A genuine, rump-thumper in a state increasingly crowded by
paper-thin, cowboy-hatted frat boys whose jingoistic "Texas!
Texas! Texas!" chest beatings have all the soul and depth
of a theme park, Ingram is too proud and self-assured to alter
his message or vision for 'success.' Born and raised in Houston
and long-based in Dallas, Jack Ingram (aided by his rough'n'tumble
Beat Up Ford Band) has steadily built a loyal, even rabid,
fan base across the Lone Star State and the US with a unique
blend of hip-shaking rockers, literate, penetrating ballads,
ebullient high-steppers and heartland anthems.
Relentlessly infusing traditional forms with intelligence,
palpable energy and a personal, contemporary viewpoint, Ingram
continues a long line of hard-to-categorize Texans - Willie
Nelson, Guy Clark, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rodney Crowell, Townes
Van Zandt and Steve Earle among them - who have set the standard
for country cool.
Living legend and godfather of "outlaw country"
Billy Joe Shaver has called Jack "one of the best performers
around," while the late Waylon Jennings said, "If
you're into the new breed of Texas country artists, Jack Ingram
is an incredible talent." High praise, indeed, from a
couple of guys who don't often throw bouquets.
Cited by Billboard Magazine as "the ultimate anti-hat
act," Ingram eschews obvious affectations like cowboy
hat and boots. In a state where 'all hat, no cattle' is the
ultimate put-down, Jack's roots-country laced with relentless
swing and Rolling Stones' swagger is a hatless celebration
boasting a 'herd' that extends beyond the horizon. Withstanding
the ebb and flow of fashion, Jack Ingram keeps a steady hand
on the tiller-fads come and they go, but there's no expiration
date on well-crafted, honest tunes propelled by a fortifying
band.
"All I can do is be ready," he says with conviction.
"I intend on playing music, period; that means I'm prepared
to play clubs for the rest of my career if it should come
to that. However, I'm also perfectly ready to play arenas.
I think it takes just one break to make it happen, and when
it comes along, you damn well better be ready to go. Petty,
Springsteen, Willie and Waylon--when their time came and their
number was called, they were set to step right up and grab
it."
Jack was a late bloomer, musically speaking; he didn't even
pick up the guitar until he was studying psychology in college,
but his life was altered the day he played a vinyl copy of
Willie Nelson's classic "Red Headed Stranger."
"That record was in my parents' collection all the while
I was growing up," Jack clearly recalls, "but when
I put that on myself as an 18-year-old on my own record player,
that's the record that I said, 'OK, I want to make music that
makes people feel like that. Even when we were going out and
getting drunk, it was always focused around listening to great
music and talking about what it all meant. I learned early
on that Billy Joe Shaver was writing songs about his life.
I knew that Kris Kristofferson was writing songs that were
true to life. In my own songwriting, I thought I better talk
about shit that's important to me."
Following three ever-improving albums ("Jack Ingram",
"Lonesome Questions" and "Live At Adair's")
distributed on his own label, Jack signed with Universal's
Rising Tide Records in 1997. The Steve Earle-produced "Livin'
or Dyin'" earned critical raves, but an ill-timed series
of mergers by Universal left the Rising Tide imprint (and
Jack's record with it) abandoned on the roadside.
Ingram and crew stayed the course, continuing to torch an
endless string of honky-tonks; sure enough, Sony/Lucky Dog
soon beckoned. Jack released the stunning "Hey You,"
the blistering "Unleashed Live" (with Charlie and
Bruce Robison) and a more rock-oriented "Electric"
(closely followed by the companion "Extra Volts"
EP) on Lucky Dog, but despite more glowing press and a growing
buzz, Ingram found that an extremely fertile stretch of tunesmithing
was far out-pacing the measured release schedules inherent
in major labels.
Smith Music Group invited Jack and his Beat Up Ford Band
to provide an entry for their prestigious "Live At Billy
Bob's Texas" series (joining heavyweights like Merle
Haggard, Willie Nelson, Asleep At The Wheel and David Allan
Coe); that rafter-rattling beauty hit the stores in 2003.
Having secured an amicable parting with Sony Nashville (Lucky
Dog recently licensed "Young Man"--a compilation
of Jack's first two indie discs), Ingram is back in control
of his recording career. Evidence that his muse is on a serious
roll is amply provided by two new self-released discs--the
rollicking live set "Happy, Happy - Live At Gruene Hall")
and the intimate solo outing "Acoustic Motel". As
well, Ingram hosts a weekly radio show "Jack's Tracks"
on Ft. Worth's The Wolf and is preparing for his 2nd Annual
Real American Music Festival.
But all that's merely the business end of things--on stage
(after stage after stage), Jack Ingram and his high-stepping
compadres continue to pick 'em up and lay 'em down, leaving
sweat/beer soaked dance floors and countless exhausted revelers
in their wake.
Ingram's eventual inclusion in that revered Lone Star troubadour
pantheon seems a good bet--almost as safe a bet as that, even
as you read this, the ol' boy is setting up in yet another
town, poised to take over another room the old fashioned way--kickin'
butt and takin' names.
Tickets
On Sale Now!
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( Click on November 13 calendar date to purchase tickets)
