Scorchers News - Spring 1997

Jason and the Scorchers are in the May 1, 1997 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, on page 27.

The article covers the annual Austin, Texas music festival South By Southwest, where the group played at the club Liberty Lunch on March 12th.
On page 27, there is a small picture of singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Ringenberg and guitarist Warner Hodges. There is also the following paragraph of text about the Scorchers:

'Best hairstyle: the gleaming cue-ball cut, garnished with a long pony-tail hanging off-center at the back of the head, sported by singer Jason Ringenberg of the rip-roaring proto-No Depression band Jason and the Scorchers. Ringenberg used to dress like a gold-rush prospector, now he looks like the guy who played guitar in the Plasmatics.'

The shot of Jason and Warner shows Jason smiling and strumming his acoustic guitar while looking at Warner, who is in a half-crouch with his back to the camera while playing his Fender.

The band will be playing in Nashville, Tn. on Thursday, May 1st, at the "Dancing in the District" festival. Showtime is 6:00 PM. They will also be playing in Bristol, Tn. at the Viking Hall Civic Center, at 8:00.

Jason and the Scorchers have a new bass player,
Kenny Ames.

Original Scorcher Jeff Johnson, who was the catalyst behind reuniting the band in 1993, decided to part ways amicably with the Scorchers in January, after they had finished three solid months of touring the US and Europe.
Hodges recently shed some light on the reason for Johnson's departure by saying Jeff "was tired of touring, didn't want to tour no more." Hodges also reported that Johnson was in conflict about his decision because Johnson had played such a large role in getting the band back together. Johnson apparently didn't feel right about leaving the band after he had pushed to make Jason and the Scorchers live again. Hodges also said that Johnson had been considering retiring from the music business for some time.

In 1988, Johnson left the band and was replaced by Ken Fox (bass) and Andy York (guitar) for the 1989 A&M album "Thunder and Fire." The circumstances behind his departure then, however, were completely different. In 1988, the band was struggling on a number of fronts: "Thunder and Fire" would be the band's last album until 1995's "A Blazing Grace" (Mammoth).

In 1997, though, Johnson leaves the band on the heels of a triumphant album and tour. Johnson's last shows with the Scorchers were January 9th, in Greenville, SC, the 10th in Chapel Hill, NC, and the 18th in Birmingham, Alabama at the Zydeco.
Ringenberg went on record by saying that Johnson was being an "absolute prince" during the process of making the transition to a new bassist. Johnson offered to train whomever the Scorchers decided would be the new member of the group
The band decided quickly after hearing of Johnson's decision that they did not want to retire. They are committed to touring in support of their excellent new album "Clear Impetuous Morning." The shape and timing of this tour, however, is unclear at this time. For the present, Jason said that the band was busy "recreating the musical vibe" with their new bass player, Kenny Ames.

To find Ames, the group held a "cattle call" audition in Nashville in March, during which Ringenberg said "player after great player" tried out. What set Ames apart, as Ringenberg said, was his stage presence and energy on stage:
Jason: What drew us to Kenny, and we had; when we did the auditions, we did a 'cattle call' audition, you know. We had player after great player come in; wanted to be in our band. It was really quite inspiring to see how many good players there are in Nashville; and that they wanted to be in our band. It was good for our self-esteem, you know! [Laughs.]

But what drew us to Kenny is that he; his stage, the energy he projects on stage is more like a guitar player or a singer. He's...most bass players are very 'laid-back', in their sort of "stage personas", quote-unquote. Kenny is really aggressive, and really up-front, and really into it, and really high-energy.

On top of that, he's just a brilliant player, but that's what really separated him from the other guys. Because the brilliant players were all day that day. But Kenny was just so much more exciting onstage, and so much fun, you know. He just sparked all of us.