seems like tears ago
new album
Seems Like Tears Ago
I Miss You After All
Move a Little Closer
We’re Gonna Honky Tonk Tonight
Achin’ Takin’ Place
Simply Divine
Coldest Day Of The Year
Cry on the Bayou
Foolish Heart
Ole Used to Be
The Self-Titled Debut Album
Available Now!
Here Comes The Heartache
I’ve Been Drinkin’ More
Hot Mouth Mama
Fancy Limousine
World Of Make Believe
Back In My Arms
Buppa-Bup-Bow-Bow
True Blues
I Wonder If You’ll Ever Come Around
I’ll Set You Free
Pullin’ Out The Suit
Welcome To The Blues
Walk Through My Heart
About Jason James
TEXAS CITY, Texas — When Jason James walks onstage, he declares his love of classic country before he even sings a note. His choice of attire — embroidered suits or pearl-snap shirts and sharply creased slacks — offers a visual tribute to his musical heroes and the traditions they established. But it’s not his looks or style that provide the most convincing evidence of his kinship with other giants of the genre. It’s his sound: the pure, honest voice of a singer who rediscovered his soul when he reawakened his early love of well-crooned waltzes and hook-filled honky-tonkers.
On Seems Like Tears Ago, released worldwide Oct. 4, 2019 via his own Melodyville Records (Smith Music), James follows his self-titled 2015 debut with ten original odes that recall the work of his influences without resorting to mimicry. “Jason James may have a long way to go to forge a similar legacy to the greats of the Golden Era of country music,” noted Trigger in SavingCountryMusic.com, “but he doesn’t have to travel far at all to illustrate the same talent those legends did in putting sound behind the emotions of heartache and joy that the best of country music captures.” But even though AllMusic.com compared him to Sturgill Simpson and praised his first album’s “classy, decidedly retro feel,” James is hardly trying to live in the past. He’s building on the legacy left by those who helped create the genre, while perhaps reconnecting listeners with the vibe country had before it went pop (and beyond). And boy, does he nail it, with a well-modulated baritone that occasionally dips toward bass territory or glides into tenor range — it’s a voice born to be accompanied by a crying pedal steel or wailing fiddle. “I’m evolving into a true-blue country singer, in tune with the spirit of my idols but forging my own personal path,” James explains. He calls it an evolution because he didn’t always sing this way. When he started to record his previous album, for New West Records, he had more of a high-lonesome sound. By the time it was released, two producers and three years later, his voice had become a deeper croon. But it was also finally released when the label had re-staffed and re-located and in many ways orphaned the release. When asked to sound less traditional on his next effort, the writing was on the wall that he and the label would part ways. His last recording for them was a cover of Ernest Tubb’s “Let’s Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello”, which aired in a Shiner Beer Super Bowl commercial. For that, they let him be him. He wasn’t going to lose the pedal steel and add more electric guitar for his follow-up. He’d already been there, done that with a rock band. In fact, it was rock that got him to Austin — and to country.
James and a childhood friend had formed a band that played frequently in Houston. When they moved to Austin to start seeking gigs there, they made what James calls “the fatal decision” to room together. Meanwhile, he’d begun rebuilding his relationship with his father, who’d split from his mother years before. That rekindled his childhood obsession with Hank Williams. James wanted the band to do some Hank covers; it did not go over well. After a fight one night, James headed to an open mic try some Williams songs. “Here I am in long hair, probably resembling Gram Parsons more than anything, just playing Hank Williams stuff,” he recalls. “And they were leaving money in the tip jar, and I thought, ‘That’s more money than I make with the whole band.’ So I became really obsessed, possessed with writing [country songs]. It was an easy outlet for me — something fresh, and something I’d been searching for my whole life. “Country is just so sincere,” James continues. “You can’t lie to yourself and expect people to believe it. You’ve got to be honest. That’s what I always loved about country music. It wasn’t this facade of ‘We’re too cool for school.’”
