Jesse Aycock

Jesse Aycock / Inside Out of Blue / Organum Records

Bob Xang

Referring to the words “The Tulsa sound” might be redundant these days but, thanks to musicians like Jesse Aycock, the actual Tulsa sound itself is one of the least redundant sounds on Earth, Aycock’s new album entitled Inside Out of Blue being a good example. Let’s take this one on song-by-song, track-by-track, shall we?
1) “Without You” makes me want to get my groove back, much like Stella, but with a rootsy folk/rock soundtrack.
2) “Wine” feels like (in a very good way) being a third wheel on a date with Hamlet and Ophelia, drinking a little too much and ranting to them about “how it is, you whiny little @*%!’s!”.
3) “Used to Be” throws me down, brings me up, spins me round and spits me out smooth and polished like some kind of awesome musical rock tumbler.
4) “Sometimes” makes me want to crack an egg while saying, “This is your brain. This is your brain on Aycock,” and then, instead of frying the egg sloppily, I make the best Denver omelet ever.
5) “Mysteries of the World”. Mysteries solved. Great track. ‘Nuff said.
6 ) “Haley’s Blue Eyes” All I can say is that Haley must have the bluest eyes that ever were blue. It’s a wonderful ending to a solid, albeit brief (in a leaves-you-wanting-more sort of way), album which you can get more info on at www.jesseaycock.com.
- CURRENT - BOB XANG

Jesse Aycock / Inside Out of Blue / Organum Records

Bob Xang

Referring to the words “The Tulsa sound” might be redundant these days but, thanks to musicians like Jesse Aycock, the actual Tulsa sound itself is one of the least redundant sounds on Earth, Aycock’s new album entitled Inside Out of Blue being a good example. Let’s take this one on song-by-song, track-by-track, shall we?
1) “Without You” makes me want to get my groove back, much like Stella, but with a rootsy folk/rock soundtrack.
2) “Wine” feels like (in a very good way) being a third wheel on a date with Hamlet and Ophelia, drinking a little too much and ranting to them about “how it is, you whiny little @*%!’s!”.
3) “Used to Be” throws me down, brings me up, spins me round and spits me out smooth and polished like some kind of awesome musical rock tumbler.
4) “Sometimes” makes me want to crack an egg while saying, “This is your brain. This is your brain on Aycock,” and then, instead of frying the egg sloppily, I make the best Denver omelet ever.
5) “Mysteries of the World”. Mysteries solved. Great track. ‘Nuff said.
6 ) “Haley’s Blue Eyes” All I can say is that Haley must have the bluest eyes that ever were blue. It’s a wonderful ending to a solid, albeit brief (in a leaves-you-wanting-more sort of way), album which you can get more info on at www.jesseaycock.com.
- CURRENT - BOB XANG

Home » Music » Music
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Blurred Lines
With tons of music and performances behind him, Jesse Aycock looks to focus his vision with new record

BY C.M. RODRIGUEZ
Share this article:

Comments (0)
Mail Article
Print Article
Add to favorites


Working Hard. Jesse Aycock, above, has worked as many as six days a week with different bands throughout the past years, but he’s slowed his pace for two shows on Feb. 12 and 13.
JEREMY CHARLES
ALSO IN MUSIC
Growing Up Sound
Honoring Our Own
A New Breed
More (153)...

ALSO IN MUSIC
Live Music
Apunkalypse Redux
Keeping Busy
More (468)...
There are moments when Jesse Aycock describes his love affair with music that one might think that they are listening to a coming-of-age script or a great novel.

At times, it seems too good to be true. Like how, in third grade, Aycock snuck into the bedroom of his best friend's older sister to look at her posters and rummage through her cassettes. There, he discovered The Black Crowes' Shake Your Money Maker and everything changed.

"I felt like I connected to (the album) in a certain way," Aycock said. "They were the first band to hit home." In that bedroom of his secret crush, his musical conscience was born.

There is also his high school job at the barbecue joint Steam Roller Blues Barbecue. He did not get the job because he wanted to wash dishes; it was the stage that interested him. Or more importantly the performers who played on it, blues and rock artists he normally would not be able to see because he was under age.

So he washed, he watched, he waited and he learned. The same stage that held his fascination as a teenager was where he made his professional debut with the Jesse Aycock Band five years later when he was "approximately" 21. Aycock is not much help when it comes to dates.

That's understandable because the past six (or seven) years for Aycock have been a blur of songs and faces, broken strings and bars, stories, clouds of cigarette smoke and friends.

During those years, Aycock was performing six days a week with various groups.

Although his music was largely on hold at this time, somehow he was able to record a debut solo disc called Life's Ladder, which was released in 2006.

