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Empire Builders Lincoln Journal Star Ringenberg takes music, politics to new level Jason Ringenberg stood on the deck of the south central Lincoln home, wearing a bright blue cowboy hat, gold western shirt and battered gold cowboy boots. Striking the strings of his acoustic guitar with his right hand, he leaned into the microphone and launched into an anthem. That powerful story told of World War II heroes from a first-person point of view, captivating about three dozen people who'd gathered to hear Ringenberg on a July evening. The tune is "Tuskeegee Pride," a dramatic retelling of the life of one of the Tuskeegee Airmen, the black World War II fighter squadron. It is one of the centerpieces of "Empire Builders,"arguably the most powerful, personal and important album of Ringenberg's 24-year career."This is the most ambitious record I've ever made,"Ringenberg said during his July Jamm stop in Lincoln. "I don't think the band would have allowed me to do anything really political." The band Ringenberg is referring to is his old outfit, the Scorchers, with whom he pioneered a propulsive mixture of rock 'n' roll and country in the 1980s. Jason and the Scorchers became the most popular touring band to play the Drumstick, Lincoln's nationally known rock club of the 1980s.Ringenberg continues to have great affection for the city - "maybe because the town is named for Lincoln." Abraham Lincoln is one historical figure that Ringenberg most admires. And history is clearly of great concern to him. That comes through in conversations and on "Empire Builders," a disc that is saturated with a deep understanding of history and a deep concern over American foreign policy and cultural imperialism. The latter, Ringenberg said, was driven home to him while he was touring in Europe and Australia in 2002 and 2003, when he was constantly berated about American policy. He wrote many of the songs on "Empire Builders" on those tours, songs he says reflect who he really is. "Those are my interests - American history and American politics," Ringenberg said. "So I get to write and sing about some of my heroes and some of the things I don't like." Those heroes include: guitar master "Link Wray," a tribute to the man who made "Rumble," which includes rock 'n' roll guitar contributions from Los Straitjackets' Eddie Angel and Jimmy Lester; Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, whose death is mournfully commemorated with the finger-picked guitar and gorgeous strings of "Chief Joseph's Last Dream," and his father, for whom he wrote the touching "Half the Man," a song any farm kid will find familiar. "Chief Joseph's Last Dream" provides some of the record's history, as does "Eddie Rode The Orphan Train," a song by Jim Roll about a little boy who rode the train from Soho to Arkansas. Politics pops up across the record, often delivering a straight- ahead punch, whether it is the embarrassment of finding a "Rebel Flag in Germany," which ends with the line "Hell, I don't even want to see that flag in Tennessee," or asking the "American Question": "Are we an empire all alone/ "Throwing the world a rubber bone?/ "Or can we export dignity/ "Respecting those who disagree?" That weight is balanced with biting wit.The latter can be heard on "New-Fashioned Imperialist," a song that breaks out oom-pah-pah tuba, trombone and baritone horn, clarinet, fiddle and accordion to rip the globalizing capitalist driving a gas-guzzling SUV while exploiting Chinese convict labor to provide products for Wal-Mart. Ringenberg trotted out that tune during his Lincoln backyard performance, asking the audience to imagine the brass parts. That's now standard for Ringenberg, who largely plays solo engagements and only occasionally brings the Scorchers together - as he did at July Jamm 2003. "It doesn't pay," Ringenberg said of going out with a full band. "But more than that, to go out with a band post-Scorchers, I think fans would be pretty disappointed. How can you follow that? So this is performing the songs in a different way." Ringenberg tore up Scorchers' favorites like "Broken Whiskey Glass" and the revved-up Bob Dylan classic "Absolutely Sweet Marie" just fine, covered Merle Haggard's working-class utopian "Rainbow Stew," as he does on the new album, and closed the night with a riotous solo take on The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated." Then he signed autographs and sold CDs, appropriately selling out of every advance copy of "Empire Builders" he'd brought with him. L. Kent Wolgamott Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@;journalstar.com.