The Seems Like Tears Ago sessions were the exact opposite experience of those for his previous album. Reconvening with his first producer, John Evans (Hayes Carll, Corb Lund), James tracked it in just three days at Signal Hill Recordings in Dripping Springs, outside of Austin, with Patrick Herzfeld engineering. Evans rounded up top talents for the sessions: Geoff Queen on electric and steel guitars; Reckless Kelly’s Cody Braun on fiddle; Rick Richards on drums; T Jarrod Bonta on piano; and Chris C Cook on rubboard (and no, neither uses a period). “It was fun to make this record,” James says. “It’s crazy seeing these guys come in and completely get it. I mean some of these songs were two takes. It was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s how you make a record.’” In fact, he says, “I went through a little bit of a postpartum because I was like, ‘That’s it?’ It was such an easy birth.” The writing came easily, too, particularly after James moved “back to the vortex” — of Texas City, on the Gulf Coast near Houston. Turns out there are fewer distractions in a town with a less active music scene. “They roll the carpets up here pretty early,” James says.
Any country songwriter worth his salt had better be able to navigate through heartbreak, and James spills enough lyrical tears in his songs. In addition to the title tune, he pours lovelorn pain into “I Miss You After All,” “Achin’ Takin’ Place,” “Cry on the Bayou,” “Foolish Heart” and “Ole Used To Be,” most of which are ballads. But “Cry on the Bayou” is a ZydeCajun waltz, and the happier “We’re Gonna Honky Tonk Tonight” is made for two-stepping. “I like to dance in between the light and the dark,” James notes. “I’d be a fool to just be dark and depressing all the time, pretending I’m some tortured artist. I’m just interested in life right now.” Oh, he battles his boogeymen, but tries to do it with humor. “I shine a light under the bed,” he says. “It’s there. It exists. But the survivor in me has to make a joke out of it.”
Another ballad, “Simply Divine,” is an actual love song (yes, happy songs are harder to write, but he’s got ’em). Then there’s “Move a Little Closer,” an ultimatum song (and the album’s first single) he describes as edgier than the others. A chicken-pickin’ honky-tonker, it traces a straight line from Texas City, TX., to Bakersfield, CA just like Buck Owens did. “I wasn’t reinventing the wheel on that song by any means, but I love that style with the train beat,” James says.
Unlike his last album, which included some reconfigured earlier work (along with a song he and Jim Lauderdale co-wrote), the Seems Like Tears Ago tracks were all country from the get-go. He’d accumulated so many, he just had to decide which to use. But he didn’t sweat that part much. “It’s kind of about the songs helping one another,” he says; he just chooses whatever fits together, as long as it feels organic. “I felt like these would be cool and I wanted to hear ‘em with a band,” he says, adding with a laugh, “I guess it was for my own amusement.” Not hardly. Ever since he was a kid peddling his comic strips door-to-door, he’s been driven to tell stories. Back then, writing was an escape. Now, it’s his lifeblood. He’s even glad he went through the label mill. When he contemplated giving up, his family helped him realize the goal was worth the pain. “It makes me want what I love more, and it makes me work harder to obtain it,” he observes. For a guy who’s posting album updates using the hashtag #makecountrysadagain, James says, “I’m just happy, and I’m happy with the album. It’s the record I wanted to make all along.”
Shows
ContactS
ARTIST Management/Booking
jasonjamesbandbooking@gmail.com
PUBLICITY
Wendy Brynford-Jones & Cary Baker | Conqueroo
wendy@conqueroo.com
cary@conqueroo.com
RADIO PROMOTION
Americana Radio
Angela Backstrom @ Angela Backstrom Promo
angelabackstrompromo@gmail.com
RECENT KIND WORDS:
Under the Headline: The Voice
"There are certain country singers who, the minute I hear them, a smile blossoms in my heart. George Jones, Merle Haggard,
Lefty Frizzell, Randy Travis, and Waylon Jennings come immediately to mind. Now I can add Jason James. His sophomore album,
the self-released Seems Like Tears Ago, is a primer on just how to truly sing real country music (not that radio crap). His is a
supple instrument, elastic in its effortless slide from an earthy baritone, swooping into a high-lonesome tenor, yet able to convey
worlds of meaning when low-balls it. He writes sad songs like Hank Williams but also raises the sawdust on the honkytonk floor
for a two-step. He even ventures from his home state of Texas over to Louisiana for “Cry On The Bayou,” what he calls a “ZydeCajun
Waltz.” There hasn’t been a male country singer who has caught my attention like this since John Anderson in the eighties.
