Jason Marcum

If there was such a thing as "your average rocker"
Jason Marcum is NOT it. From the age of four, Jason
has played enough instruments to be a one-man band. He
started out on drums and has progressed through
guitar, bass, piano, cello and voice. His instrument
credits are many and varied, including playing drums
on a record done by "Vigilantes of Love" and electric
guitar on two records by "Raw Velvet". One song on
which he played, "Kustom Smut Deluxe" was chosen song
of the year by cmj, a European pop magazine.

By 1996, Jason was writing his own songs and touring
the coffeehouse circuit, "hitting the road heavy and
playing anyplace that had an open mike" he says. He
averaged 26 appearances a month, playing festivals,
clubs, coffee shops, parties, weddings, radio slots
and cover gigs wherever possible. He released a tape
called "Blue Sky Blues", a compilation of the first
six songs he ever really wrote. "Selling tapes at
performances became my bread and butter for the next
five months" says Jason.

Jason's song "Rain" appeared on the '96 Rock Peachjam
Record, a compilation that showcased the Atlanta
area's most popular performers. This was the spark
that Jason needed to form a band of his own, which
began touring the rock circuit while Jason himself
continued to appear in listening rooms, honing his
skills both as a musician and singing storyteller.

In Cleveland, he met a man who very quickly became an
avid fan and personal friend, and who soon fronted the
money for Jason's first CD, "The Handing
Down", which sold around five thousand units out of
clubs, magazines and on the Internet. His CD also
received airplay at radio stations across the U.S.,
Germany and England, charting in the top ten overseas
with such songs as "Mary's Fallen" and "Pretty Good
Year".

Jason has since had bands all over the U.S., but now
performs mainly acoustic sets, to great reviews, in
the Western and Northern states. He has released three
more recordings and recently completed a music video
for the song "Sweet Love" which, along with "Chicago",
has received good airplay.

It has been said of Jason that "He blows me away, with
his voice and his lyrics", and "he comes across with
so much feeling and sincerity, like he's singing just
for you", and "he has so much energy and vitality and
is really present onstage."

As for Jason, "I really feed off the crowd's energy.
They give me the confidence to scoop them up from the
very first second I hit the stage. My goal is to turn
their heads and keep 'em there. As far as I'm
concerned, it's the only thing I was put here on earth
to do."

And as far as we're concerned, it's all he should be
doing. Find out for yourself by logging on to Jason's
website at www.jasonmarcum.com