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COWPUNK 'ZINE (United Kingdom) 2004 Talking to cowpunk bands during writing this ‘zine, one band and in particular one individual is mentioned almost without fail by bands talking about their influences and inspirations. That man is JASON RINGENBERG, and he is/was the legendary frontman in the undisputed cowpunk pioneers that are JASON & THE SCORCHERS. The Scorchers legacy is one told so many times I almost feel rude digging it up again, yet for those of you who aren’t familiar with the sounds of Nashville’s best: if there’s one article you pay attention to in this ‘zine, let it be this one. For all the ranting and raving over who’s hot and who should be, one band constantly prove that they’re ahead of the pack, not by miles but by light-years. Formed in Nashville in 1981, an unbelievable 23 years ago, Jason & The Nashville Scorchers were formed when Jason Ringenberg, who had moved to Nashville from his parents’ Illinois hog farm, teamed up with guitarist Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson and Perry Baggs. The band immediately set Nashville alight with their country music played at breakneck speed and with punk rock attitude, a style which the band have always claimed comes naturally. As Jason tells me now “We didn't know the name of what we were creating but we did know it was a heady explosive mix. I did have the intention when I moved to Music City to make a radical punk roots type of outfit- sort of a country Cramps.” The band took in influences as diverse as The Ramones and Johnny Cash (“Jerry Lee Lewis was and still is the biggest influence. He was our Godfather”, says Jason), mixed them all up and spat them out on the stages they destroyed in the early 80’s. Yet it wasn’t all easy starting out, as Jason remembers “I do have to say I get amused when I hear bands today complain about the rough road they travel. When we started out we logged thousands of miles in a 1970 Econoline, doing barn burning shows and earning our fans one at a time. Many of those shows ended in fights and violence. People really did either absolutely love or vehemently hate us.” Yet the time between 1982 and 1985 was The Scorchers’ time. Their debut ‘Reckless Country Soul’ EP is just about as good as cowpunk has ever got – tracks such as their cover of ‘I’m So Lonesome (I Could Cry)’ and ‘Help There’s A Fire’ being just amazing beyond words. Their Praxis released EP ‘Fervor’ (remembered by Jason as “My favourite Jason & The Scorchers record…my favourite song is Harvest Moon”) is often cited as their peak and the best advert for the band, was re-released by EMI, when the band signed with them in 1984, followed by their debut album, 1985’s unbelievable ‘Lost & Found’, which is still considered the band’s best among their fans. Unlike many other bands that come from a ‘DIY’ or ‘working’ musical background, the Scorchers had no hang-ups about signing to the World’s most major major label. “No we knew it was the right thing to do at the time. We wanted to be a world-wide phenomenon and EMI seemed ready to deliver that. In retrospect they did treat us pretty decently”, Jason recalls. This time was obviously exciting for the band, and they have a certain notoriety for having gone a touch off the rails following the release of ‘Lost & Found’. Did the band take all the sudden fame in their stride? “Oh no we took nothing in our stride” remembers Jason. “Those times were like watching a Corvette hit a truckload of chickens.” Some of the stores from those days are amusing now, but at the time it was what was ruining the band, almost beyond repair. As Jason recalls “I can't say I ever remember the others in the band not getting drunk after a show. I think my best memory is when we convinced Perry that a bug that bit him at a party was poison. We told him the hospital told us to just drop him off at a cemetery and leave him there because he was done for. Later that night Jeff stole a tombstone and put it in the van. Perry almost fainted.” Touring the world, which involved trips to Europe, Japan and Australia as well as numerous US tours, the Scorchers were unintentionally influencing a whole generation who would go on to form bands of genres such as cowpunk (Nine Pound Hammer), roots-rock (The Legendary ShackShakers – one of Jason’s favourite bands of the moment), as well as bands of genres completely unrelated to country music. Just ask Ginger from The Wildhearts, one of the band’s most notorious fans. But it is probably the insurgent country, or alternative country bands that the Scorchers influenced the most. Band such as The Old 97’s and Slobberbone have blatantly borrowed the Scorchers’ winning formula, whilst others, like Uncle Tupelo have simply tampered with it in order to break into the mainstream. “I don't think we single-handedly started it but we were among the first wave of pioneers certainly. It is always an honour to be called a pioneer”, claims Jason modestly. Jason is actually confident of cowpunk’s future in general, and when asked if country and punk has a place in the future as well as the past he is adamant that it does. “Oh yes, there will always be an attractive energy created when the two worlds collide”, he says. “I am loving the Legendary Shackshakers. They are a Nashville band with an energy around them that reminds me of the early eighties Scorchers, except they are blues based. The harmonica player frontman is one of the finest I have ever heard. He is possessed by the devil! Other favourites of mine in the Music City are Kristi Rose, Paul Burch, Old Crow Medicine Show, Tommy Womack...” The awesome ‘Still Standing’, which was released in 1986, showed a different Jason & The Scorchers – a band that was still rocking, but not with the same raw energy they were back in the early ‘80s. After this, the band self-imploded. They were dropped by EMI in 1987, and Jeff Johnson bailed out. Expecting Jason to be pretty pissed off at the whole major label business, it’s a surprise to hear him say “You know, in retrospect, most of those labels treated us pretty good considering that the band is patently uncommercial and very difficult to sell.” 1989’s ‘Thunder and Fire’, released by A&M, was a rock