Mike Blur's Interview with Jason Ringenberg, December 18, 1999
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KJHK, Lawrence, Kansas 8 PM. 25 minutes.

Copyright 1999-2001 KJHK

Mike: Jason? Can you hear me over the phone?
Jason: I can hear you, Mike!
Mike: Oh, okay. I initially tried to do it over the air, but I guess it doesn't work that way, so I just picked up the receiver. So, the song I just played was "I Can't Help Myself."
Jason: Yeah, that'll wake you up in the morning!
Mike: Yeah! Off your first EP, "Fervor," released in what - 1982 or '83?
Jason: 1983, that was released.
Mike: Okay. Initially on the Praxis label, right?
Jason: That's correct.
Mike: And, one of the personal details about the Fervor EP that intrigues me is that you thanked KJHK on the record itself.
Jason: That's right. KJHK gave us our first number one record in the entire world, on Reckless Country Soul, which was our first little EP we had out, in 1982. And that's why we thanked it.
Mike: Oh, awesome.
Jason: It always was a neat place. Whenever we played Lawrence, we'd stop by the station, and talk to whoever was around. It was great fun.
Mike: And what are your memories of Lawrence, as far as the early days? Oh, let's say, about 1982, '83, or '84? Playing Off the Wall Hall?
Jason: Well, yeah, I mean, the first road trip that Jason and the Nashville Scorchers ever did was going to Lawrence, Kansas. We played Lexington, and then we drove out to Lawrence. Lexington, Kentucky, and then we drove over to Lawrence. Just a little bit of a drive there!
(Laughs.)
Mike: Yeah.
Jason: In those days, that wasn't so bad. But, yeah, it was our first road trip. It was February of 1982.
Mike: Yeah, the actual date was February 12th. You actually played Friday and Saturday night here at Off the Wall Hall. And that was the harbinger, the beginning of a lot of Friday and Saturday night dates here in Lawrence. Either that, or you would do a Lawrence/Kansas City doubleheader. And started steadily building up a following. I was there for the first show, there in February of 1982. I didn't know who you guys were. I just went down there to see live music. And you guys
just blew me away.
Jason: Well, I remember that night. I mean, we've done, how many thousand shows since then, but I really do remember that first night in Lawrence. There was just a real - I was really into the Civil War, and history, at the time. And you know the John Brown history, of course. And the "Bleeding Kansas," and all that. So, going to Lawrence was so intense for me, you know. And I was really over the top about it. Then, when we went to this little club, and there were these people that really cared about music, and stuff, and just checking out this new band from Nashville. It was a very exciting night.
Mike: Yeah, I never thought about that. Because Lawrence is, like, the heart of "Bleeding Kansas" from the 1860's. We had lots of battles, as far as, you know, pre-Civil War, and all that.
Jason: Yeah.
Mike: Quantrill's raid, and all that. I never really took that into account, and I never realized that until just now. That's very interesting.
Jason: Oh, yeah. It's a cool place, and it's always...always been cool in that respect. But, also, more so than anything, the fact that it's a great music town. And, at that time - I mean, I don't know what it is like now, because I haven't been there in a long time. But at the time in 1981, '82, '83, 1980 - it was, I mean, it was really a cool new place. You had, you know, Frank's band - what was Frank's last name?
Mike: Frank Luce?
Jason: Frank, yeah, Frank Luce's band -
Mike: Get Smart?
Jason: Get Smart was out of there. And he was bringing, you know, a real awareness of that area to other bands that were touring. And it was just a cool place. Had great little record stores, and of course KJHK was one of the coolest radio stations on the planet, at that time. It was breaking bands like X, and REM, and Jason and the Nashville Scorchers, and Husker Du, and people like that.
Mike: Mm-hmm.
Jason: Replacements. And it was one of those leading - it was one of the stations that was playing all those bands when no one else was yet.
Mike: Yeah. And KJHK was also the first radio station to break a band like the Replacements -
Jason: Yes.
Mike: - who later went on to international fame and notoriety. I remember when I saw the Replacements here. They said, "Oh, this is the farthest we've been. We've been to Chicago, but we've never been anywhere else." So...and, I think that was the same way with the Scorchers, too, when they first played in 1982. It's just amazing for me that, it's like, you guys - your first gig was, what, New Year's Eve 1981?
