Jefferson Thomas
Elmhurst, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2008 | SELF
Music
Press
USA – 18 July, 2016 – Currently touring the US and Europe to support 2015’s “Come Alive” record, and preparing another full-length release for 2017, New York singer-songwriter Jefferson Thomas isn’t sure his new election-themed single, “Next One”, is really about the election at all. It may be more about the process and the voter than the actual choice of candidates. Judging from audience reaction at recent shows where he’s “test-driven” the new tune, he may be on to something.
“Everybody’s feeling it,” explains Thomas. “Not just frustration at any particular leader or party, but a general sense of chaos – not only toward politics or contentious national issues, but that personal disconnect that we’ve brought upon ourselves by being addicted to a 24/7 news cycle and social media. Culturally, we’re branded basket cases; Brand X people and Brand Y people all yelling at each other to be heard above the din, and nobody actually SAYING anything. So then we’re supposed to be surprised that the people who want our votes reflect that? I think this election cycle is as much a referendum on us as it is about the choices we have. We’re looking at our reflection in a big-ass mirror, and we ain’t likin’ what we see.”
“Next One” is meant to be funny, but it’s not a political or protest song. It’s more of a cautionary tale, and it takes great care to remain neutral. Taking sides or preaching to anyone would ultimately undermine the overall message.
And that message is, according to Jefferson Thomas: “How in HELL did we get HERE?” - KEYS News 12
"I know how it's supposed to go," says Jefferson Thomas. "You write a bunch of songs, you make a record, then you hit the road and play those songs for everybody."
Well, not this time. The songs appearing on Thomas' new release "Come Alive" (out February 10) were chosen mainly by their reception by the past year's audiences. Thomas' live shows are often three- or four-hour servings of his irreverent and infectious mix of rock, twang, and pop, served up over crunchy guitars and smoky vocals. They're high energy, jammy, interactive affairs, with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in; solo acoustic segments, some choice cover tunes, maybe a short burst of stand-up comedy, and even on-the-spot songwriting.
"Transmission," is a perfect example. An over-the-top psycho-billy rant that careens dangerously towards punk, it clocks in at a blink-and-you-missed-it 1:49. "I had just had the transmission in my van replaced, and the new transmission gave out on the way to a show. While I was sitting there waiting for the tow truck, I called the auto shop who did the installation and was reaming them out. I screamed into the phone, ‘Fix my f---ing transmission!' - and the cadence and rhythm was so perfect that I hung up and wrote the whole song right there on the side of the highway. We worked it up right there and played it in front of people three hours later."
The song has been a staple of Thomas' live show ever since. "I've been busier on the live front - 268 dates in the last two years - than any time in my life, and why shouldn't that have an impact on your next record? How many times have you slaved away in the studio on something you can't stand hearing by the time it's done? Not this time. I'm gonna be able to enjoy listening to this one myself."
"Looking For Cowboys" could be a straight-up country song, but it eschews the typical, empty-headed drove-my-pickup-truck-to-the-line-dance-with-a-beer lyrical fare that has afflicted modern country for too long. Thomas takes on the assimilation of combat veterans back into civilian life, with lines like, "Now I'm watching the man on TV/standing on the ground I stood/cashing it in and playing to win/the way I never could." With three verses examining that assimilation over three wars spanning seven decades, "Cowboys" at least aspires to serious cultural commentary, while wisely assuming neither a pro- nor anti-war stance.
"Dusty" is a stark, first-person account of a fictional solitary sociopath in the American southwest with a penchant for killing prostitutes. "That's the first time I've ever assumed a character and gotten all literary on your ass (laughs). My love-life took a beating for a year or so after I started playing ‘Dusty' live, because it comes off as autobiographical." A creepy song, sung in a creepy baritone over a creepy, foreboding blues setting, it would have been right at home under scenes from "Breaking Bad" or "Sons Of Anarchy."
Those are two of the headier tracks, but much of "Come Alive" is a fun, self-effacing, boozy affair with haphazard guitars and vocals that couldn't care less about auto-tune, and a slight retro nod toward seventies country-rock. Of all the colorful, flawed characters we encounter throughout, perhaps none is more colorful and flawed than Thomas himself, which makes "Come Alive" a disarming collection of songs that are good because they don't try to be great. - Mi2N
Discography
New CD, "COME ALIVE" drops internationally, Septmber 2005 - single "Grand Central Station" from the previous CD has logged over 15,000 plays nationally to date on commercial AC radio.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Your earliest memories are of a nightly ritual, played over and over again, ten thousand times. Waking up just before dawn to the old man's headlights shining in your bedroom window. The familiar bang of a guitar amp slamming against the front door, followed by a reassuring string of four-letter words. Good. He made it home again. You drift back off to sleep, only to be awakened just a few hours later by your mother, who is a singer. You smell coffee and you hear the stereo roaring to life, beckoning you into a world with never enough money, but more wealth than anyone could imagine.
Some kids might be able to fight the currents of such a childhood, but by his eleventh birthday, Jefferson Thomas had thrown up his hands and surrendered, sitting in on bass for the old man's gigs. Within a year the kid had switched to guitar and was writing his own songs. At fifteen he was playing clubs, fairs, and festivals all over the northeast, and soon after he was bringing his unique blend of modern rock, pop, and alt-country to audiences all over the U.S. Radio finally caught wind of Jefferson in 2003, as GRAND CENTRAL STATION, the first single from Jefferson's HEAVY ROTATION CD, spent the winter consistently beating out new offerings from U2, matchbox twenty, Creed, Pink, and Bon Jovi in Adult Contemporary radio playlist adds, according to Friday Morning Quarterback. GRAND CENTRAL STATION started the new year off in the top 40 on the FMQB AC chart. At press time it was at #23 with over 1200 plays per week nationally, and has just passed the 10,000 play mark at commercial radio across America. And now Jefferson is making waves internationally, charting on radio stations as far away as Ireland, Germany, and the Pacific Rim, and playing for our fighting men and women overseas.
Jeffersons powerful vocals and killer guitar stylings are augmented by drummer Neil Nunziato (from the NYC band Mr. Henry, whose debut album was produced by Counting Crows guitarist David Bryson), veteran NYC session and live bassist Eric Mauriello, and transplanted-Texan guitar and keyboard phenom Anthony Garcia. Together, they serve up a breathless evening of Jeffersons songs as well as some well-chosen cover tunes, the kind that make you say Whoa, I remember that song! And then youre in trouble, because chances are
youll end up singing it onstage. Jefferson Thomas blows away that wall between performer and audience; hell suddenly run out and do a song in the middle of the audience with an acoustic guitar, playing and singing without power. And suddenly, you can hear a pin drop in what was a noisy club just a second ago. Or hell grab a mandolin and the band will suddenly turn the funk tune they were doing into a double-time bluegrass romp. You just never know
Hometown audiences have discovered what all the fuss is about at live shows in New York venues like the Hard Rock Café, Arlene Grocery, Washington Square Park, and Central Park. They already know what everyone else across the nation and around the world is now finding out: American rock and pop is alive and well, and its name is JEFFERSON THOMAS.
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