- Mike Greenblatt/The Aquarian (11.27) - https://bit.ly/37ICYG1
“The young Texan doesn’t just replicate the steel-and-fiddle-driven sounds of classic country with unerring and uncompromising precision.
He has thoroughly absorbed them as a vehicle for his own artistic expression, one that, in the best country tradition, taps into deep wells of
real emotion.
The happiest song here is “Simply Divine.” Which is also a good description of this album.
- Nick Cristiano/The Philadelphia Inquirer (11.27) - https://bit.ly/35FGEGO
“When you hear the first few moments of the title track on the album, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was recorded by a contemporary
of George Jones or Buck Owens. Yes, really. It’s that good. James’s sound belongs to a bygone era, but you can enjoy it any time you want.
- Gary Schwind/Americana Highways (11.25 - Best of 2019) - https://bit.ly/2XN4KfY
“...a welcome celebration of traditional country music.
All of the songs on the outstanding disc were penned by James…"
- Robert Kinsler/Rock ’n’ Roll Truth (11.4) - http://bit.ly/2PLLs8B
“Listen to Seems Like Tears Ago and let Jason James take you back to that golden age of country. For writing too much like Hank Williams
and sounding too similar to George Jones James parted company with his previous record label. We must be thankful he stayed true to his
conviction because in Seems Like Tears Ago, to crying pedal steel and wailing fiddle, this rich baritone croons, waltzes and two-steps just like
his musical heroes.
- Calvin Powers/Americana Music Show (10.25) - http://bit.ly/363H76w
“...with Jason James just beginning his career, it is also a hopeful indication of what is yet to come. With all the hyphenated sub-genres of the form,
it’s good to get back to basics and remember where Country music comes from; and it seems like tears ago since we had such an unabashed purveyor
of the form."
Brian Rock/Turnstyled, Junkpiled (10.25) - https://bit.ly/33gP3yz
“...there’s never been a singer who sounded so much like a young George Jones, ever, except for George Jones in his younger years.
That’s no criticism but a heartfelt compliment. This record was crafted with loving care and lots of attention to detail, and the Possum
would’ve been proud of these ten quality songs. No doubt whatsoever."
- Stijn De Jong/Slim Chance Is Back (10.24) - https://bit.ly/2PfWbIg
“Ironically, James is a modern-day “country outlaw”, writing and recording on his own terms and not prepared to accept the interferences of a
record label. Things have certainly come full circle. File under ‘they just don’t make them like this anymore’. Make no mistake, if this album was
recorded in the early 70’s, James would be a household name!"
- Declan Culliton/Lonesome Highway (10.22) - https://bit.ly/2N2pKdF
“Get him on the bus to LA, and re-open the Palomino!"
- George W. Harris/Jazz Weekly (10.21) - http://bit.ly/2W0LgU3
“He may look young enough to still get carded in the clubs he plays, but Jason James is an old soul and definitely the real deal."
- Danger Zine (10.17) - http://bit.ly/2BgS7PV
“Jason James is in the next wave of great traditional country artists. You’ve all heard of Simpson, Childers, Jinks, Cauthen, Crockett, etc.
You’re gonna have to add another name to that list and that name is Jason James. This is tear in my beer country that is praise worthy for
it’s authenticity. This is Texas dance hall music that is timeless.
This is a country classic in the making. “It fits right in there.” I am truly astounded at how good it sounds. Again, the formula is great writing,
great vocals, great players, and tons of that twangy pedal steel. The ingredients are all listed on the side of this cereal box. This box doesn’t
require a deep dig to get to the prize at the bottom. The prizes are everywhere. Better than the Lucky Charms marshmallows."
- Harry Kaplan/Twangrila (10.9) - https://bit.ly/33eVeUr
“...there’s a depth to these songs that just feels like the type of country the genre has been missing. In many ways Seems Like Tears Ago
reminds us that great country music still exists, even when it’s coming from an artist ready to shy away from the Nashville sound."
