Jeremiah James Gang

Genre: Americana
Secondary Genre: Country Boise, Idaho USA Contact

Idaho's top-selling honky-tonk/outlaw country band, the Jeremiah James Gang is an electrifying live act with a genuine affinity for country music's storied tradition and naked honesty. These shit-hot players wrangle honky tonk, roots rock and outlaw country into a rollicking, foot-stompin good time.

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Artist Information

Biography

Some people play music their entire lives. Some stumble into it along the way. Others have it ingrained in them, but live years, sometimes decades, before finding it within. And when they do, their star rises fast.

Jeremiah James falls into the latter category. His mother played guitar, but Jeremiah was well into his twenties before he bought one of his own in 2004. Only five years later, he’s one of Idaho’s top-selling musical talents, a working singer-songwriter with a deep baritone croon who long ago eschewed a day job to dedicate himself fully to his craft.

And what does one call Jeremiah’s craft, exactly? That depends on the set of ears. Honky tonk, outlaw country, old-school country, alternative country, country folk, country rock, roots rock, Americana ... many people have called his music many things, but no one ever hits it right on the head. But they — and “they” includes everyone from ten-gallon old-timers to alt-country hipsters — all agree that the Jeremiah James Gang wrangles up a boozy good time, whether on an open-air mountain stage or crammed in the corner of a dank city bar.

It’s “a new take on an old style,” as Jeremiah likes to say, and it’s the sound of a young man who has studied his record collection and connected the dots — one who understands why the Clash were into Cash, why Hank Williams I, II and III all kick ass in their own way, and why the Stones were at their best when they were hanging out with Gram Parsons in the early ’70s.

Jeremiah gravitated toward traditional music at an early age. Growing up on the North Dakota prairie after his parents divorced, he received two very different but equally influential musical educations. His father walked on the wild side of country music among the Waylons and Williams, and Jeremiah remembers listening to (and eventually emulating) his dad singing along in the pickup. His mother favored gospel, singing in local churches to help pay the bills. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve always listened to country music,” Jeremiah says. “And singing was something that was always around. I always sang along in the car, but I never thought you could make a living doing it.”

That said, it took a while for Jeremiah to find the music inside of him. Coming of age in the cold North Country, where “there was nothing to do but drink,” Jeremiah was in and out of trouble, bouncing from job to job and back and forth between saint and sinner. (He grew up in a Baptist family and at one point considered becoming a youth pastor.)

Musically, Jeremiah was out of step with his peers. “I’ve always been drawn to country music — it was what my dad listened to. When I was 18, I had apartments with guys who listened to Stone Temple Pilots and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Meanwhile, I had Merle Haggard’s Greatest Hits on the stereo.”

After rambling around for a few years in his early twenties, Jeremiah found himself in Idaho, where his parents first met. A series of personal tragedies followed, but rather than breaking his spirit, these events left Jeremiah determined to make something of his life.

Jeremiah enrolled at Boise State University, but college life was not for him — attending open mic nights quickly became more important than tending to his studies. Jeremiah had tinkered with guitar before, teaching himself a few chords, but he hadn’t been interested in taking it any further until now. “I got into it,” he says, “and it felt more normal than anything I’d ever done.” Jeremiah dropped out of school, used his financial aid to buy a guitar and set out on the path that he’s still walking today.

Along the way, Jeremiah met a kindred spirit who would play a large role in the formation of his musical identity. That man was Pinto Bennett, the Idaho native and Rocky Mountain country music legend. The two crossed paths in Stanley, Idaho, in the summer of 2006, and Pinto took a shine to Jeremiah after hearing him perform. “I got the Pinto blessing,” Jeremiah says. “That was the turning point.” With Pinto’s encouragement, Jeremiah formed a full band, started performing his mentor’s songs and tapped into his fan base. It was the boost Jeremiah needed to get serious about his career.

Which brings us to Nashville. Pinto had tried it, only to find himself a true outlaw among the well-manicured “outlaws” populating the country music capital. Nonetheless, Jeremiah thought he would see what the famed city had in store for him. “I went down there and got my ass kicked,” Jeremiah says.

Jeremiah lived in Nashville for six months, enough time to pick up some songwriting tips and realize he didn’t want to live in the same town as Kenny Chesney. His own lesson, coupled with Pinto’s, got him thinking about place, and he realized it wasn’t about being where the action is, but being the action where you’re at. “Nashville is it, the center of the country music machine, and there’s value to that,” he says. “But not for what I wanted to do.”

Since moving back to Idaho, Jeremiah’s career has flourished. He’s a full-time musician with no pesky day job to concern him, and that freedom has afforded him the opportunity to hone his songwriting chops — drawing heavily from his rough-and-tumble past — and build a regional reputation as an electrifying live performer with a genuine affinity for country music’s storied tradition and naked honesty. “My music is about going back to the basics,” Jeremiah says. “It’s an attitude. It’s about finding yourself in a barroom singing real songs — drinking songs, love songs, depressing songs. It’s not about the style-over-substance industry of cool. We’re the opposite of that on purpose.”

