Farmer Jason Ringenberg

On Friday, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing two performaces from former Jason & The Scorchers frontman Jason Ringenberg. Few people can claim to have spearheaded an entire genre, but Jason certainly can. In the early 1980s, the Scorchers were one of the first/thee first bands to bridge the gap between punk rock and country music. They laid waste to the conservative concept of country in Nashville where they started. Here's a quote from his website: "As Nashville’s incendiary red-headed stepchild, the Scorchers summoned the ghost of Johnny Horton as he marched through the Battle of New Orleans and star-cross’d that fate with Johnny Thunder’s vulnerable but uncompromising swagger." When Ringenberg broke up the scorchers in the late '80s, he continued his career as a solo musican to much of the same acclaim. After the birth of his kids, Ringenberg realised he wanted to make music his kids get into. He made the alter ego Farmer Jason in 2003, and has now released 2 albums under the moniker. On Friday morning, I got to catch a Farmer Jason show at "The Linda, at WAMC's Performing Arts Studio", to a packed house of 4 and 5 year olds. They loved him, and the tunes were very solid and catchy. Unfortunately, he didnt play my favorite song, "Punk Rock Skunk" that morning, but he did live up to his Anarchy In The Pre-K tagline. Later that night, Jason dusted off the cowboy shirt and played a show as himself at the Capital District's only real rocknroll club Valentines. Doojh and Slim Pickens opened up for him. Doojh was uncharacteristically unshitty, although not amazing. They were very MOR. Slim Pickens was alright, but not my cup-o-tea. After Collin York gave a very lost Jason directions to the club, he hit the stage to a respectable sized crowd of diehards. One particular guy came up to me and said that he remembers seeing him 22 years ago opening up for The Scorpions (????). Let it also be noted that this same guy also remarked to me that Doojh was "brilliant", so who knows if he was all there upstairs. Ringenberg has a great stage presence, putting everyone at ease with his many in-between song jokes and stories. He played lots of fan favorites, and even took about 6 or 7 requests from the diehards. His energy on the stage is something that needs to be seen. If you get a chance, you should check him out. Special thanks must go out to HoJoHiFive for setting up the show. Dig the tunes folks:

Jason & The Scorchers - I Can't Help Myself
Jason Ringenberg - Last Of The Neon Cowboys