Jason Elmore
Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch are rising stars on the DFW scene and their debut CD burns with a passion for driving, no nonsense blues rock. The band is in top form as they throw down some of the hardest grooving blues and crunchy rock heard in a while. Producer Jim Suhler has gotten the best of this dynamic band for their first offering on Underworld Records, an outstanding display of talented musicianship and superior songwriting.
My first impression of this album was almost the same as when I first heard ZZ Top’s First Album. The variety of songs indicates that songwriter Jason Elmore has a lot of things to say and many ways to say them within the context of the blues and its sub-categories. From the slow blues of "All It Does Is Rain" to the heavy rocking "Drag Me Down," Hoodoo Witch can shift gears in the blink of an eye.
No album from Texas would be complete without a solid shuffle like the foot-tapping "Black Widow". The guys from Denison obviously know their history and have certainly heard an SRV song or two. That’s not to say that they are copycats; they have a style of their own that doesn’t imitate. Jason Elmore plays guitar with conviction and a rock solid edge that some compare to the late great Rory Gallagher, but the comparison is superficial. Jason simply plays his blues with a rock flavor. Or is it the other way around? No matter, his guitar growls when it is required and his slide work wails like a banshee. Credit must also go to co-producer Jim Suhler for getting a killer sound in the studio, but then you’d expect nothing less from the electric slide master whose own discs are always as tastefully recorded as this. Kudos should go to the guys over at Audio Dallas in Garland as well.
Drummer Beau Chadwell and bassist Chris Waw contribute letter perfect rhythm throughout the disc, and superior B-3 accompaniment is provided by the marvelous Shawn Phares of Monkey Beat and Tommy Young. The entire CD is so tight that it’s hard to believe that this is a freshman effort. According to Jim Suhler, the band came into the studio with the songs completely ready and highly rehearsed.
The track that demonstrates the band’s full range is their sublime version of "Red River Valley". While not limited to a local audience, Hoodoo Witch is a band of and for Texans. One cannot help but get a little teary-eyed by the haunting strains of slide guitar and accordion as the song morphs into "World of Trouble". Jason Elmore has a slide sound all his own, biting and crisp. That said he gives way to mentor Jim Suhler to add some very authentic and tasteful acoustic slide on the album’s closing track.
Upside Your Head is an auspicious beginning that bodes well for Hoodoo Witch. See them locally by all means; they put on a fantastic show. And buy this CD; you’ll be pleasantly surprised that someone is still making records as honest and rewarding as this release.
- Jim Dimock -
Southwest Blues CD Review - November 2010
Scene in Town
MARY JANE’S NOTE: David Card, aka Poor David, sent me this quote after Friday night’s show and after reading the story on Jason.
By Mark Bickham
Bugs Henderson meets the talent of Jason Elmore, aka a changing of the guard It was a rare acoustic duo show for Bugs Henderson at Poor David’s Pub Friday night. Poor David’s Pub has been on the leading edge of incredible and unique music since the mid-1970s, and Friday night’s show was among the top. David Card said ahead of time that they would be recording it for a possible "Live at PD’s" CD in a special side of Bugs that all guitar enthusiasts What no one said ahead of time was that Jason Elmore would be opening for Bugs. Not only was Jason ahead of his game, but he ended his set with something musicians world-wide have wanted to do. He asked a loud-mouth in the front row to move back to the bar. Jason said when he told the guy to move, "You are too loud." He said he figured, "I’ve lost this gig." The man, one of a couple, was obnoxious, and had been loud all through Jason’s set. Jason, wanting the atmosphere to be perfect for his idol, Bugs, wanted to set the stage right for him. Bugs, then, could not quit talking about Jason. While I stood there, he told Jason, "Son, I’ve been playing a long time and I never had anybody with close to that intensity open for me.. That was great!!!" Bugs gushed and Jason blushed! "Even though you play that cowboy guitar, that was incredible," Bugs added, talking about Jason’s acoustic guitar. On stage, Bugs continued, pointing out to the crowd while they kept on applauding for Jason, "What do I do now to follow this." He then did what he does best — mesmerize the crowd properly warmed up — no, heated up — to a frenzy by Jason Elmore. A love fest. Post Published: 06 November 2010
will have certainly enjoyed.But the crowd’s reaction was just the opposite of what Jason thought. "It just bonded him with the crowd, a real cool moment, and he burned the place down to a standing ovation!