Jason: Yes. It depends on how you call the first gig. We did - I had a band which was called Jason and the Nashville Scorchers in the summer of '81. But it wasn't any of the same guys that later became the band. The first band with Perry on drums, which we over the years kind of considered the first real show, was New Year's Eve 1981.
Mike: 1981/1982.
Jason: Right.
Mike: And then, was it before then or right after that when you put out the "Reckless Country Soul" EP?
Jason: Right after that.
Mike: And then you hit the road, right?
Jason: Yes, that's right.
Mike: That was almost unheard of for bands, even back in that era, because - most bands, like Lawrence bands, would play here for a couple of years, and then they would stake out on Midwestern tours, or anything like that. Was that the vision that you had with the Scorchers-?
Jason: Yeah, we were absolutely fearless, and had absolute belief in what we were doing. And we were willing to go drive, like in the case of Lawrence, 600 miles to do a show and make a hundred dollars. (Laughs, so does Mike.) And that's the whole band, I'm saying. That's before expenses, so you can imagine what that was. But, I mean, we would just - I mean, I had my old Ford van, and as long as we had enough money for a tank or two of gas, we'd play literally anywhere in the country. And sleep on floors, and eat baloney sandwiches. And that's how we did it. And we were - you know, it was - the band's strength was as a live band. And so we were able to go into these places, and really make some noise, and really get some excitement happening around the band. And it really paid off. I mean, we were able to - before we ever had even a major record out, we already had a following all across the country.
Mike: Yeah. I think the key there was, like, just the constant touring. Because, the first show here in Lawrence was to fifty people. As Bullet Magazine said - the local fanzine - Bullet said: "Jason and the Nashville Scorchers played here to fifty friendly folks here at Off the Wall Hall." And the next show, you probably played to a hundred, then a hundred fifty after that. And, next thing you knew, a year or two down the road, you were selling out the Opera House to five or six hundred people.
Jason: Yeah, yeah. I remember the first Opera House show, when we played - when we released Fervor, the summer of '83, or so. That was the one that really, I think, put us over the top. Or maybe that was 84, I don't remember.
Mike: Absolutely.
Jason: But, that was the show that really cemented things for us.
Mike: Yes. And that's what - I just thought that; I didn't know at the time what your future was, or anything, and neither did you. But I thought that, I saw - I was witnessing the next REM, or whatever. And things played out a different direction, but I don't regret any of the early shows that you did - and all the enthusiasm, and the over-the-top energy that just went on at those shows at Off the Wall Hall.
Jason: Yeah, that was something I'll never forget, you're - I have to concur with you on that. And you're talking to a man who's played all over the world. And I still just have these incredible memories of those Lawrence shows. I think it peaked probably for us on that Opera House show, when we released Fervor. I think that was the real high point. That's when the band was at its - just on the verge of getting where we were to be later, you know, later on down the road. Years later, but it was most intense there in Lawrence.
Mike: Yeah, because a couple of years down the line - about '86 or so, you guys did play Polk Auditorium -
Jason: I believe so.
Mike: - which is a 2,000 seat venue here in Lawrence. Which no longer exists - it burned down.
Jason: Yeah.
Mike: Ironically, it burned down shortly after you guys played there.
Jason: Yeah, well, we don't call it the Scorchers for nothing! (Laughs.)
Mike: (Laughs.)
Jason: [Actually, it's] everywhere we go! We start these fires, and their places burn down. We can't play there any more, and our career goes to pot!
Mike: Yeah! And, the reason why I'm talking to you, also, is because you have a concert scheduled in Nashville for New Year's Eve.
Jason: That's correct.
Mike: It just came out about a month ago, around Thanksgiving time, I think, when I first heard about it.
Jason: Yeah, it was just - we said we weren't going to play, because we're just kind of old, and crotchety, and don't want to go out and take chances on [changing] the millenium! (Chuckling.) But the Exit/In just kept pestering us about it, and finally just kept twisting our arms with lots of greenbacks, so (Laughing)... and that's, really, frankly, what the reason why we said we'd do it.
Mike: Hey, I mean, if it works for the Sex Pistols.
Jason: You know, I mean, it was so much money involved, we had to do it. Because we just couldn't turn it down. But after we booked the show, then, and started seeing the sort of reaction in people that we were going to do this, all of a sudden I was really glad that we did it, irrespective of the money. 'Cause I think it's going to be a really special night.