Together just a short time, the current incarnation of the Jeremiah James Gang is already a well-oiled machine, a collection of shit-hot players who spend more nights of the week on stage than they do off. Led by Jeremiah James on vocals and rhythm guitar, the Gang is rounded out by “Shakey” Dave Manion, the honkiest, tonkiest picker in Idaho, on pedal steel and Telecaster; “Mild” Bill Parsons, one of Pinto Bennett’s Famous Motel Cowboys, on doghouse bass; Ben "Tank" Brault on drums; and Tony “Digger” Lemmon on fiddle and backing vocals. They currently have a hangover in Boise, Idaho.

Solo or with his Gang, Jeremiah has shared the stage with a diverse cast of ramblin’ men and women, including ROBERT EARL KEEN, THE GOURDS, DALE WATSON, CROSS CANADIAN RAGWEED, RECKLESS KELLY, MICKY AND THE MOTORCARS, WESTERN UNDERGROUND, EILEN JEWELL, SHOOTER JENNINGS and PAULA NELSON.

ASSORTED FACTS AND PRESS QUOTES

Place of birth: Alexandria, Louisiana. Jeremiah’s father was stationed at England Air Force Base at the time.

Roots: North Dakota, Idaho and parts in between.

First guitar: Martin D-16. It was shattered by an ex-girlfriend and later repaired, only to be stolen last year.

Favorite beer: Miller Lite

Favorite whiskey: Jim Beam

Favorite Stones album: He goes back and forth between 'Let it Bleed' and 'Exile on Main St.'

Jeremiah’s second album, "Idaho Cowboy," was the top-selling local release of 2008 at Idaho’s largest independent record store, the Record Exchange, and finished among the store’s Top 10 overall sellers for the year. One week in June 2008, he beat out Coldplay for the top-selling album. And "Idaho Cowboy" is still moving copies.

“Jeremiah James didn’t design it this way. He picked up a guitar in his mid-20s and tapped into a natural talent without plans to cash in on a new generation of country appreciators. His chops just happened to blossom as young tastemakers ditched their whiny pop-punk albums for classic Johnny Cash and Whiskeytown. James’ take has an outlaw-swagger vibe that carries huge crossover appeal for long-time traditionalists and recent converts alike.” — Jamie Gadette, Salt Lake City Weekly

“Long hair tucked under a ball cap, cigarette dangling from his lower lip, Jeremiah James has shown promise on stage as Boise’s answer to the outlaw-country wanderer.” — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman

“Not only because it was a Wednesday but also because it was the day after Christmas, I expected the place to be quiet enough to hear tumbleweeds rolling. When I arrived, the joint was rocking and there wasn’t a single damn place to sit. I had forgotten that Jeremiah James plays at Pengilly’s Wednesday nights and realized I might as well get used to standing. Jeremiah James draws a crowd on just about any stage he takes to. His unique style pays homage to country roots but has a firm hold in rock. His honest songwriting, coupled with his bourbon-and-cigarette voice, makes listeners feel as though they’re hearing a classic Americana song even if it’s the first time James has ever played it.” — Amy Atkins, Boise Weekly

Instrumentation

Jeremiah James, vocals and rhythm guitar; “Shakey” Dave Manion, the honkiest, tonkiest picker in Idaho, pedal steel and Telecaster; “Mild” Bill Parsons, one of Pinto Bennett’s Famous Motel Cowboys, doghouse bass; Ben "Tank" Brault, drums; Tony "Digger" Lemmon, fiddle and backing vocals.

Discography

"Sounds Like Home," 2005
"Idaho Cowboy," 2008

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Press

  • Live Music Picks [+ Show ]

    “Jeremiah James didn’t design it this way. He picked up a guitar in his mid-20s and tapped into a na...

  • Jeremiah James: King of the local music scene [+ Show ]

    “The Record Exchange recently compiled statistics about the best-selling local albums of 2008. Not o...

  • Sounds Like Home CD review [+ Show ]

    "Long hair tucked under a ball cap, cigarette dangling from his lower lip, Jeremiah James has shown ...

  • Idaho Cowboy CD review [+ Show ]

    "After a short stint in Nashville in 2007, honky-tonker Jeremiah James returned and recorded this al...

  • Jeremiah James, Wednesdays, Pengilly's [+ Show ]

    “Not only because it was a Wednesday but also because it was the day after Christmas, I expected the...

  • Boise's own honky-tonk man [+ Show ]

    "You probably wouldn't guess it if you saw him on the street but James is a walking encyclopedia of ...

  • The Infamous Motel Cowboys

    "An obvious heir to the Idaho country music throne." — Amy Atkins

Setlist

Mostly originals with well-chosen covers sprinkled in. Covers include Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams I, II and III, Buck Owens, Pinto Bennett.

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