record with some great songs, but once again, and much more so than ‘Still Standing’, was a let-down to Scorchers fans. When comparing it to other cowpunk bands, the Scorchers of this time still stand head and shoulders above everyone else – but when you compared it to tracks such as ‘Broken Whiskey Glass’ and ‘White Lies’, it just didn’t stand up. Looking back on these records Jason now claims that “Both Thunder and Fire and Still Standing are unlistenable for me. They are simply too hard rock for my tastes. My three favourite Jason & The Scorchers records are ‘Lost & Found’, ‘Fervor’, and ‘Clear Impetuous Morning’. Perry was diagnosed with diabetes on tour in 1990, and Warner Hodges left the band spelling an end to it all. When quizzed about this time, Jason clearly doesn’t want to talk about it – saying only that “I think it’s safe to say that the whole end of the 80s was a comedown.” In 1993 the band got back together, and with less debauchery and pressure than in the eighties, their new demo earned them a deal with Mammoth Records. How did Jason feel in ’93 when there was suddenly renewed interest in the band – relieved, shocked, excited…? “I think a combination of all those emotions. I honestly thought we would never record again”, he says. 1995’s ‘A Blazing Grace’, whilst being far from a classic Scorchers record, signalled a welcome return from a band sorely missed, but the following year’s ‘Clear Impetuous Morning’ was what fans had been waiting for. The band sounded young, vibrant and exciting for the first time since ‘Still Standing’, or perhaps even ‘Lost & Found’, and the band were back with a bang. “By the time we got in to the studio to do ‘Clear Impetuous Morning’ the band was hitting on all cylinders”, explains Jason “we were in lock step with our vision for that CD. And you can hear that energy and confidence in the tracks.” Yet in 1997 Jeff once again left the Scorchers that he had rescued from death in ’93. Kenny Ames replaced him, and in 1998 their live record ‘Midnight Roads & Stages Seen’ was released to good reviews worldwide. Jason and his wife had their first child that year, an event that when I asked him if it changed his life he simply says “Yes, yes, yes and yes times ten thousand!”. The following year Mammoth Records was closed down, leaving the band without a label once again, and despite a few shows here and there, the Scorchers seem pretty much defeated once again. “I do believe that Perry leaving the band is an irreparable blow. The Scorchers without Perry would be like the Stones without Charlie Watts. I frankly doubt we will ever record or tour heavily again”, says Jason ominously. “Jason & The Scorchers is in semi retirement and most likely will remain so.” Warner Hodges has recently launched his new band Disciples of Loud, who are rather reminiscent of Jason & The Scorchers, though a little hard-rock oriented. “I think Disciples of Loud has great potential and I support Warner one hundred per cent in this”, says Jason of his close friend. “I do believe they will make a mark. I don't think it will slow down any Scorcher plans because there are none to slow down!” Jason Ringenberg’s debut solo album came out in the early 1990’s, whilst the Scorchers were on an extended hiatus, and regardless of good reviews and a good reception, things never took off. His second solo record, 2000’s acoustic ‘A Pocketful of Soul’ earned him the chance to tour the US and Europe, as well as release the record on his own ‘Courageous Chicken’ label, which has also released the live ‘bootleg’ Scorchers LP ‘Rock on Germany’ and ‘Wildfires & Misfires’, a collection of Scorchers rarities and outtakes. “I do love it”, says Jason of Courageous Chicken – “I create the music and artwork and then license it around the world. Things work great that way and I keep creative control.” But it was his third record, ‘All Over Creation’ that won him the most critical acclaim, and finally the amount of respect he deserves. ‘“All Over Creation’ has changed my life. Before its release I was considered a washed up old Scorcher. Now because of the strength of ‘All Over Creation’ I have a solid and respected solo "career". Before its release, I expected to tour a few months in support of it and then semi retire from the music business. Well, it took off and I ended up playing three hundred shows with it and touring eighteen months all over the world!!! It has been a wonderful turn of events for me.” Working with everyone from The Wildhearts to Steve Earle simply made the record a diverse and compelling listen. When I asked Jason about his personal favourites over his long career, I was expecting all early Jason & The Scorchers moments to crop up. ‘“All Over Creation’ was the most fun to record, with all those duets and collaborations. It was a hoot”, insists Jason. “The Wildhearts are my favourite English rock 'n' Roll band and I love them as people. They are my friends and will always be friends of mine. To be in the studio with them was like experiencing a different culture with long lost cousins! Long live The Wildhearts!!” So who is left that Jason still wants to work with? “I would like to write with Bob Dylan and then have Jerry Lee Lewis play piano on it. Is that possible?” More recently Jason has branched out into children’s music with his Farmer Jason alter-ego and his latest ‘A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason’ album, which Jason says he is “having a ball” with. It is with Farmer Jason that 2004 will probably see Jason go. “I intend to develop Farmer Jason more fully by doing kids shows this winter and spring”, he says. “I also will be recording another Jason Ringenberg CD very soon and will release it this summer or fall, after which another 2 year world tour will commence in the fall of 2004.” And his long-term plans are looking pretty hopeful too. Though there is a certain sense that the Scorchers are gone for a long time, if not good – at least we’ll be getting some more Jason Ringenberg shortly. He’s certainly not throwing in the towel just yet. “Oh there are still many more records to make and shows to do. I am always wanting what’s over the horizon.” And that is exactly why we love him. Edward Moore (cowpunkzine@hotmail.com)