Mike: Oh, yes. And I know it's going to be, because I'm going to be there myself. I'm flying down to Nashville on that morning - New Year's Eve morning. And I'll be there, in the flesh, at the Exit/In.
Jason: Excellent.
Mike: Just like I was there back in May, for Dancing in the District.
Jason: Yeah, that's right.
Mike: I got down there, in Nashville, Tennessee. First time I saw you guys in fifteen years.
Jason: Oh, boy.
Mike: Since the Opera House of 1984.
Jason: Well, that's funny, because we - once the band started getting on the radio, and on MTV and stuff, we quit playing Lawrence. We started playing Kansas City instead. And we kept bypassing Lawrence, which was a mistake. We hit it a few times later on, after the fire burned down, so to speak. But we really should have kept playing Lawrence. I think that was a big mistake we made.
Mike: Mm-hmm. Well, I won't comment on that comment any way or the other. But...oh, about the Exit/In show - how are rehearsals going for it?
Jason: Ah, well, we rehearse - we're rehearsing as much for this show as we always have rehearsed for all the shows we've ever done. And that's next to nothing. (Laughs.) We don't rehearse, we never have. I mean, I can remember - well, in twenty years, I can remember all our
rehearsals that we've done! (Laughs.) I can remember the two in '86, and the one in '89, and the couple when we got back together in '95. Yeah, we just don't believe in rehearsing, other than to work up songs. We never practice - ever practice.
Mike: Yeah, the amazing thing, though, about Jason and the Scorchers is that - you have a lot of fans here, but many of the fans here in Lawrence don't know that you guys are still around.
Jason: (Chuckling.) Yeah.
Mike: Or either that, or they just recently realized. Because I've been a big promulgator of the Scorchers over the air on these KJHK free-form shifts. For your information, Jason, KJHK free-form is when KJHK alumni such as myself come back during the semester breaks and take over the airwaves.
Jason: That's great. It's nice to show us old folks are still kicking, you know? We haven't been put out to pasture quite yet.
Mike: And - I told my friends the story of how you guys got back together, oh, in about 1992, or something...
Jason: Mm-hmm.
Mike: ...with the original four members. 'Cause people ask me: "Is it still Jason? Is it still Warner?" And I go, "yes," you know. And for a while there, for the first few years, it was the original four members back together -
Jason: That's right.
Mike: - from about '92 until '96, or so.
Jason: Right.
Mike: Until Jeff decided to - Jeff the bass player decided to...stay home?
Jason: Right, right.
Mike: And you recruited a new bass player then, and...
Jason: Right. Yeah, we decided to keep on going. I mean, it was a hard decision, because there was a chemistry that that band had. It was undeniable. And more than a chemistry, there was a history. You know, just this heritage that we had among the four of us. But, we just felt like we still wanted to keep playing. And so, with Jeff's blessing, we got another bass player. He actually suggested that we do that, so we did it. And now I'm glad. 'Cause we've now been playing - since then, that's been three years ago. (Chuckles.) So, going on four years ago now, that Jeff left. So it's almost like we've had almost another career here, in the last...
Mike: Because in the last three or four years, you've not only put out a new CD, "Clear Impetuous Morning," on Mammoth Records. And also a live CD -
Jason: Right, right.
Mike: - "Midnight Roads and Stages Seen," which is still available here in local record shops here in Lawrence.
Jason: Yeah, that's a good introduction to the band. If you've never heard the band, I think the live album. 'Cause it's got all those songs, all our best songs, from twenty years.
Mike: Mm-hmm. "Broken Whiskey Glass," "Harvest Moon."
Jason: Just all of them in one spot, you know.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah, I do agree with you, it's a good starting-off point. Because, you know, if somebody went off the street and bought "A Blazing Grace," or something, they might dig it, but they won't know the history of the band -
Jason: Right.
Mike: - from that record. So, do you have any tricks up your sleeve for this coming New Year's Eve gig?
Jason: I haven't given much thought as to what we're going to do yet, but...we tend to, our shows lately, for the last year or so, have been pretty free-form. We just kind of get up on stage and play whatever we want, so...I would imagine we'll probably do the same thing.
Mike: Yeah, it's amazing you use the word "free-form," because we're talking on free-form KJHK right now! (Laughs.)
