Biography
Jason Plumb is an exception in the world of contemporary pop music where "extended careers" and "timeless bodies of work" are not commonplace.
An artist of considerable depth, the Saskatchewan-based singer and songwriter, has over the course of the past twenty years delivered a impressive body of work that continues to present fresh and exciting chapters, as is the case with his new release Wide Open Music.
From hit singles and memorable album tracks with The Waltons, and to solo albums, soundtracks and theme songs, Plumb has consistently created music that has been embraced by Canadian audiences and acclaimed by the industry and his peers.
A man for all seasons, Plumb is a pop maestro, artistic perfectionist, and a creative force in a recording studio. An engaging front man in a concert, he is also a gifted vocalist who keeps audiences spellbound with soulful performances. In short, Plumb's music is as accessible as it is unique and immediately identifiable, and those traits continue to be cornerstones of his new creation Wide Open Music.
His journey has set this artist in a place, where today he is at the top of his game, and experiencing the best of all possible worlds when it comes to making music.
"I consider myself lucky for a number of reasons," muses Plumb from his
home base in Regina Saskatchewan , where he gathered and recorded the material for WideOpen Music, a set of songs that are connected by his love for his home province, while offering up a broad view of what is, and what inhabits Saskatchewan. It's a recording that also puts a focus on Plumb as a leader of an exceptionally tight and talented band, appropriately dubbed The Willing
"I've got a band of core players who have been working together for seven years. They are great musicians and we like each other.
"That I've been able to survive this long is something I don't take for granted and I realize that it has been my composing that has allowed me to stay in music. That's what I am perceived as," says the artist who in the space of week can turn his focus from a soundtrack for a film,
or writing a tune for a television series, to hunkering down with his band The Willing.
"I stopped gauging success by album sales a long time ago, because of all the types of projects that keep me engaged and challenged. But I do like to perform and that's where I live to be, this band is gung ho to get in front of live audiences," says the man who has brilliantly combined what he sees as a "early found love for simple country music" with his "love for British pop music."
For Plumb it is not a stretch to go from listening to a classic Steve Earle disc to a turning up the volume on a XTC album. Those influences can be found in varying degrees on recent works that he has recorded in his home province.
Commissioned by the Saskatchewan Roughriders to write a theme song for the beloved Canadian Football team, Plumb presented Regina with the perfectly titled "Paint The Whole World Green". The song has become the anthem in the community, and when Paint The World Green produced an accompanying video, the tune attracted almost 175,000 viewers on YouTube.
The song spawned Plumb appearances on national television, including a coveted spot on CTV's Canada AM. As momentum built, SaskatchewanTourism also entered the picture, requesting a song promoting the province. Before long the idea of producing a thematic album of songs about Saskatchewan presented itself to Plumb.
Plumb calls the album "my first compilation of sorts". Titled Wide Open Music, the new disc features the commissioned pieces, new tunes, and some of his best work from his days fronting Juno Award winning Waltons.
"I've been writing about this province for a long time. Because I didn't own any of the Waltons back catalogue we re-cut, re-invented and re-discovered some of that material," says the singer-songwriter, who has a great ace up his sleeve, that being his powerhouse voice.
"My instrument has matured, and I've always strived to get better as a singer, " states Plumb who can have complete command of an audiencewith only his voice, guitar and songs.
Having spent hundreds of hours combing through recent concert footage with The Willing, that is set to be released in a couple of formats, Plumb sees a group of musicians who have all the artistic variables in place to build upon the loyal grassroots following that has made Jason
Plumb one of the most credible Canadian artists, prairie variety or otherwise, of the last two decades.
“One of Canada’s best singer/songwriters”.
Jian Ghomeshi
"Songwriter Jason Plumb is not only one of Canada's best tunesmiths, but possibly one of the World’s”.
Q (British music magazine)
Instrumentation
Jason Plumb - Lead Voice, Acoustic Guitars, Piano.
Gord Smith - Bass, Guitars, Voice.
Cody Gamracy - Lead Guitar, Voice.
Dan Silljer - Lead Guitar, Voice.
Jeff Mcleod - Piano, Rhodes, Hammond Organ, Bass, Voice.
Mike Thompson - Drums, Voice.
Discography
The Waltons "89 Demonstrations" indie 1989
The Waltons "Lik My Trakter" Warner Music 1992
The Waltons "Simple Brain" EP Warner Music 1994
The Waltons "Cocks Crow" Warner Music 1995
The Waltons "Empire Hotel" Warner Music 1998
The Waltons "Liv" Maple Music Recordings 2001
Jason Plumb "Under and Over" Maple Music 2004
Jason Plumb & The Willing "Beauty In This World" Soccer Mom Records/Warner Music Canada (November 2007)
Jason Plumb & The Willing "Wide Open Music" Soccer Mom Records/Warner Music Canada (2009)
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Links
| http://www.jasonplumb.com |
| jasonplumb.com |
| MySpace |