The Jason Spooner Band

“There’s a time and a place for all that [noodling], and that’s the great thing about music: To each, his own,” says singer/songwriter Jason Spooner. “Personally, I try to keep the song at the forefront of what we’re doing as a band.” While he might attempt to differentiate himself from the jambands with whom he has shared festival bills by focusing on lyrical rather than instrumental dexterity, he allows, “real live music is a slow-cooked stew where everything is fresh and honest.” “Some of the radio stuff is more of a Twinkie: It tastes good at the first bite, but you know it’s not good for you in the long run.” The Maine native, who grew up with Neil Young as his “Northern Star,” speaks in extended metaphors and whose music brings to mind acts like Matt Nathanson and Josh Ritter, understands the importance of the stage. “You might have moments of brilliance while performing, and then, sometimes the brilliance might not be that bright. But that’s the joy of the live event: There’s a sense of danger and a sense of reality.” - Relix Magazine

Maine has historically proven to be a fruitful breeding ground for buzz-worthy and prolific songwriters who garner national attention. Both classics like Noel Paul Stookey and Don McLean and contemporaries like Patty Griffin, Slaid Cleaves and Grammy winner Ray LaMontagne, represent only a small cross section of Maine's rich heritage of sourcing a special breed of thought-provoking artist. Maine's most recent emerging heirs to the musical throne come in an impressive pack of three; Portland's own Jason Spooner Trio. Their latest album, Sea Monster, has received acclaim from both critics and audience members alike. Their tireless work ethic is starting to yield a bountiful harvest extending well beyond the borders of their home state.

In addition to widespread national airplay on more than fifty Triple A and satellite radio stations, their music has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered,” The Food Network and in over 11,000 Starbucks retail locations across the country. Their last single reached the Top 20 on the Triple A singles chart early in 2011 and their latest track debuted as the third most added Triple A track behind Radiohead and Los Lonely Boys. They have shared stages with the likes of Blues Traveler, Susan Tedeschi, Ray LaMontagne, Brandi Carlile, Martin Sexton, Guster and Peter Rowan to name a few, and their upcoming summer tour already boasts a coveted featured slot at Targhee Fest in Jackson Hole, WY (headlined by the Funky Meters, Little Feat, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Michael Franti) and an opening slot for the legendary B.B. King in North Carolina in June.

An ambitious resume for sure but what might surprise you about the Spooner Trio's back story is the fact that they have started to make a very visible national dent without the help of a label, a manager or even a booking agent: the band is 100% independent.

Whatever you'd like to call it, “big label paranoia,” “fierce independence,” or simply “staunch realism,” the recipe is clearly working for the Spooner Trio as their list of accolades, along with their growing national fan base, is the clearest of evidence.
- High Times

Jason Spooner’s smoldering Flame You Follow

Jason Spooner’s a real easy guy to like. Smart and talented in areas other than music, floppy-haired with a ready smile, he’s a mother-in-law’s dream come true. Of course, the music world is littered with charming young men who can strum a guitar, sing, and write a tune with a few literary allusions and maybe a wry joke or two.

How does one separate himself from another? Hmmm, maybe get a band?

Such has been Spooner’s path to a second album that kicks his debut album’s ass. Which is not to say that Lost Houses sucked or anything. It’s just that in 2002 Spooner was still mostly a solo performer, and though he had a full band sound with the likes of Adam Chilenski on bass, Reed Chambers on drums, even Carter Logan on banjo, it didn’t yet feel like a cohesive unit and the record wound up sounding a little rough around the edges, with individual highlights you might throw into a playlist, but not something you’d keep in a five-disc changer for very long (as though people still have those nowadays).

The Flame You Follow, released early this month and to be celebrated with a pair of gigs this weekend, is a big step forward, an album that feels like an album, by a band that sounds like a band, even if Spooner gets top billing. You can tell Spooner was really feeling his oats here, as he’s brought back an old favorite in “Meant to Be” — with Abbie Gardner (Red Molly) sitting in on dobro and Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone lending a hand on strings — and made it into the song it was meant to be. “There’s no substitute for honesty,” Spooner sings with a breathy and conspiratorial delivery, “and you’ll be sure to get yours when the good lord comes.” Part of honesty is the confidence to be honest with yourself, and having confidence in your backing band doesn’t hurt either. Chambers is still around on drums, bassist Andy Rice has been playing live with Spooner for years, and a rhythm section that can turn out a dark, tribal foundation like this makes it really easy to bring in guests as bright lights of melody.

