This multi-award winning New England-based songwriter
discovered his father’s collection of eight-track tapes as a
child and never looked back. After early exposure to
songwriter legends like Neil Young, Paul Simon,
Jim Croce and Van Morrison along with Motown
heavies like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and
Gladys Knight, Jason was inspired to start making the
rounds on coffee house stages in his teens. Shortly
thereafter, he spent time in Europe performing in
folk & blues clubs and on the streets of London and
around Spain. Once back in the states, he landed a
job at a roots & blues record label where he witnessed
numerous Blues legends (including members of the original
Muddy Waters band ) making magic in recording sessions.
Before long, Jason jumped head-first into the Northeast's
burgeoning songwriter scene.
The maturity and strength of
his impressive debut album “Lost Houses” quickly
began to turn the heads of fans and critics alike. Within a
few months of the release, he added a blistering rhythm
section (Andy Rice and Reed Chambers) to the
supporting cast, establishing The Jason Spooner Trio
as one of the most interesting and noteworthy up-and-coming
acts since Kathleen Edwards or Martin Sexton.
If Jason's debut hinted at the potential of a unique new
artist, his stunning 2007 sophomore release "The Flame
You Follow" expelled any doubt and cemented Jason and
the band as one of the "bright light" acts on the scene
today.
In recent news, Jason won the International finals of the
2007 Mountain Stage NewSong contest held in New York
City. He was also honored as a national finalist in the
2007 Starbucks Music Makers competition in Boston. In
2006, Jason took part in a tour of the East Coast as a
selected member of the Falcon Ridge “Most Wanted”
Preview Tour. He was also recently named as a 2006
New Folk Finalist in the renowned Kerrville Folk
Festival in Kerrville, TX. Jason and his band returned
to both festivals as a main stage act in 2007. Previously, he won the 2005
Songwriting Contest at the Ossipee Valley Bluegrass
Festival in NH and was a finalist in the prestigious
2004 John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Other
highlights include Jason's song "Pickup Truck" airing on
NPR's "Car Talk” Program and a national appearance on
The Food Network’s "FoodNation with Bobby Flay."
Jason also won "Best Singer/Songwriter" in the Portland
Phoenix's annual "Best Music Poll 2003."Jason's writing style continues to emerge as a crucial
strength that sets this Portland, Maine-based artist apart
from the fray of young songwriters populating the New
England music scene. Admittedly far from content with the
majority of songs dominating today's radio charts, Jason
hovers in a unique space between the literal and the
psychological. As a writer, he often provides enough detail
to ignite the listener's imagination while enabling them to
deliver some personal experience to the equation. In a
recent interview, Jason described the songwriting process
saying,
"I've written a handful of 'story' songs which can be
interesting way to communicate but I definitely think the
vast majority of the tunes I end up with tend to be
broad-strokes vs. very literal accounts or thematic "songwritery"
songs. I try and keep the concept of poetry in mind
regardless...some poems are powerful in their starkness and
others are powerful in the breathing room that reader has to
process a series of words."
He later goes on to add...
“With songwriting, I view it as a
spectrum between the stark and the broad-stroke as well. A
writer like Johnny Cash for instance; there's really no time
or need for songwriting devices, cleverness or trickery
there. It is what is it. The poetry and the power is in the
honesty and the starkness of it. On the other end of the
spectrum, I think of bands like R.E.M. and Radiohead or
songwriters like Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen. The lyrical
approach is such a contrast to the literal stuff. Things are
far more shrouded and murky but tastefully so. In these
cases, I enjoy the mystery of the listening experience
because I can inject some personal experience into the
process. So when I write, I think I present a framework but
I try not to hit listeners over the head. I generally don't
enjoy songwriting where the metaphor is overwhelming or
where the you can see the puppet-master's strings
everywhere. It's almost like watching Soap Opera acting.”
Whether you’re a fan of great songwriting or power-house
live performance, Jason Spooner is an emerging songwriter to
watch closely.
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2007 Winner
Mountain Stage NewSong
International Finals
2006 Preview Tour
2005 Emerging Artist
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Two-time “New Folk” Finalist
Kerrville Folk Festival
2003 & 2006
2005 Winner, New England
Songwriting Competition
Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Fest
John Lennon
Songwriting Contest
2004 Finalist
Featured on Food Network
"FoodNation with Bobby Flay"
Featured on NPR
"Car Talk" Program
2003 Phoenix Music Awards
Voted "Best Singer/Songwriter"
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