Jason Ringenberg. Aprenda inglés (del bueno) con Harlem

"Drugs destroy rock and roll, they do not help make rock and roll"

Estamos contentos. No podemos evitarlo. Llega a España Jason Ringenberg, el cherif de los Scorchers, uno de nuestros artristras favoritos. Un tío simpático que hace grandes canciones y le gusta el rock and roll tanto como el country. Llega junto a Stacey Earle y Mark Stuart. OSCAR CUBILLO le ha hecho unas preguntas.

Que por qué derrochas tanta energía en escena.
I have never been able to explain that. Something happens when I walk on a stage and I become a different person. The Scorchers guitarist says there is a light switch that turns on when the show starts. I do believe on giving everything you can to a performance. I always think that if I don’t feel drained after a show then I have not done my job.

Que pareces feliz, siempre sonriente.
I am a performance artist and it is a joy to be able to be on a stage, and it is especially enjoyable in the Basque country. There is nothing I would rather do in life than a good cracking show.

Que si sigues practicando deportes, como cuando eras estudiante.
I tried sports but wasn’t very good. Until I started singing my songs to people I was a lost person that most of my classmates considered “weird”. Once I started singing everything changed. Then I became Senior Class President and the Prom King!!! It is amazing how music can change a life. I don’t play sports now or even watch it on TV, but I stay in good shape working on my farm and playing with my kids.

Que cómo es tu granja.
I grew up on a real Illinois hog farm. We had around 1000 hogs around most of the time. Let me tell you 1000 hogs make a lot of work!! I was running tractors before I could walk. Now I do live on a small hobby farm near Nashville with my wife and daughters. We have 12 chickens, a pony named Tinkerbelle, a pot bellied pig named Petunia, a goat named Azaelia, a lot of cats that everyone gives to us. We also grow most of our own food, organically. What we don’t eat we give to friends or charity.

Que qué piensas de las drogas.
I have no use for drugs and can definitely say that drugs destroy rock and roll, they do not help make rock and roll. I don’t even drink coffee because of the caffeine. If you are a young rocker, DON”T do drugs. You will rock harder without them.

Que cómo decidiste hacer discos de country rock para niños. I started Farmer Jason as a children’s character purely for fun, for my own kids to listen to. It has been so fun watching it grow into something that now does more business for me than my “adult” music in the USA and UK.

Que si es los chiquillos son un público muy duro.
You can never relax when playing for kids. If you are messing around tuning your guitar or having a drink of water, they will just lose interest and forget about you! They might even walk away! You have to have something going on all the time. If you don’t you will lose them.

Que qué diferencias hay entre tocar para adultos y hacerlo para niños.
Honestly, I have found that drunk adults and 5 year old kids have a lot of similar behaviors… Seriously, I think the primary difference is that with adults you can sit back sometimes and just enjoy singing or playing a song, and share the performance moment with them. With kids, you have to stay completely focused on them. Another difference is that kids shows happen in the daytime which I really like., sometimes at 8.00 in the morning! Some rockers aren’t even in bed yet…

Que cuáles son tus influencias.
I listen to a lot of music, some of it which you might not expect. For example I was listening to an Alice Cooper collection driving to the gig today. Tomorrow I think I will try out the Jesus Christ Superstar CD reissue that I just bought. But of course I do listen to a lot of the classic country and original rock artists, all of them American for some reason. Lately I have been completely loving a Don Williams collection. His version of Amanda is priceless.
To list my 3 favorites influences they would be:Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils

Que qué nuevos artistas nos recomiendas.
My favorite new artists are the Legendary Shackshakers, from Nashville, The Woodbox Gang, from Southern Illinois, and Neko Case. Her Fox Confessor CD is absolutely brilliant.

Que por qué tendría uno que comprarse tu último CD, Best tracks & side tracks.
I think it is a good way to hear all my music without having to buy all the different cds! There is so much of my music on it, going back to 1979. If you like Jason Ringenberg you will like this cd. If you don't like Jason Ringenberg, my god do not buy this cd!!!!

Que qué nos puedes contar de Stacey Earle y Mark Stuart.
One of the most amazing things about Mark and Stacey is that even though there are just 2 of them, they sound like a whole band. Stacey is a deceptively good guitar player. She plays the bass guitar on the low strings and the shuffle drum part with her thumb against the high strings. Mark then adds a guitar melody line on top of that, vocal harmonies, and another cross pattern rhythm part. Essentially they are a full band. Their shows have an open warm charm that really translates even if you don’t speak English. I am a real fan of their work, and thoroughly look forward to playing a whole tour with them.
For the show, we will each do a full set of our own stuff separately but Mark will probably sit in on a few songs of mine too during my solo set. He really nails some of those old Scorchers songs. We also will do a few songs together at the end of the night. People will get there moneys worth.