FlanFire.com

Published: 2/13/09
Written by: Duggan Flanakin

"Jarrod Dickenson-Hope Is Rising NOW!"
by Duggan Flanakin (Austin Music Journalist)

"I gotta tell ya — sometimes what you find by “accident” is (a) no accident (someone is directing your steps) and (b) sometimes more than amazing. Such was the case when Flanfire dropped by Momos Club Tuesday night — mainly to hang out with his buddy Jack Martin — and looked up and saw Dave Madden setting up his keyboards. There was this tall, bearded guy with a hat standing in the middle of the stage — name of Jarrod (the guy with the hat!). I had never heard of him (apparently he had a Momos show last month, too), but I figured, if Madden is playing with him, I will stick around. What an excellent move!

Okay — I raved last year about music from Denton’s Doug Burr, Austin’s Aimee Bobruk and a few others as well. But I was introduced to Doug Burr by old friends and of course have known Aimee for years. THIS was a stunner! And then I took home the whole - brand new - record, “Ashes on the Ground,” which impressed me just looking at the artwork. Then I checked out the players — Brannen Temple on drums, Stefano Intelisano on keyboards, Warren Hood on violin — plus Mike Miller on keys, Wesley Miller on tambourine, Todd Pertll on pedal steel and banjo and Weissenhorn, the Sarinda string quartet plus Caitlin Bailey (cello), and Amanda Leggett on backing vocals. But the real music here is mainly from Jarrod and producer Chris Jacobie, who played bass on stage on Tuesday.

Much of the work here was done at Premium Recording, the Bubble, and Blackhawk Studios (San Antonio), but some was done on various campuses and “in Chris’ apartment.” And just for the record, Jarrod is booked for three shows at major venues in New York City later this month, a place he has found easier to break into than the Austin music scene.

Both at the show and on the record, I was caught by the opening waltz, “California (Do You Still?),” a love song to someone who has slipped through his fingers. Our muse asks her (in his reverie), “Do you still wear my shirt when you sleep, do you still dance around when nobody can see … and talk about the days when you used to sing?” I would love to see a video here …

Next up is a ballad, “Home to You” [my brain recalls some ballads from Simply Red, aka Mick Hucknall] — the pedal steel here feels good, but it is the high-note falsetto that grabs you. Note to traveling musicians/salesmen — this is a great song to send out to your loved one. But the pace picks up with “I’ll Be with You,” and we learn that this guy is tuned in to a higher power … one who will “dry your tears” whenever you cry and “help you feel” when all goes numb. This song opens with bass and piano to set the mood …. this music is comforting. “So I Cry” is back to that broken love … “so this is the end, It seems we’re out of time, the love has finally died ….” But our singer is not crying for himself, but for those whom he has hurt — and so he can grow to love again.

“Goodbye, Annie Baby” is a country tune - picking up the pace with the pedal steel (yeah, that’s Todd Pertll who plays with Doug Burr, the guy whom Dickenson most reminds me of) and some of Warren Hood’s fiddle (not violin here!). You can dance to it! “Slow It Down” has that jazzy feel (that Brannen Temple does it again!), a bouncy tune that changes tempo — this stuff is well produced!

There are FIFTEEN songs on this CD, so I will let my dear readers hear some of them for the first time without any Cliff Notes — but I have to mention three others here. “Skin Deep” reminds me a little of Joanna Barbera’s “The Forgotten Trail” — there is real power here. “Charlotte, My Dear” is a plea to a friend who has gone astray, and our poet beckons her to believe in herself — “Charlotte, my dear, you’re worth so much more than the life that you have settled for … Girl, just run on home, God is waiting to wrap you in his arms.”

And while the title cut has some beautiful music surrounding impassioned words, my favorite cut here has to be “Hope Is Rising.” This is just simple guitar to start with, with violin coming after … a song of hope, to be sure — a song of great comfort. This is a song of praise … a song of joy despite failure, a song that lets us sit on our front porch in our rocking chair and realize that we are truly loved."


Go to www.flanfire.com to read more of Duggan Flanakin's reviews.
 

Jerry Tubb

Published: 1/22/09
Written by: Jerry Tubb (Terra Nova Mastering)