He turns the trick again on “Fight the Fire,” with bowed bass to open and then a segue into something really funky, with sax by Ryan Zoidis and a hint of samba. Spooner here spits in a quick delivery and rides rising horns behind the chorus like Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band (can they retroactively get a cut from Coors Lite on that?). The keyboard fills in the background by “GQ Lazorbase” might remind you of a certain McCartney fan in town, too. This isn’t exactly deep of me, but Spooner just seems cooler now, which is a lame way of evaluating somebody, but I think coolness is closely linked with worldliness, depth, soul and a lot of other things that give a song a certain something to elevate it beyond children’s music or, worse, the pap offered by any number of earnest singer/songwriters these days.

Guster turned a similar trick with Keep It Together, and Spooner manages to share their feel for a great pop chorus that dances with winsome and settles into world-weary from time to time. I noticed it most on the album-opening “Black and Blue,” which features fine harmony and an active acoustic guitar strum behind the chorus: “That’s how I think of you, what can I do/It’s how I remember you, in black and blue,” which is a decent play on black and white, recalling the films of our increasingly distant past and the stark contrasts that former loves can sometimes force on us. And it all happens in Las Vegas, where it’s kind of easy to get bruised up.

There are a lot of songs on Flame that I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I would. Does that mean the intros need work or just that Spooner builds songs that require a little investment? I’m not sure, but I’m leaning toward the latter, especially considering his take on the Talking Heads’ “Slippery People,” which at least isn’t obviously the best song on the album (always a danger with covers) and manages to be earthy and warm where the Heads purposely created digital distance. Best is the way Spooner retains the call-and-response chorus, solo for the call, with help on the response.

“Put away that gun,” David Byrne first advised, “this party’s simple,” and Spooner holsters the Heads cover to finish his 11-track disc with “Hover,” a simple piece that opens a lot like “Fools Rush In” (possibly the single-most covered song of all time) and finishes with Spooner and Kim Taylor trading gorgeous verses. “Somehow, you’re all the more beautiful now,” Spooner sings. I could say the same for him.

- The Portland Phoenix

It's moments like this that make all headaches of modern travel worthwhile.

The disk is called "Lost Houses," it's the debut album by a singer/songwriter named Jason Spooner. I listened to it on the drive to Waldoboro, Maine the next day, then used it that night as pre-concert and intermission music. Do you remember how you felt when you heard David Wilcox's debut "The Nightshift
Watchman," or Dar Williams' debut "The Honesty Room"? It's that kind of feeling: this is someone important.

It's also the kind of album that grows on you -- flawless production,
insightful lyrics, varied moods. Most of it is pretty deep stuff -- track #6 "Morning" ends with these lyrics:

As the sunbeams reach her bleach blonde head
she gathers her clothing at the foot of the bed
she pulls her stockings on to face the morning
and as I hear her footsteps on the empty stairs
I can tell that the pain is almost too much to bear
but I smile 'cause she'll come back . . . and I'll be waiting

The song that jumped out at me instantly is track #9, "Big Black Hole." Here's a sample lyric (this is the bridge):

You grow up and have a son
he'll say "Dad I feel so lonely"
you'll say "Yeah, you're not the only one"
I guess that's what you get
when mom met dad in a personal ad
or a chat room on the internet

So Jason has his light moments, too. After living with this disk for a week and a half, I finally made contact with Jason via email, visited his website (www.jasonspooner.com) and learned more about him. His background is impressive, but I'm glad that I knew nothing about him when I was listening to his disk -- he won me over purely with his music, and that's how it should be. It is, however, good to see all the work he's already put in, leading up to this stunning debut disk.

I come across a lot of music in my travels, but rarely find something like this -- and it's a debut! I hope you will give it a listen.

Sincerely,
Christine Lavin
- Christine Lavin

By JIM KIRLIN

At any given moment there’s a good chance that Jason Spooner is a finalist in a songwriting contest somewhere. The Portland, Maine singer-songwriter has been scoring props-a-plenty over the last several years, and understandably so. Honey-roasted voice, check; tasty guitar chops, check; Velcro melodies, check; evocative lyrics, check; tight, groove-laden band ….