- David Garrick/Closed Captioned (10.08) - https://bit.ly/329471P
“The entire album is a joy to listen to from start to finish. I think the biggest take away here is that Jason James actually sings, as singers
these days seem to do less of. You can hear the heartache in his voice that jumps through the speakers and does not get drowned in the
instrumentation. The entire album showcases Jason’s true talent for crafting a song. Favorite tracks: the title song, “I Miss You After All”,
“We’re Gonna Honky Tonk Tonight” and “Crying on the Bayou”. But hell, listen to the entire album! And as a bonus, spin the 1990s infused
song “I’ve Been Drinkin’ More” from his self-titled debut album, its bad ass and needs to be heard too!”
- Dustin/Meet Country (10.8) - https://bit.ly/31XNDtb
“Jason James is quickly becoming a huge name when it comes to traditional country music in these modern times."
- Joshua Wallace/Gary Hayes Country (10.7) - https://bit.ly/338ykOr
“By refusing to compromise on his love for and enjoyment of the style he plays and remaining inside country’s traditional tent, James will
probably forgo more notice than he gains and so it goes for the independent musician. In intent as well as in form, Seems Like Tears Ago
is made from two of country music’s and independent music’s non-negotiable’s — a sense of humility and an insistence on authenticity.
- James Stocker/Indie30 (Australia - 10.6) - https://bit.ly/31YMa5F
“This is exceptional...Mr. James mines a deep vein of traditional country.
Aficionados of retro country music will guzzle this like beer at an Oktoberfest.
All songs are Jason James’ own though many sound written decades ago & were classics. Jason’s magic is his vocal delivery.
Sincere & with “Simply Divine,” it’s just that – divine. If many of the classic country singers were alive today – Waylon, Merle, Mel Tillis, Patsy Cline
– they’d dig into Jason’s trove of songs."
- John Apice/Americana Highways (10.4) - https://bit.ly/2pkB5h7
“To call this music traditional honky-tonk country would be to understate things considerably…
...James is putting old-school tropes to work in service of an organic and personal vision. A couplet like “Lovin’ you is like sleeping on
the tracks/I’m just waiting around to die” is worthy of Hank Williams…
All of the songs are originals, and every one takes old musical ideas and brings them to new life. An outstanding debut from a major talent."
- Rick Anderson/CD Hot List (10.4) - https://bit.ly/2AMA43E
“...he channels the traditional country greats on these 10 original tunes. They are the kind of three-minute classic country weepers and
honky-tonkers that would easily fit on radio during the Golden Age of Country (circa '70s and early '80s)."
- Jim Hynes/Country Standard Time (10.4) - https://bit.ly/2Ol44fa
“Opening with a deep roar of baritone guitar and driven forward by a steady train beat, Jason James’ “Move a Little Closer” nods to the
burly, bombastic hits of Waylon Jennings. “I’ve got more bags underneath my eyes than the ones you left with last night,” he sings, playing
the part of a jilted lover with a mix of classic Texas twang and piss-and-vinegar urgency."
- Robert Crawford/Rolling Stone “10 Best Country and Americana Songs of the Week” (10.4) - https://bit.ly/2pM3BIx
“Boy howdy. It takes all of 12 seconds to fly by in this new Jason James record before you decisively know that you made the smartest
of all country music decisions by giving this young man your time and attention. Where have all those true sounds of country music gone?
Straight into the lungs of Texas City’s Jason James to be crooned back out in one classic-sounding country song after another, presenting
themselves like a parade of forgotten hits from the 50’s and 60’s. In short, a swim through Seems Like Tears Agoby Jason James is like a
trip to country music Heaven.
- Trigger/Saving Country Music (10.4) - https://bit.ly/2VbERVI
“Like Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam, James has a real talent for making sad songs that you can dance to.
James is without question a talented songwriter. This album is a perfect counterpoint to a lot of the pop country that comes out of
Nashville. It’s fair to say that James seems destined to be a country star."
- Gary Schwind/Americana Highways (10.3) - https://bit.ly/339K3fR
“Traditional country music is alive and kicking and Jason James is its ambassador.
If you’re not necessarily into country, find yourself a better country radio station. Jason James and Seems Like Tears Ago will turn your ears.