The album is stocked with youthful, rootsy rhythms and folk musings often led by acoustic guitar. But do not be mislead into thinking Life's Ladder is a re-hash of genres from decades' past. The songs sound fresh, the artistic vision is clear, and the production is quite modern.

Although he currently performs with various bands and side projects, this spring Aycock is set to release a new six-song follow-up titled, Barbed Wire Heart. Gone are the bongos and youthful optimism of Life's Ladder. In its place is something concrete, darker and more mature.

Perhaps this has to do with how the new material was recorded. When he made Life's Ladder he didn't have a band, Aycock said, so the album was built piece-by-piece, one instrument at a time. The core of the new material for Barbed Wire Heart was recorded together live as a band in studio, and it maintains a more sonic cohesiveness.

"It's closer to how we sound live," Aycock said. "It sounds bigger, but there's more space."

The shift in tone might also be attributed to the lyrics and storytelling in the songs themselves. Many of the songs on Barbed Wire Heart are about distance, or longing for the past and nostalgia for lost loves--transient moments never to be regained.

Aycock retains his instantly recognizable high waver of a voice, but he sounds more seasoned and older singing the lyrics "I could have dreamed of you last night/ it's been a long time coming/ but instead I didn't dream at all/ I laid awake and thought of nothing."

Whereas the instrumentation and arrangement's of Life's Ladder changed from song to song, there is stability and a consistency in the make-up of Barbed Wire Heart that is appealing.

Aycock largely mines the guitar-led styling of classic vagabond troubadours such as Tom Petty and Neil Young for the center of his sound but feels free to stray. When the listener reaches the track "Hailey's Blue Eyes" for example, they are enveloped in a mystical and dreamy down-tempo waltz wherein the drums are pushed to the back of the room and a violin enters the mix to a great effect.

On the six-song EP, Aycock's guitar and lapsteel is regularly reinforced by local heavyweights Eric Arndt (Vandevander, Hero Factor) on bass and Josh Ramer (Jacob Fred Jazz Odessey) on drums. But Aycock's live backing band often rotates based on the availability of the musicians involved, so it is not unusual to see him perform with support from a wide cast of characters.

Compared to years passed, these days are slightly more tranquil for Aycock. He still performs his Higher Education nights weekly with Dustin Pittsley and various guests at the Eclipse (1336 E. Sixth St.) on Thursdays. The - CM. RODRIGUEZ

Breaking Out and Away
Jesse Aycock shows his emotional and dark side in double-header CD release shows

BY C.M. RODRIGUEZ
Share this article:

Comments (0)
Mail Article
Print Article
Add to favorites


MICHAEL COOPER
ALSO IN MUSIC
Hear Us Roar
Growing Up Sound
Honoring Our Own
More (154)...

ALSO IN MUSIC
In The Spin
Live Music
Apunkalypse Redux
More (469)...
At times, local songwriter and guitar player Jesse Aycock seems to dedicate most of his time and energy to the music of everyone around him, leaving his own music in the wake.

If one catches Aycock on stage, he might very well be performing with Love Ghost or Boondogs, both of Little Rock, Ark. He could possibly be co-hosting the Higher Education series (currently on hiatus) with Dustin Pittsley or their weekly Sunday songwriter night at Elwood's (1924 S. Riverside Dr.). He is also known to accompany the Paul Benjaman Band and their brand of funky bluesy rock to the stage.

"I've been really energized to play with all these different bands," Aycock said.

But that energy is really a distraction. It keeps him from focusing on his own songs; Aycock is a developed, melodic and sensitive songwriter in his own right.

For example the song, "Sometimes" on his upcoming release Inside Out of Blue is a moody, melodic and entirely memorable song encased in personal lyrics about nostalgia and longing for lost love. There is a familiar and timeless quality to his songwriting that makes it "classic" in a sense but also fresh -- a difficult feat.

Luckily for fans, he is coming back around to his music by celebrating the release of the six-song EP Inside Out of Blue on Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18 at The Church Studio (304 S. Trenton).

"I feel like my attention is being pulled back to my music," Aycock said happily.

Saturday is scheduled to begin at 8 pm and will feature local pop rock act Philip Zoellner opening the event. Sunday will begin at 6 pm and features the aforementioned Boondogs from Arkansas. Admission to both nights is on a donation basis.

Aycock's backing band for both nights will feature a parade of the usual suspects including Eric Arntt on bass, Nathan Price on drums and Dustin Pittsley on guitar. Guest appearances will be made by Paul Benjaman on guitar, Lindsey Neal on violin and Jared Tyler on lapsteel guitar.

On top of playing Inside Out of Blue in its entirety, Aycock will also be performing a slew of songs he has yet to record.