You get the picture. Spooner’s roots-rich contemporary folk sound stretches far and wide on his latest record, The Flame You Follow. He filters through his folk, blues, soul, funk, rock, and even classic singer-songwriter influences, giving them all a place at the table. His songs belie a sharp-tooled craftsmanship on the writing side, yet wash over the listener with fluid finesse. At times, Spooner plays musical sketch artist, conjuring story-song vignettes that balance selective strokes of detail with poetic, open-ended imagery. He leaves enough out to draw listeners in as accomplices to fill in the blanks on our own. And yet, one could easily not follow the lyrics at all and still be drawn to the supple melodies and the organic interplay of Spooner’s well-oiled trio (with Andy Rice on bass and Reed Chambers on drums).

To this ear, Spooner’s voice calls to mind a richer, more soulful Paul Simon. His phrasing exudes laid-back warmth, and coaxes the listener in with a narrative air that suits the story-song nature of some of his tunes.

That approach perhaps comes across most fully on “All That We Know,” an ill-fated convenience store caper, in which Spooner alternates snippets of dialogue on the verses with metaphorical strokes on the chorus that build empathy for one of the characters. The song’s vintage rockabilly sound is fueled by churning upright bass and brush-on-snare, while Spooner’s voice and atmospheric guitar twang hang in the air like a bad mistake — a fitting touch, given the story.

In “Spaceship,” Spooner taps the longing for escape from the burdens of everyday life through the separate worlds of an empty nest mom and a businessman estranged from his family. In the heavy-hearted “Meant to Be,” a son watches his father cling to his dignity as he puts the family farm up for sale.

Elsewhere, Spooner and the band deepen the grooves and the mystery. Electric piano and horns fatten up the vibe on “Fight the Fire,” as Spooner drops tidbits from a murder scene and turns the listener into detective. “Simple Life” burns on a sax-juiced soul-funk groove that slips into James Brown and Maceo Parker territory.

Spooner also gets reflective as he ponders the ghostly remnants of spent relationships on “Mirror This Morning” and “Hover,” a beautiful, haunting ballad also featuring singer-songwriter Kim Taylor that tries to salvage the good memories.

Spooner even busts out a gospel-tinged cover of the Talking Heads’ “Slippery People,” giving it an earthy intensity with the help of Taylor’s sweet harmonies and the call-and response vocals.

The great thing about this record, beyond the wonderfully contoured, lived-in sound, is the way Spooner reminds us that, even as listeners, we’re all a part of the story, too. - Taylor Guitars

By AIMSEL L. PONTI

Jason Spooner's latest record is destined for my list of favorites when the end of the year rolls around.

"The Flame You Follow" contains 10 originals and one downright terrific Talking Heads cover. This is one of the CDs that I slid into my CD player and was immediately drawn into. It didn't take a few listenings, and the repeat button didn't need to be pushed (though it was). I dare say this record is that good.

"Flame" is rife with songs that will have you singing along after a few times through. It has a '70s FM rock kind of feel to it and a real, if I may invent a word, "albumness," with songs that flow together without sounding all the same.

Spooner starts it off with "Black and Blue," a crisp, acoustic-guitar-driven song with keenly measured percussion from Reed Chambers and the upright bass of Andy Rice, who also provides back-up vocals.

The refrain sticks its landing. "You thought you had me fooled./Now I hope you think about it every day./that's how I'll think of you, what can I do?/It's how I'll remember you, in black and blue." I heard this one on the radio the other day, so keep an ear out for it.

Rice's bass is the cornerstone of "All That We Know," a moody murder ballad during which mistakes are made, blood is spilled and there's a shotgun under the bed.

"Spaceship" is one of my favorites. With the addition of Spooner's harmonica and Hammond organ and guest musician Tom Whitehead's accordion, this song got me singing as though it were a song I'd known for years. "I've been dreaming of a spaceship./It's going to take me out to sea,/work me over like a facelift,/erase my long-term memory."

Spooners vocals are the backbone of this collection. He's a tenor with a style that has often been compared to Paul Simon, and I for one mean the Paul Simon who was making a new plan, Stan, back in the '70s. I also picked up on traces of Steve Miller and Bob Welch.

But let's put the comparisons on the shelf because Spooner's voice is fresh, authentic and distinct. Combined with the story-telling narration of some of the songs and the gorgeous melodies of others, Spooner hits the mark every time.