Jason: That's right. Yeah, we started - we dropped - when Kenny came on, into the band, we just started playing not even using show lists. We'd just walk on stage, and I'd just holler out the songs as we go. Kind of like a quarterback doing audibles.
Mike: Mm-hmm.
Jason: It makes it a little more exciting for us. 'Cause we've - frankly, we've played "White Lies" quite a few times now! (Laughs.) Doing that song isn't, isn't - the buzz you get from it is not doing the song, it's being able to mix it up, and things like that. And pull it out where you want to pull it out.
Mike: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and...I can say this because I'm a fan of your band. I've been a fan of your band for almost eighteen years now, since - my entire adult life, you know. You guys are the best live band I have ever seen. And you may or may not agree with me as far as that's concerned. But - you got to know, Jason, that there's something special going on while you guys are playing. Because - I just see the way that you guys act, and react, during a good Jason and the Scorchers show. And the chemistry is just there, you know. It turns a good show into a great show, and it just sets people on fire.
Jason: Well, thank you, Mike. I mean, that's what we're trying to do, anyway. That's what we go on stage to accomplish. And I think usually we can. It depends - it all depends on the crowd, usually. If we have an audience that really wants to accomplish the same thing we want to accomplish, in terms of really making an exciting energy kind of night, it usually will happen, you know. The only time we have problems - if it's an empty place, and a bunch of people are just stuck in the back drinking beer, not caring, you know. (Laughs.) Then it's a little harder for us.
Mike: Well, as far as like - I've only seen you guys here in Lawrence about a dozen times, and the one time in Nashville back in May. And I've never experienced that type of Jason and the Scorchers show. So, I don't - I know that it probably happens. I don't know what your least favorite place to play would be, if it's maybe somewhere in a remote country or something...
Jason: Well it's...it seems to be...an unpredictable thing, you know. It's a very organic band. You never quite know when that real special one is going to happen. And when we have one of those real special ones, we usually make fans for life - the people who are there. And if it's a good show, we still may be able to do that, if they're into that kind of music we play. But there's those unpredictable ones - I never quite know why it happens. I mean, why did it happen that first night in Lawrence, that launched our career in Lawrence, you know? You just never quite know.
Mike: Because there weren't that many people there.
Jason: No.
Mike: And, it was just a cold winter night; just like it is now - it's pretty cold here in Kansas. I don't know what the weather is like down there in Nashville. (Phone ringing.) We have a phone call on the other line, but I'm going to ignore it for the time being. But...I just don't know, it's just one of those special things. It's like - the music scene back then here in Lawrence, it was like...very underground. These days, it's more - I don't know if "gentrified" is a proper word. But - it's like most towns in the post-Nirvana age of 1991, or so. You had 500 bands that all wanted to get signed to Sub Pop, and stuff. And the Lawrence scene took a turn for the worse there, and it's getting somewhat better, as far as people who are true to their roots, or stuff. But, it was more - back in that day, it was more people who talked to each other.
Jason: Mm-hmm. It was a word of mouth thing.
Mike: Yeah. Instead of having a 100,000 watt commercial radio station like KLZR - promoting large-scale concerts.
Jason: Right.
Mike: Which, actually - I think you remember in the past that KLZR did promote the Scorchers a time or two. You probably won't remember KLZR -
Jason: Oh, no, I remember it well. It was one of my most embarrassing moments in music. It was one of the last - I think the last big show we played - [at Houk, maybe] - or one of the last big shows we played in Lawrence before the eighties ran out. And it was at the height of our radio exposure, and stuff. We had "Golden Ball and Chain" out, I think. And on stage, I thanked KJHK, like I always did, and then I thanked them. And the whole crowd started booing. (Laughs.) I thanked that one radio station - the rock station.
Mike: Ah-ha! Yes. That was actually at the Opera House. And I have a tape of that show, and the whole crowd started booing, and -
Jason: (Laughing.) I knew - "That was a mistake!"
Mike: Yeah, and - but you recovered quickly. You said, "Hey, come on, give them a break. They're at least playing the Scorchers, and that's a step in the positive direction."
Jason: There wasn't much I could say, really, to save us at that point. I consider that one of the most embarrassing moments I ever had. I just shouldn't have said anything, you know! It was great. There probably wasn't a single person in that crowd that ever listened to that commercial station.
