All The Rage
18 January 2007
Jason Moon Wilkins

As the leader of Nashville's famed cowpunk pioneers Jason & The Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg wowed audiences worldwide with his commanding presence. Now, a number of years after the Scorchers' heyday, international audiences of a slightly younger age are lining up to listen to Jason's recently discovered "twin brother," Farmer Jason.

Kids from Belgium to Brooklyn have become fans of Ringernberg's children's music makeover (just read some of the cute quotes at www.farmerjason.com), and through his new partnership with Rhino Records, he's bound to get bigger.

We tracked down the crooning cowpoke before his upcoming show at Belcourt to find out how a kid's music maker can still rock.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING SONGS YOU THOUGHT MIGHT FIT THIS IDEA? WAS IT AN ACCIDENT, OR DID YOU SIT DOWN WITH THE IDEA OF MAKING A CHILDREN'S RECORD?

After the surprise
success of the first CD, A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason, I was inexorably pulled to visit the forest for the follow-up. Even as a child I spent every spare moment in the forests and fields of rural Illinois. Ecology and the natural world (were) always of great interest to me. In fact, as a boy I planned to be a forester when I grew up! I'm quite proud that kids are being entertained by my CDs while still learning a bit about ecology, the natural world, Native Americans and
forest animals. It is fundamentally important to me to have all this do more for kids than empty their parents' wallets. I really hope they will be better people for listening to my music.

DID THE FARMER JASON CHARACTER EMERGE FROM THE SONGS, OR DID HE COME FIRST?

The character did emerge first. I first decided to create a children's character while watching my own young girls get totally immersed in artists like Tahra Time and Raffi. Since I was constantly touring in those days behind my All Over Creation CD (2002 and 2003), I figured it would be fun to make a CD my kids could listen to while Daddy was out being an "alternative country legend," whatever that is.

HOW DID YOU TEST DRIVE THE MATERIAL TO MAKE SURE IT WOULD APPEAL TO KIDS?

I do play new songs for my girls, Addie and Camille, and their friends. I pay very real attention to their reactions.

IS INSERTING LITTLE ASIDES FOR THE ADULTS A LOST ART?

I think there are many good children's entertainers out there making music adults can enjoy too. That's half the fun of all this. I should credit producer George Bradfute for a lot of that happening on my CDs. He is totally dialed into the idea of making the production and musicianship interesting to adults, while being as hooky/catchy as possible for the kids. Fats Kaplin deserves a lot of credit too, as do Steve Ebe, Webb Wilder, Kristi Rose, Phil Lee, Molly Felder and Todd Snider. Farmer Jason has some of the best musicians in the world for his farmhands.

WHAT'S YOUR LIVE SHOW LIKE?

Frankly, there isn't a big difference in handling a room full of drunk adults and a room full of hopped-up 5-year-olds. I have continued the creative and touring matrices I developed as a solo barnstormer during my worldwide 1998-2004 tours. I perform and travel solo, do every date I can, and keep every show unique and spontaneous. The kids are very involved in what happens, and there are lots of audience-driven moments.

ARE YOU WORRIED THAT THIS MIGHT HURT THE LEGACY OF JASON & THE SCORCHERS?

I haven't lost any sleep worrying about this. The Scorchers' legacy in music history is essentially unimpeachable at this point, even by me. In fact, I have had several experiences out there where a grandparent would have me autograph their grandchild's Farmer Jason CD, then ask me to sign their old Jason and the Scorchers LP.

ARE THERE CURRENT CHILDREN'S MUSIC ARTISTS YOU ADMIRE?

There are loads of (them): A short list would be Buck Howdy, Ralph's World, Milkshake, Tahra Time, Billy Jonas, Roger Day, Dan Zanes, Raffi and, most of all, the Teletubbies. They changed my life.

DID YOU ASK THE RIDERS IN THE SKY GUYS ABOUT HOW TO DO THIS KIND OF MUSIC?

I have learned a lot from many of the folks I just mentioned, in particular Buck Howdy, but in the end the avenues and paths to connecting with an audience are the same in any genre: Get out there, play every show you can, and give folks 110 percent of yourself. The rest will take care of itself.