Author: Mary Jane Farmer
The Blues Report
With the release of their sizzling debut album, "Upside Your Head", Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch have quickly taken over the crown as the new kings of Blues Rock, by putting out, by far, the best Blues Rock Album to be released in years and the fact that this is a Debut release, makes that all the more amazing. http://bluesunderground.blogspot.com/2010/10/jason-elmore-hoodoo-witch-upside-your.html
Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch are uncategorically, the best thing going out there right now, for their type of music, which I can only describe as Incendiary Off The Charts Guitar Driven Blues Rock.
I give "Upside Your Head" a very enthusiasctic 5***** Rating, my highest form of praise for an Album. In the category of Blues Rock, there simply are no other contenders, that are presently out there, that even come close to what this amazing Texas Trio have done.
John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch "Upside Your Head"
Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch - Upside Your H
14 songs; 56:23 minutes; Suggested
Styles: Blues, Blues-Rock, Rock
Survey: Which describes your band?
A) Our Band has fun.
B) Our band plays great music, and we have serious fun.
C) Our band has fun, but we play serious music.
My take is that Jason Elmore and Hoodoo Witch are best described by the last phrase; they’re damn serious about their music and their "fun" comes from creating it well. The just-turned-32-years-old Elmore is a native of Texas, and he seems well schooled in rowdy, yet refined guitar work having been influenced by Freddie King, Anson Funderburgh, and Jim Suhler, among many others.
"Upside Your Head" is the high energy trio’s debut CD and will be released on April 20, 2010 on the Underworld label. The album was produced by Jim Suhler (front man for Monkey Beat and lead guitarist for George Thorogood) and consists of 14 original tracks. Beau Chadwell is the drummer in lock-step with bassist Chris Waw.
The very first track showcases a fine example of the Lone Star State’s rich musical heritage.
With lyrics about rowdy as hell protagonists out on the wild from "Dusk Till dawn," the greasy Texas flavor drips off of words like, "...bloodshot eyes; head full of red – port - wine...," and "...sawed off gun and a pocket full of shells...." This sets up an incredible, ripping slide guitar solo that sounds like Jason may have some Tim "Too Slim" Langford (the label owner) influence, too.
Song writers and all writers are often advised, "Write about what you know." If Elmore took that advice, then what he knows for sure is woman trouble ("Drag Me Down," "Black Widow," Road to Ruin," "Evil Woman"). Just one example is found in the first song my partner Shuffle Shoes and I played on our WKCC radio show, "6 Foot Down." This fast paced Texas shuffle features rip-snorting guitar work and a vamp reminiscent of ZZ Top. "I won’t be back around," the narrator tells his ex-lover. "I’d be better off 6 feet in the ground!"
"World of Trouble" was our next spin; it features Monkey Beat’s Shawn Phares guesting on accordion and B-3 organ. Elmore lays down slashing guitar and, mid song, some simply nasty slide guitar. "My woman’s gone, she took my cash, drank all my liquor, smoked my stash / the future’s looking dim, just empty bottles, seeds and stems / it’s a world of trouble...." Trouble? Now that is a convincing testimony!
Following last week’s airing of track 1, this week will find a tasty, low down slow Blues, "All It Does Is Rain," with Tommy Young guesting on B-3 organ. Gut wrenching string bending and Walter Trout like violin-sounding guitar runs emote a mood to match the "dark cloud/high water" lyrics.
Future spins will include "Evil Woman" showcasing a catchy melody that changes the pace. Some of Elmore’s tastiest guitar progressions are found here just over the rhythm and Phares again on B-3 organ. "Black Widow’s" quintessential contemporary Texas guitar over a shuffle is always a solid crowd pleaser.
For acoustic fans, producer Jim Suhler joins Elmore on slide resonator guitar in the final track, "That’s the Way It’s Got To Be."
For gritty hard rock fans, try "Big Money Grip," "Drag Me Down," "Wash My Hands of You," and "Nobody Knows."
Anything but a cat with a hat and a Strat, Jason Elmore’s Southern flavor and Texas guitar combine to pleasantly cross genres across this set. Both Rock and Blues fans will find much here to enjoy. For new Blues fans, this CD is a great introduction to the rich Texas sound.
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Reviewer James "Skyy Dobro" Walker is a noted Blues writer, DJ, Master of Ceremonies, and longtime Blues Blast Magazine contributor.