New Haven Advocate: Music - Still a Scorcher

Still a Scorcher

The king of cowpunk keeps it fun and flexible

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
By Peter Gerstenzang

Lawson Little Photo

Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers goes solo at Café Nine.

Jason Ringenberg

With Eddie Seville. 9 p.m., Oct. 20. Café Nine, 250 State St. 203-789-8281, cafenine.com. $8.

It takes a real man to admit he likes John Denver.

That's exactly what Jason Ringenberg does early in our conversation when I tell him I love his version of "Take Me Home (Country Roads)" with groundbreaking alt-country band, Jason and the Scorchers.

With a hearty laugh, this Nashville resident says, "Oh, I like a lot of John Denver songs; we should've done more."

It's just this kind of genres-be-damned, we-kill-cool approach that defined the Scorchers' electrifying sound. This trademark, described by Ringenberg as "fun and flexibility," will be vividly on display when he plays a rare solo show at Café Nine Oct. 20.

"I am sort of promoting a new record, a compilation that Yep Roc has released called Best Tracks and Side Tracks [1979-2007]," says this garrulous fella.

"I imagine I'll play some tunes from it, like 'The Life of the Party,' and certainly some Scorchers favorites. But I have one m.o. that works. No setlists! That keeps it fun and flexible. For the audience and me. I have a lot of material, so it would be hard to keep it all straight, anyway."

The King of Cowpunk ain't kidding. If you've followed his career since he formed the Scorchers in the early '80s, you'll know this guy is responsible for fistfuls of classics that only a lucky few have heard.

With a sound that melds punk and pure country way before it was cool (hi, Uncle Tupelo!), the Scorchers blew a bracing wind through roots rock with blistering numbers like "Harvest Moon," "White Lies" and Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie," pistol-whipped in ways which probably gave Bob the willies.

Ringenberg isn't kidding when he cites "Jerry Lee Lewis" and "those country boys the Ramones" as partners in the unsanctioned marriage that produced the Scorchers' sound. Not officially recognized by the Mother Church of country music, anyway, but who cares?

Ringenberg has solo tunes on his new disc that more than match his early classics. Check out the insanely revved-up rockabilly of "The Life of the Party" with its typically Jason-esque opening couplet: "A girl could catch pneumonia in them clothes/And where in the world did you get those fishnet hose?"

Then there's "Bible and a Gun," a slow-tempo outlaw plaint featuring a fiddle and menacing protagonist who wanders the West with the title items in hand as well as a bad attitude. Oh yeah, the disc also sports Steve Earle singing a verse. If The Man with No Name sang a theme song, it would sound something like this.

And there's more good news.

Ringenberg reports a new Scorchers record is scheduled for an early 2010 release. When asked if a tour will follow, this Illinois-bred son of a hog farmer is typically modest.

"We'll have to see if there's a demand for it. As much as people loved us, the Scorchers didn't get much airplay back in the '80s. We were a hard band to sell, mostly because of my voice, I think. It was kind of raw.

"Plus country music wasn't used to such fast tempos. I know people think bands like Wilco owe us a debt and all, but I don't think that way. I've got my solo work both as Jason and as (overall-clad alter ego) Farmer Jason. I'm writing songs and doing a lot of solo shows. I don't really worry about who owes who what."

New Haven Advocate: Music - Still a Scorcher

(cont.) 3-D

DEA Museum : "Heroin Trends Today" Cannabis, Coca, and Poppy: Nature’s Addictive Plants.

Please join the DEA Museum in the first of a series of presentations in the DEA Headquarters Auditorium highlighting the opening of the Museum’s new lobby exhibit:  Cannabis, Coca, and Poppy: Nature’s Addictive Plants. The exhibit showcases the history, effects, science, production, and distribution of the products of these plants:  Marijuana, cocaine and opium and its derivatives.

DEA Museum Fall 2009 Lecture Series:

“Heroin Trends Today”

 

Please join the DEA Museum in the first of a series of presentations in the DEA Headquarters Auditorium highlighting the opening of the Museum’s new lobby exhibit:  Cannabis, Coca, and Poppy: Nature’s Addictive Plants. The exhibit showcases the history, effects, science, production, and distribution of the products of these plants:  Marijuana, cocaine and opium and its derivatives.

Bill Mockler, retired DEA Special Agent, and Ed Beach, retired Task Force Officer, New York DEA Task Force, will present surprising facts about the provenance of U.S. heroin, heroin addicts today, and how prescription opiates play a part in their journey to addiction.  Sign language interpretation will be provided.

 

WHERE:  DEA Headquarters Auditorium, 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington (Pentagon City), VA  22202

WHEN:  Thursday, October 15, 10 a.m.

 

For security purposes, media reps should RSVP to 202-307-7977 or to Barbara.l.wetherell@usdoj.gov today.

 

 

 

The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation - Louisiana Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crime for Burning His Neighbors’ Home

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release October 13, 2009	United States Attorney's Office Western District of Louisiana Contact: (318) 676-3641
Louisiana Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crime for Burning His Neighbors’ Home WASHINGTON—A Louisiana man pleaded guilty today to firing three shots from a shotgun at the home of three Hispanic men and, after they fled, entering the home and setting a fire that burned it to the ground, the Justice Department announced. Johnny D. Mathis, 46, of Lecompte, La., entered his plea minutes before a jury trial was set to begin before U.S. District Judge Dee Drell in Alexandria, La. Mathis pleaded guilty to all three counts in the pending indictment: criminal interference with the right to fair housing; use of fire to commit a felony; and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Furthermore, the 10-year penalties for use of fire to commit a felony and use of a firearm during a crime of violence are mandatory, meaning that Mathis now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years and a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2010. Testimony at today’s guilty plea hearing established that on June 15, 2008, Mathis fired three shots from a shotgun at the home of three Hispanic men who shared the residence in a rural area of western Louisiana. Mathis’ home was across the street from the victims’ house. After hearing two shots, the victims fled their house. Once outside, the victims watched as Mathis fired a third shot into the trees and then entered the house, left briefly, and then returned. Minutes later, the house was engulfed in flames as Mathis exited the house. Subsequent investigation determined that the fire started in the kitchen where the victims had seen Mathis. Mathis admitted that his crime was motivated by the victims’ race and national origin and was intended to interfere with their right to live in their home. “Motivated by hate, the defendant fired a shotgun at a home that he later entered and burned down. No one should have to endure such an abhorrent act of criminal violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute cases of bias motivated violence to the full extent of the law.” U.S. Attorney Donald Washington stated: “These victims were targeted and subjected to acts of violence for no other reason than their race and national origin. We will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws that guarantee the civil rights of all people.” This matter was investigated jointly by the FBI and the Rapides Parish, La., Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Michael J. Frank, a Trial Attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana.

Federal Bureau of Investigation - The New Orleans Division: Department of Justice Press Release