The material is more "edgy rock" and has "more attitude" than the EP, Aycock said referencing the riffage of Led Zeppelin and the strut of The Black Crows as influences.

Whereas the material of Inside Out of Blue features personal and relationship-oriented songwriting, the newer compositions are lyrically darker, more open to interpretation and occasionally political. Although many of the "new" songs are several years old, Aycock decided to showcase the material because it would translate well to a live setting.

"These are tunes that I've had written for a long time," Aycock said. "And it seemed like a good time to do something different."

Both evenings of the CD release will also be filmed and recorded, possibly to culminate as releases in the future. Aycock expressed excitement about the possibility of releasing a record and starting the recording process of another album on the same night. The pair of evenings might also result in a live concert DVD release.

"A lot of it depends on how it comes out," he said.

For Aycock, hosting the double-header CD release at The Church Studio is the icing on the cake. Throughout the past three decades, the building has been the legendary home to Leon Russell, Shelter Records, Steve Ripley and The Tractors (see Mike Eaterling's "Feels Like Religion" in the Nov. 11, 2009 issue of UTW or visit urbantulsa.com).

"I've had the idea doing it (at The Church Studio) a long time ago," Aycock said. The two CD release shows have been scheduled since the spring, he said.

The actual performances will be held in the studio's main recording space, a huge room with hardwood floors, ambience and high ceilings where bands set up to record.

The large room originally held the altar and the congregation of the church several decades ago. It has since been turned into a dynamic acoustic space for live performance and recording. Now, it welcomes a congregation of a different kind.

"Beautiful music has been made there," Aycock said referring to that room of the studio in particular. The space has documented the progression of the "Tulsa Sound" as well as bands such as The Gap Band, J.J. Cale and an early incarnation of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers then performing under the name Mudcrutch.

Aycock specifically chose The Church Studio for the room's vibe and sound he said are acoustics and atmosphere unparalleled in Tulsa.

The CD release shows are reflective of Aycock taking his personal c - CM. RODRIGUEZ

Posted By: Stan Moffat - PCL - Jun 07, 2006

rating: 5 / 5
Jesse Aycock – Life’s Ladder - Today was a landmark day in Oklahoma music! A truly great artistic work was released and I was fortunate enough to have been on the list to receive a copy of it! Jesse Aycock released his latest work – Life’s Ladder! And I believe it will truly climb to the top of the charts as a great masterpiece of musical talent in all areas from the lyrics to the arrangement, to the composition, to the overall work itself. Instead of offering you a track by track review of what I personally think of each, I would welcome you to listen to the cd online on our Listen to CD’s page, and form an opinion of it for yourself! I do encourage you to purchase a copy of it for yourself, as you will want to add this amazing CD to your Oklahoma Artist section. Jesse is now a mainstay in our wonderful ever developing music scene! His skills are unlimited, his talents are never ending, his love of life and devotion to his craft are abundant, and his sharing and caring ways are truly evident through his music. This is a great CD worthy of 5+ stars out of 5!! We proudly endorse this great work of art, and the artist that created it!

- Payne County Line Promotions

Concert Preview: Free falling
By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
11/3/2006

View in Print (PDF) Format

Singer-songwriter Jesse Aycock's didn't let his day job kill his music
When Jesse Aycock was 19 or 20, he was a college dropout working a lousy day job in a mall cafe.

Back then, the now 24-year-old local singer-songwriter didn't know what he wanted to do in life -- he just knew music had to be a part of it.

Actually, a few months before taking that lousy cafe job, Aycock had set out on a two-month journey to discover things about himself, and to hear music well beyond the borders of Oklahoma.

He came back understanding that you can find good music just about anywhere, especially here in Tulsa, and what it's like "getting out of the normal flow of things, and putting yourself on the line."

Aycock also came back knowing he needed a job fast, which meant sliding back into the normal, mundane flow of life.

"I felt like a caged animal," Aycock said of the short-term cafe job that ended up dragging on for about a year and a half.

At least when he wasn't waiting on customers, Aycock could let his mind wander in vivid daydreams, like the one that inspired his tender acoustic ballad "Osage Girl," off his debut offering "Life's
Tulsa World Sports Extra
Ladder."

Aycock recalled how that daydream transported his mind to a tall-grass prairie where a loner hunter, Standing Bear -- a man hard like the grindstone on which his mother used to pound corn -- falls for a maiden discovered bathing in a pool of deep water.

Startled by the stranger, the lass runs away clutching her garments, but the hunter eases her fears once he catches up to her to say, "Please don't be afraid of me. I'm just a tired man."

The song ends with Standing Bear asking the girl, who sees beyond the leathery exterior, if she'd like for him to catch dinner, and then lie with him under a shade tree so the morning light will not wake them.

