Jason Ringenberg lanzó este primer fin de semana su extraordinario sexto disco en solitario, «Rhinestoned», a través su sello Courageous Chicken. El disco producido por el multiinstrumentista,  George Bradfute se gestó y grabó durante la pandemia el año pasado con viejas composiciones guardadas en un cajón eligiendo para su música el cancionero country de diferentes épocas pasando desde los primeros días de la familia Carter, o versiones de Hank Williams como «You in again» y The Ozark Mountain Daredevils con «Time Warp».

El de Illinois se acompañó para grabar este disco en solitario con Steve Ebe a la batería, Fats Kaplin al steel guitar y el violín, Ringenberg a las guitarras y voz y Bradfute en todo lo demás, en su viejo estudio del sótano que perteneció una vez al gran Jim Reeves. Si s anteriores trabajos estuvieron arraigados en la política y la cultura estadounidense, «Rhinestoned» comparte esa visión crítica de la injusticia e intolerancia infligidas a las minorías de su país.

Jason Ringenberg es uno de los arquitectos de la Americana y del Cow-Punk con los magníficos Jason and the Scorchers junto a Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson, y Perry Baggs, ayudando  a ampliar las posibilidades de un crossover de raíces y rock en ciernes, una plantilla que influenciará a innumerables artistas y conjuntos en las próximas décadas.

Los Scorchers consiguieron a comienzos de la década de los 80, unir el country, el punk y el rock, creando el llamado cowpunk, una combinación de rock tradicional americano y furia eléctrica con influencias muy diversas, que va desde los Rolling Stones a Lynyrd Skynyrd, el rock de Chuck Berry o el power pop de Cheap Trick pasando por el country rock de Gram Parsons, el hard rock de AC/DC o el punk pop de los Ramones.

Los de Nashville grabaron cuatro álbumes y un EP que mezclaban (sobre todo los dos primeros) música de raíces con rock. Sobre todo country y hard rock. Contribuyeron, entre otras cosas, a crear el llamado Country Punk o Cowpunk con bandas como Meat Puppets The Beat Farmers, Social Distorsion, Rank and File, o Lone Justice y tomando como referente a esos avispados llamados The Gun Club que algunos años antes habían mezclado blues y punk.

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Jason Ringenberg releases his new album entitled Rhinestoned

This past weekend, Jason Ringenberg released his extraordinary sixth solo album, Rhinestoned, on the Courageous Chicken record label. The album, produced by multi-instrumentalist George Bradfute, was conceptualized and recorded during the pandemic last year after putting together some old music that had been stowed away in a drawer. The tracks are reminiscent of a longstanding country songbook; from the early days of the Carter family, to Hank Williams covers such as “You Win Again”, or The Ozark Mountain Daredevils with “Time Warp”.

While recording the solo album, the Illinois native teamed up with Steve Ebe on drums and Fats Kaplin on steel guitar and violin, while Ringenberg recorded the guitars and vocals and Bradfute basically everything else. The tracks were laid down in his old basement studio that once belonged to the great Jim Reeves. While his previous releases were rooted in American politics and culture, Rhinestoned shares a more critical view of the injustice and intolerance inflicted on minorities in his country.

Jason Ringenberg became one of the early architects of Americana and Cowpunk way back with the magnificent Jason and the Scorchers, alongside Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson, and Perry Baggs, helping to expand the possibilities of a budding roots-rock crossover, a template that would influence countless artists and groups for decades to come.

The Scorchers managed to unite country, punk and rock in the early 80’s, creating the so-called ‘cowpunk’ movement, a combination of traditional American rock and electric fury with assorted influences, ranging from the Rolling Stones to Lynyrd Skynyrd, a Chuck Berry-ish rock to a more Cheap Trick-like power pop, from Gram Parsons country-rock to AC/DC-like hard rock, or even Ramones punk pop.

The EP and four albums that the Nashville-based group have recorded – in particular the first two – combine roots music with rock, especially country and hard rock. They have largely contributed, among other things, to creating the so-called ‘Country Punk’ or ‘Cowpunk’ movements, along with other bands such as Meat Puppets, The Beat Farmers, Social Distortion, Rank and File, or Lone Justice, all the while following in the footsteps of their ever-crafty forerunners The Gun Club, who years before had already fused blues with punk.

Translation by Jessica Jacobsen.