"Hazel," another standout, features back-up vocals from Kim Taylor and the piano of Karl Anderson. This song could be a tearjerker, depending on your frame of mind.

Spooner invited a few more guests into the studio for this record: Tim Carbone contributes strings and Abbie Gardner plays dobro and sings backup on "Meant to Be," a pensive foray into the landscape of ancient wisdom.

Just when you've settled back into your chair and closed your eyes, sinking right into the music, along comes "Simple Life." This is the most upbeat tune on the record with a funky groove to it, helped in part by the saxophone of Ryan Zoidis, which first sticks a toe in and then dives headlong into the song. I imagine live this would be a "bring 'em to the dance floor" song for sure.

This record didn't need a cover song, but I found it impossible not to love Spooner's take on Talking Heads' "Slippery People." Kim Taylor's vocals are in it, and Spooner renders it recognizable yet poles apart from the original. I imagine he knew it would be a mistake to try to imitate anything David Byrne had touched, and so he does nothing of the sort. Instead he takes a superb song and puts his own clever stamp on it.

"Hover" closes the record. Again you'll hear Karl Anderson on piano, Kim Taylor's vocals and the violin of none other than Andy Happel. This one's a five-and-a-half-minute poetic journey into and through the jagged edges of relationships ended. Perhaps following a bit in the steps of Damien Rice, Spooner has Taylor take lead on a verse of the song, which Rice has done with Lisa Hannigan. Taylor sounds like a lovely specter who's been having tea with Kristin Hirsh. Her voice is rejoined with Spooner's while Andy Happel's violin gently soars. "We can look away from this disaster/if I cut my conscience in thirds./Watch the red sun sinking faster,/it hovers like murder and words,/murder and words"

"The Flame You Follow" was made with engineer whiz Jon Wyman and was recorded in the dead of winter in a small rural studio. You can find it, as well as Spooner's first record, "Lost Houses," at Bull Moose Music locations and at www.cdbbay.com.

The CD release show will be on Friday, June 29, at the Wharf Street Wine Bar in Portland.

Aimsel Ponti is a Portland freelance writer. She can be contacted at:
aimselponti@yahoo.com - The Portland Press Herald

The New England folk music scene is well known for its community of literate songwriters like Ellis Paul, Dar Williams, and more recently, Mark Erelli and Lori McKenna. I love these folks for their solid stories, clear themes, and tight song structures that touch me in ways that I understand.

Jason Spooner has absolutely nothing in common with these folks (except, of course, talent.)

Jason's new CD, "The Flame You Follow", is highly accessible and enjoyable. The songs have plenty of beats that will get you dancing, vocal and instrumental hooks to keep you interested, and lots of tasty lyrical treats that you can sing along with.

But on a different level, Jason's songs are mysterious, obtuse, and spooky. There's a story in them, but I might find a different one than you do, and neither of us will find anything without some serious archeology in our own experiential graveyard. Jason's songs are keys to the locked trunks that hold the artifacts of our lives. You can enjoy the music as top-shelf entertainment, but I guarantee that you're going to want to come back and dig for the treasure.

Jason produced this record himself (he also produced his debut album "Lost Houses".) He has done a great job - his use of instrumentation and his arrangements drive the listener to a level of involvement that is uncommon for a folk recording. I found it almost impossible to relegate this album to "background music." I was constantly drawn back into the music by the beat, the variety of the instrumental tones, and the vocal landscapes. Kudos also to Jon Wyman and Adam Ayan, for the technical quality of the mix and mastering (respectively).

The intro on the opening track, "Black and Blue", pulls us immediately into the album - a percussion fill begins with a tinny, tapped-out tone that evolves into its full frequency timbre, with a low end electronic tone coming out from behind it, until after four bars, it dumps us into a simple acoustic back beat and drum shuffle. The melody merely surfs the swells of the chord structure, but Jason's vocal style provides the texture and punch that makes it memorable. By the time we hit the lush, full chorus, we are fully involved.

