Although Gram Parsons is often credited as the originator of the awkwardly labeled “alt country” movement, it was Illinois native Jason Ringenberg who first delivered that sound to international stages with ferocious commitment long before the term existed. Born in 1959 and raised on a pig farm in southern Illinois, Ringenberg relocated to Nashville in 1981 intent on establishing himself as a songwriter. There he assembled the acoustic country/punk outfit Jason & the Scorchers alongside drummer Jack Emerson, issuing the 1982 EP Reckless Country Soul on the short-lived Praxis imprint.
Guitarist Warner Hodges and bassist Jeff Johnson soon joined, prompting a name change to Jason and the Nashville Scorchers and the arrival of Perry Baggs behind the kit in Emerson’s place. The band’s 1983 debut mini-album Fervor quickly generated critical excitement across the United States. Yet it was their live performances—fusing vintage rock & roll vitality, punk attitude and abrasion, and country’s theatrical flourishes—that earned them a global following. Following the 1985 release of Lost & Found, Ringenberg’s rising profile led to an on-air confrontation with Ralph Emery, country television’s equivalent of Ed Sullivan, even as the group became a major draw worldwide.
When the Scorchers dissolved in 1990, Ringenberg launched a solo career. His first effort, One Foot in the Honky Tonk, received strong reviews yet vanished after inadequate promotion. The band regrouped in the mid-1990s, producing several well-regarded studio albums and a concert recording. Ringenberg nevertheless sustained his individual work, issuing the spare, evocative acoustic album A Pocketful of Soul on his own label in 2000 and the exuberant All Over Creation, crowded with guest musicians, in 2002, all while maintaining both solo and band commitments.
Outside his Scorchers activities he has remained a thriving solo performer, completing three world tours since the turn of the century. In October 2003 he surprised audiences with his debut children’s album, A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason, released on the Yep Roc label.
