80s; the February 1995 show, their first in Nashville in seven years with Johnson back in the band; and the two live shows in October 1997, released the following year as a live album, Midnight Roads & Stages Seen. Of course, the most legendary local Scorchers show came in the mid '80s, in the parking lot outside the old Cats record store on West End Avenue. When 10 or 12 thousand people showed up, the police had to close down the busy street. Ringenberg rose to the occasion, so to speak, climbing a nearby billboard during his performance. Hodges has no idea what to expect when they go on stage around 11:30 Friday night. Since they've not played in more than six months, the band will be rehearsing this week. "I'm sure we'll do something a little weird, there's so much stuff there to do," Hodges says. "We'll go until the cows come home if the power hangs with it. Usually, shows like this are a lot of fun. We haven't hit a lick in six months and everybody's going to be chomping at the bit." And if the electricity goes out? "We've got a lot of acoustics guitars ," Hodges observes. "Candles and acoustics, maybe we can keep going. Lord only knows." Getting
there
© 1999 -2001 The Tennessean — All Rights Reserved |
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