It's but one of the richly descriptive stories Aycock weaves on a compelling disc influenced by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, the Black Crowes, Innocence Mission, Bob Dylan and Crosby Stills & Nash. The most notable presence on the disc is local singer-songwriter Jared Tyler, who co-produced the disc with Aycock.

Beyond his producing role, Tyler contributed bouzouki (a mandolin-style instrument), background vocals, mandolin, electric guitar, ebow and his signature instrument, the dobro.

Aycock and Tyler long ago bonded via their shared love of music, especially Harris' 1995 release "Wrecking Ball." So when it came time to record his debut, Aycock looked no further than the veteran artist/producer.

"He's just got such a good ear for recording," Aycock said.

Once the sessions began, Aycock was, at first, unsure how the disc would turn out, he said.

"Whenever you first put a skeleton together, you can't really imagine anything more," he said, "You just hear a guitar or a click or something and you're like, 'Man, I hope this works.'

"Slowly, but surely, all the elements kept falling into place and every musician who came kept building it."

The disc features collaborations with a cast of local luminaries, such as keyboardist Brian Lee, and innovative bassist Reed Mathis of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, who both perform on several tracks.

Plus, blues-rock guitarist Dustin Pittsley (Aycock plays in Pittsley's band) performs on "Sunset," and Aycock's brother, Dylan, handles turntables on "Burned Out."

National touring folk singers Anais Mitchell and Rachel Reis also appear on the disc.

Although Aycock himself is a multi-instrumentalist -- he plays acoustic and electric guitar, lap and pedal steel, washboard and harmonica and dobro on the disc -- he learned to share the musical duties.

"When you get to play with such incredible musicians in the studio, you kind of have to let go of some things," he said. "That's why you have your friends play, because you want their vibe."

Other contributors include TJ McFarland and Scott Hutchinson, who co-wrote "Take Me in Your Arms," and Chuck Zwicky, who mixed and mastered the disc on the cheap despite commanding huge sums from likes of Soul Asylum.

Aycock leads off the disc with his funky country-rock ditty "Burned Out," which is funkified thanks to Lee channeling a bit of Stevie Wonders' soul, Mathis' bass prowess and brother Dylan on turntables.

Check out the disc's hidden track for a quirky extended jam session, complete with Mathis' unconventional bass antics and Dylan's quirky snippets of noise, which picks up where "Burned Out" leaves off.

The title cut, "Life's Ladder," is a piano and string-laden tune that includes Aycock's slide guitar work, which is unmistakably George Harrison-esque.

"Sunset" is a rather dark song that's, perhaps, the most heavily influenced by Crosby, Stills & Nash.

In it, Aycock, the son of a visual artist mother and local singer-songwriter Scott Aycock, asks unk - Tulsa World

Review: 'Life's Ladder'
By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
11/11/2006

View in Print (PDF) Format

Aycock delivers impressive debut

Jesse Aycock, the painter, can fill blank canvases with vivid colors.

Jesse Aycock, the local singersongwriter, prefers filling sonic canvases with vivid tales of hard times, hard questions and heartache found on his debut offering, "Life's Ladder."

Among his gallery of characters is the young man of "Old Familiar Friend," who yearns for Jesus Christ to return to make sense of this world.

And there, swinging lifelessly from his favorite oak tree, is the title character of "Jerry Lee," who didn't leave a note behind for his cheating, no-good wife.

Home by herself is the elderly woman of "Caught Up Dreamin'," whose confidence and courage long ago left her like so many of her dreams.

Down "where the rivers came together, and the red buds grew so tall," is the lonesome hunter of "Osage Girl," who discovers his dream girl bathing in deep, cool water.

Unlike the solitary art of painting, Aycock enlisted a bevy of local all-stars to shade his songs with, among other instruments, Hammond B3, dobro, mandolin and electric guitar.

Aycock even goes so far as to include his brother's turntable wizardry on the funky countryrock ditty "Burned Out."

Tulsa World Sports Extra
Aycock, whose sound suggests influence from the likes of Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Crosby Stills & Nash, the Innocence Mission and the Black Crowes -- whew, that's a long list -- provides an array of instruments himself.

That's him making lap and pedal steel whine on "Trees Sway," and that's him brushing his washboard on "Jerry Lee" to create the effect of what could be heard as a grave digger's shovel.

On the gorgeous, string-laden title track, Aycock plays slide guitar a la George Harrison, and sings in a way that recalls another Beatle, John Lennon.

It all makes for a series of images and feelings that remain even if you close your eyes.

Jesse Aycock
"LIFE'S LADDER"
(Blue Alleluia Records)
* * * * (on a scale of zero to four stars) - Tulsa World