Jason & the Scorchers
Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a cowpunk band that formed in 1981 and are led by singer-songwriter Jason Ringenberg.[8]
Jason & The Scorchers
Jason & The Nashville Scorchers
1981–1990
1993-2007
2010–2019
2024
Praxis (1981–1983)
EMI (1983–1987)
Mammoth Records (1997–1999)
Courageous Chicken Records
Jeff Johnson
Andy York
Ken Fox
Kenny Ames
Perry Baggs
Al Collins
Jon Brant
Pontus Snibb
With a sound that combines punk rock and country music, Jason and the Scorchers are noted for their energetic live performances and have earned strong reviews from critics, including Mark Deming, who declared they "blazed a trail for the cowpunk and alt-country movements that followed in their wake."[9]
Jason and the Scorchers have maintained a loyal core group of fans around the world for more than 30 years.[10] Jason and the Scorchers released their latest album, Halcyon Times, in February 2010.
History[edit]
Early days[edit]
A native of Sheffield, Illinois, Ringenberg attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and was a member of a short-lived acoustic trio in 1978. In late 1979, Ringenberg formed his first band, Shakespeare's Riot, the precursor of the Scorchers. Named after an oblique reference to the Astor Place Riot, Shakespeare's Riot played Ringenberg's original compositions, rockabilly songs, and other similar-styled tunes by Bob Dylan and Tom Petty; adapted to his high-energy country rock style.
Ringenberg disbanded Shakespeare's Riot and moved to Nashville in 1981.[8] He was introduced to his original Scorcher bandmates through the independent Praxis record label, and the group soon established a strong reputation among indie rock circles.
Although country rock and rockabilly were not new concepts, they predated the raw sound of 1970s punk and 1980s alternative rock, and by the early 1980s, most country music resembled mainstream pop with the appeal of the Urban Cowboy movement. Therefore, Jason and the Scorchers were something of a novelty in their hometown, Nashville, Tennessee, as their ragged, high-energy music was somewhat unprecedented.[8] This made The Scorchers a natural for eclectic venues such as Nashville's Exit/In.
Rock critic Jimmy Guterman reported that in late 1983, during a concert held "in the basement of a now-boarded Philadelphia dive...Jason Ringenberg balanced himself on a rickety stool...and wished aloud what he wanted his band to sound like. 'Like a religious service,' he said wistfully, 'only a lot dirtier.'"
Guterman would later report,
Awards[edit]
In 2008, Jason and the Scorchers received the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in the Performance Category.[17][18][19] The band performed during the Annual Awards Show at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium. Bassist Jeff Johnson participated at this event, the first time that all four of the original band members played together on stage since January 19, 1997, when the Scorchers played Club Zydeco in Birmingham, Alabama. Guitarist Warner Hodges and Jason Ringenberg led a modified version of the Scorchers through a full set at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville after the Americana awards.