Mike: Yeah, and -
Jason: But those guys are up there in the balcony, drinking beer, and hanging out. The people at that station. And the record company guy said, "You should thank them, they're playing your record." I said, "Okay, no big deal." And then everybody started booing! (Laughs.) Oh, what a moment. What a great moment. 'What do you do now, Jason?'
Mike: Yeah, at least it's something to laugh about.
Jason: Oh, yes.
Mike: But, let's go ahead and - I'm thinking about - do you have a few more minutes or so?
Jason: A minute or two more. It's about time to put my daughter to bed, so - should be kind of wrapping it up.
Mike: Okay, right on. Let's go ahead and try to cut a couple of Jason station ID's, then.
Jason: Excellent. This is the first time that I've ever cut an ID actually live on the air, too.
Mike: Oh, okay. Because we do have an ID of Jason and the Scorchers. I played it at the top of the hour. It's like - you're the singing hog farmer for Jason and the Scorchers -
Jason: Boy, that's a great one there.
Mike: Yeah.
Jason: I don't know if I can top that.
Mike: Yeah, so - can you do one for my show - Mike Blur's show, and then one for KJHK in general?
Jason: Okay.
Mike: And - just go for it, Jason.
Jason: All right. Howdy, folks! This is Jason Ringenberg from Jason and the Scorchers. And when I'm in Lawrence, Kansas, chasing the ghost of John Brown, I listen to Mike Blur's show on KJHK, Lawrence, Kansas.
Mike: That's fantastic, Jason. And now how about one for KJHK itself?
Jason: Hey, folks! This is Jason, from Jason and the Scorchers. When I'm out in Kansas, out there chasing some cows, soaking up the vibes on the prairie, looking around, sniffing around for the ghost of Crazy Horse, I listen to KJHK, Lawrence, Kansas.
Mike: Thank you, Jason. And both of those were legal station ID's!
Jason: Well, alrighty, Mike! I guess we'll close off then, and I guess we'll see you in a couple of weeks. Oh, by the way - I have - James Benkard sent me a tape of the show, so you're going to have to bring me a tape of that first - that first show that we did at -
Mike: The Opera House show, definitely I will.
Jason: He just sent me a tape today in the mail.
Mike: And I'm looking forward to meeting you. We've met in the past, before. In the far distant past. Met back when you met you met hundreds and hundreds of people across the United States back in the early eighties.
Jason: Well, I met a few, that's for sure. (Chuckles.)
Mike: And to close out this interview, and I do appreciate you taking the time out to -
Jason: My pleasure, my pleasure.
Mike: - on a balmy Saturday night, so...I'm going to go ahead and play a song off the "Midnight Roads and Stages Seen" live double CD. And it's one of the raveups that you typically play towards the end of the set - "If Money Talks."
Jason: All right. Cool.
Mike: Do you have a story behind the song? How, maybe, when you wrote it, or when you played it?
Jason: Well, Perry, our drummer, wrote that one. He had a tendency to write those really good raveups. Um, right now I'm having Teletubbies stuck in my face, and they're playing. (Background kids noise.) (Chuckling.) My kids are sticking Teletubbies in my face.
Mike: (Chuckling.) It's kind of hard to concentrate.
Jason: It's hard to concentrate when you're having Teletubbies stuck in your face.
Mike: Oh, hey, I almost forgot. I got to ask you one more question before you sign off. The activity that you and Warner have on-stage is very dynamic. And, how many times have you guys run into each other on-stage throughout the years, and have you ever knocked one another out?
Jason: Yeah, I think in the early days we did once or twice, yeah. Maybe a few more times than that.
Mike: Because, especially on the "Midnight Roads" video, Warner almost takes your head off with his guitar one time.
Jason: That was, yeah, that was...happened more than...anything, usually, when he starts doing those spins.
Mike: Right on.
Jason: My kids are just making an absolute mess of this interview. They're sticking Teletubbies in my face here.
Mike: Okay. Well, I better let you go, Jason. It was fun. We're going to go ahead and hear "Money Talks."
Jason: Okay. Mike, it was great talking to you.
Mike: And I'll see you on New Year's Eve, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jason: Okay. And God Bless everyone out in Kansas. Merry Christmas, Happy New Millenium, and keep on rocking, KJHK.
Mike: And, same to you, Jason.
Jason: Bye-bye.

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