Jimbo Mathus Rocks with “Blue Light”
By Nancy Dunham
Swing. Blues. Rock. Country. String. It really doesn’t matter what sound you want to hear Jimbo Mathus, who leads the Tri-State Coalition, has likely just written a song in that format.
The former chief of the now-defunct Squirrel Nut Zippers is one of those rare songwriters who always have a treasure trove of songs he’s either penned or about to write. Contrast that with someone like the much-honored Steve Earle, who is often praised as prolific, but candidly notes that he never has any extra songs in his arsenal.
So what gives with Mathus?
“I’ve just always got a lot of songs that I write,” he said when asked how he wrote old time string songs for the latest South Memphis String Band album, “Old Times There,” at the same time he was writing rock for his band’s new soon-to-be released EP, Blue Light. “These are just American music. One is garage, one is funky, one is honky tonk, one is gospel. We just chose the best ones and mixed it up.”
In fairness, Mathus reiterates that he continually writes songs and so does have something of a stash from which to choose when producers come calling. Plus, Mathus said his band mates – Justin Showah on bass, Eric Carlton on keyboards, Matt Pierce on guitar, and Ryan Rogers on
drums – are fairly point-and-shoot players.
“It’s was pretty easy,” Jimbo said of the arrangements and recordings. “Some stuff I demo but some I show them on the spot – like Blue Light they’d never heard that – and they just play it. They’re feelin’ it.”
That’s saying something considering that the project came together almost by happenstance when producer Bruce Watson approached Mathus and his band about recording one song. Watson liked the songs he heard so much, he asked the band to record the six-song EP that will be released in July on Big Legal Mess, part of the Fat Possum label.
While Mathus may be well-known for his country styled songs – such as on the band’s last album “Confederate Buddha” – Watson’s request came at a time when he and his band mates were ready to take a step back from what some think is their preferred format.
“I just want listeners to hear good southern vibey ‘70s music,” said Mathus who will release another album “White Buffalo” early next year. “I wanted this to have the vibe you’d hear sitting in front of a really cool juke box.”
It’s not a stretch to imagine that listeners will likely see visions of Wurlitzer-like colors in their minds’ eye as soon as they hear these songs.
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