The title track, "The Flame You Follow", is jazz / funk / hip hop; an irresistible beat chugs through the track, while Jason's smooth, inflected vocals sound a little like Paul Simon, but more transcendent. I loved listening to this song just for the way it made me move my body. But, more than that, it is a great example of the mystery in Jason's lyrics. I listened to this track, and studied the lyrics for about a half hour; I finally decided that this tune is about obsession:

"And it goes down smooth like a pill you swallow
To make you feel punch drunk, alone and hollow
Bright as the light of the flame you follow
Beautiful, Beautiful"

Jason employs a lot of visual and physical cues to his themes, but they are very difficult to tie together. It's sort of like the need to stand back from a complex abstract painting, and let your vision blur a little, in order to find some form in the image. If you let the lyrics wash over you and don't focus too closely, they coalesce into a context that means something to you.

"Fight the Fire" is a fun story song with great horns (Ryan Zoidis on sax), Hammond organ, and some sort of synthesized bass work - it's a great track. My take on this song is that it's about a mob murder or shake down. There are lots of references to bodies discovered, business deals, and neighbors paying attention to events best ignored. Seems to me that someone's being leaned on.

"No, it aint' easy
What you've been going through
Oh, no, no one said it'd be easy...
What you wanna do?"

Kim Taylor is a rising star in the national singer/songwriter scene, and she does some stellar backing vocal work on three of the tracks on this disc, including a Talking Heads cover tune, "Slippery People". She slips above and below Jason's vocal on that tune, a husky, ethereal presence that slices through the mix like the sound of two knives drawn against each other. But it's her work on the final song on the album that really shines.

"Hover" is much more melodic than most of Jason's tunes. It's a very nicely composed mix of guitar, piano (Karl Anderson), and strings (Andy Rice and Andy Happel). This is a sad ballad of regret and pain revolving around a relationship that has self-destructed in some terrible way. The two lovers are stunned at how completely and suddenly their love has been blown apart. They want to hold on to the tenderness and sweetness that they had in the beginning.

Kim's solo vocal bridge is devastating in its sadness and nostalgia.

"Dance with me
Oh, and show me the man that you'll never be
Around in your juniper eyes
Safe from the faces beyond your disguise
And we can pretend that
It's all still the same
The sacred beginnings
And what we became
Free from your cages I've flown
Into the sun, away from the days we've known"

The Jason Spooner Band is Jason, Andy Rice, and Reed Chambers. They are well known in and around Portland for being a hot bar band and a lot of fun to listen to. That comes from playing together for so long, from a love of performing, and from top-flight musicianship.

But anyone who puts Jason and this great band into that box hasn't experienced the sophisticated songwriting, the great production work, and the nuanced performances that are on this CD. Jason has brought together a bunch of musical and technical professionals for this project, and it shows. This is a great disc, and a major evolution for Jason since his debut CD. "Lost Houses" was fun, well-executed, enthusiastic, and maybe a little innocent. This sophomore release is the real deal. I suggest that you make Jason Spooner one of the musical flames that you follow.
- Mainetoday.com

By ROSALEEN TORREY
The term “eclectic” doesn’t really do justice to Jason Spooner’s The Flame You Follow. The genre-spanning follow-up to 2002’s Lost Houses is more than a loose collection of songs; it’s an exploration of a theme. Over the course of the album, through imagery, texture, and story, light does battle with darkness, culminating in the final track, the bittersweet “Hover.”

Jason Spooner is nothing if not an ambitious songwriter. Along with drummer Reed Chambers and bassist Andy Rice of The Jason Spooner Trio, the Portland singer/songwriter navigates between folk, jazz, pop, funk, and R&B — sometimes, in the course of a single song. His soulful vocals tackle lyrics about death, danger, and the desire to escape, but despite the meatiness of the themes, the songs refuse to wallow in melodrama. For instance, the folk ballad “All That We Know,” which recounts the story of a robbery attempt that ends in tragedy, is bolstered by a fast-paced, rollicking rhythm.

A host of guest performers lend their talents to the CD. It’s fun to hear Ryan Zoidus (of Rustic Overtones fame) wield his saxophone in the funky “Simple Life.” The groovy swirl of harmonizing vocals, courtesy of singer/songwriter Kim Taylor, is the highlight of “Slippery People.” However, some of Spooner’s best songs are the simple ones. In the folk-poppy “Mirror This Morning,” everyday themes — love, loss, and coffeemakers — lilt over an effortless melody, capturing the details so well that no grand gestures seem necessary.

All in all, Spooner is a thought-provoking songwriter and, if only for that reason alone, his sophomore effort is worth a whirl.

- Northeast Performer Magazine