As most of the world sat enthralled by the recent Country Music documentary by the brilliant Ken Burns can attest, traditional country music
is valid and viable.
Jason James has tremendous range and he uses it wisely. This is an album that’s just fun to listen to.
Seems Like Tears Ago will appeal to most of the better sides of country. Jason James is no copycat. These songs are familiar in their stylings
while being fresh and inventive at the same time. Give this one a listen, you’ll be glad you did. I know I am.
- Viola Krouse/Making A Scene (10.3) - https://bit.ly/2IoOBqH
“...(James) studied honky-tonk heroes like George Jones and Hank Williams well, absorbing their lessons of melodic resilience
and lyrical simplicity for this solid trad country set.
...his sincerity’s refreshing and stirs interest…"
- Bliss Bowen/Pasadena Weekly (10.3) - https://bit.ly/31J0L53
“...so deep into the boozy back room ambience of classic honky-tonk, with a resemblance to George Jones in particular, that I was
momentarily blindsided by memories, circa the late ’70s, of having been enveloped in the strains of country radio."
- Joseph Neff/The Vinyl District (10.3) - https://bit.ly/34WaxTw
“Honky Tonker of the Month! This (album) stands out as one of the big highlights of the year."
- Duncan Warwick/Country Music People 5 stars! (October Issue)
“If you like or love artists like Hank Williams,George Jones, and Merle Haggard, you're almost certain to get a major jolt out of
Seems Like Tears Ago. Just as was the case when K.D. Lang released her highly-influential Ingenue years ago, this album is bound
to immediately capture the attention and admiration of a large cross section of music fans. James is one helluva crooner, and he really
makes you believe the words he's singing. Listeners respond to folks who are genuinely inspired and real. This man is both. We’re
totally blown away by this album. It's a true modern classic. Killer tracks include 'Seems Like Tears Ago’, 'I Miss You After All’,
'Achin' Takin’ Place’, 'Coldest Day of the Year’, and 'Ole Used To Be’. There are threads of sadness in these songs that push them
to an even higher level. You need to hear this album. Highly recommended.
- LMNOP/Babysue/October Top Pick (9.30) - https://bit.ly/2nX1kcu
“…Jason James asserts himself as the leader of old-school country music."
- Jim Pasinki/JP’s Music Blog (9.29) - https://bit.ly/2mXYcgJ
“There is something primal about this album. Pure emotion with music, words and voice all beating to the same pulse. I’m not
going to anoint a golden track, just place the whole album on the lofty pedestal it deserves."
- David/Three Chords and the Truth (9.28) - https://bit.ly/2nz4Nha
“Jason James is a Texas City native whose dapper Western threads and high-piled hair suggest a deep affinity for the golden
era of honky-tonk. Which is good news, because James knows the vocabulary and the range of sound in that classic form, and
he manages to write and record new music that fits nicely with the canon without trying to replicate it."
- Andrew Dansby/The Houston Chronicle (9.26) - https://bit.ly/2nnRWhR
“Traditional Country Just Got Itself a New ‘real Deal’ Star (headline). …Seems Like Tears Ago is an absolute cracker of a
traditional country album; and if you are here for the style, you’ll end up staying for the substance."
- Ags Connnolly/The Rocking Magpie (9.25) - https://bit.ly/2lFUR55
“Jason James' sophomore album Seems Like Tears Ago -- out Oct. 4 and premiering exclusively on Billboard today (Sept. 18)
-- does sound like yesteryear. The traditional country album is akin to anything Ken Burns is featuring in episodes of his PBS
Country Music documentary. James even proclaims at one point, over weeping fiddles, that "We're gonna honky-tonk tonight/
We're gonna have a ball."
- Gary Graff/Billboard (9.18) - https://bit.ly/2m2NdBt
"Jason James may have a long way to go to forge a similar legacy to the greats of the Golden Era of country music,
but he doesn’t have to travel far at all to illustrate the same talent those legends did in putting sound behind the emotions
of heartache and joy that the best of country music captures.”
- Trigger/Saving Country Music (7.30) - https://bit.ly/2Yh3lS9