Tennessee Jed
Gig Seeker Pro

Tennessee Jed

| SELF

| SELF
Band Americana Bluegrass

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Acoustica Review 1/10/08"

For fans of acoustic music, a certain level of devotion to unmolested, unamplified sounds is expected from artists in the genre. Well, Raleigh, NC's Tennessee Jed has concocted a mindset and an album that will satisfy the purist's craving for earthy acoustic vibrations while also entertaining from a songwriting standpoint. There's even a warning on the inside of the CD, assuring the listener that no electric guitars were used in making it. That's devotion to the wood and wire, right there. Acoustica is a great title for this album, in the sense that it embodies a wide range of styles within the same medium.

Shunning the tried-and-true route of cover songs and rehashes of typically acoustic forms like bluegrass and folk, Tennessee Jed adds a fair amount of rock and roll flair to Acoustica, mainly through his vibrant vocals. Also there are drums, and even organ. The end result is a truly resonant acoustic experience that surprises the listener by not being easily comparable to previously existing music. Intrinsically, songs like "You Take Me Higher" and "I Hate To See You Leave" exhibit a touch of modern-day country music, with wry lyrics and straightforward song structures, but you'd be hard-pressed to name an artist with a similarly singular style. If anything, one could say that Jed's voice is similar to Drew Emmit's, but that's where the comparisons get tougher.

While Acoustica began as a solo effort, Jed soon enlisted the help of friends to flesh out the songs, and their contributions perfectly complement Jed's unique works. "Gotta Be Wrong To Be Right" wiggles through a diverse forest of sounds, even breaking into a mildly psychedelic moment helped by the pulsing bass of Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) and the organ of Jason Ellis. Other tunes like "Opie's Opus" benefit from a more bare-bones sound, with only bass, fiddle and guitar filling up the speakers. Mountain Music informs the high-lonesome streaks in "The Ballad of Sam and Molly," but even that exemplary Appalachian style is dashed with dramatic rock chords. In fact, the one true moment of bluegrass on the album, "Pruning Shears," comes as a shock to the ear - nearly as much as the organ and strings on "What Some Say." Acoustica is a great start for this singer/songwriter and a convincing glimpse into his diversity.

--Bryan Rodgers
- Home Grown Music Network


"Acoustica Review 8/6/07"

“Tennesse Jed is actually John Fisher, an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and guitarist from North Carolina. On Acoustica, Jed combines styles such as folk, bluegrass, country, and Southern Rock, and the 15 songs are littered with hot acoustic guitar picking, fiddle, banjo, organ, Dobro, and mandolin, as well as plenty of soulful vocals. Standout tracks include the Southern boogie of "Struck", the reggae-tinged bluegrass of "Gotta Be Wrong to Be Right" (complete with some great organ, fiddle, and Dobro lines), the furious instrumental workout "Opie's Opus", and the rambling fiddle & banjo soaked tune "Pruning Shears". However, the tastiest piece is "What Some Say", a real sweet Charlie Daniels meets The Marshall Tucker
Band styled number featuring some groovy organ, soaring strings, melodic guitars, and Jed's catchy vocals. All told, Acoustica is probably more geared towards the bluegrass and country crowd, but if you can appreciate some skilled instrumental talent within those genres, then give this one a try.” - Pete Pardo
- Sea of Tranquility.org


"Acoustica Review 9/19/07"

Tennessee Jed fancies himself a musical outlaw. Like an old-timey cowboy fronting the Western plains, the Raleigh singer-songwriter has spent much of the past year conquering his own promised land while recording his new album Acoustica. It's a passe, perhaps mawkish title, a bit incongruous with the way Jed describes himself. But the rebel is in the details: The cover bears an etching across scratched wood: "Acoustica," it says, drawn like the Metallica logo. And, inside, a tag warns, "No electric guitars were used in the making of this recording."

"The name Acoustica is sort of a take-off on Metallica," says Jed. "It's representative of what I'm trying to do. I'm using only acoustic instruments on the album. That's a theme I came up with and insisted on. I wanted to take the traditional music I love and transform it into something a little more modern, a little more rock 'n' roll."

Acoustica trades up genres with each song, moving from bluegrass to modern country and even pushing into psychedelic rock. But there's a defining country feel throughout, and old-time number "The Ballad of Sam and Molly" serves as Jed's testament to traditional string music. Jed has worn many musical hats over his career. He was a member of Jason Michael Carroll's country band, but he also played in a jam band called One Point Five. Though he loves contemporary bluegrass, he was bred on Led Zeppelin and the Dead. "I wanted all of these influences to emerge on the album, to meld into one."

But an outlaw? Actually, perhaps. Jed's album isn't full of the sweet hum of strings or traditional country formats, but it is stubbornly acoustic. "One of my new music slogans that I've come up with while making this album is this: a new breed of acoustic," he explains. "And that's what I wanted this to be—the old and the new pushed together." - Kathy Justice
- The Independent Weekly


Discography

Tennessee Jed- Acoustica LP

Photos

Bio

Start with a strong dose of lyrical singer-songwriter acoustic folk. Add a helping of catchy hooks mixed with modern rock arrangements and searing, soulful vocals. Then package everything in a hot-rod Americana string band format featuring some of the Southeast’s finest bluegrass pickers and rockers. The finished product is Tennessee Jed.

Drawing on the strengths of his debut studio recording, Tennessee Jed brings his show to the stage as a solo, duo, trio, or full band act. On the CD, Jed’s raw and emotional vocal delivery and guitar playing are backed by a veritable who’s who list of established and up-and-coming stars in the rock, Americana, country, and bluegrass world, including, but not limited to: Andy Thorn (Emmitt Nershi Band, Big Fat Gap, Larry Keel’s Natural Bridge) on banjo, Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) on fiddle, Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) on bass and acoustic guitar, Walt Hensey (Barefoot Manner) on bass, Nick Campbell (Jam Pain Society) on drums, and John T. Boulding (The Shady Grove Band) on banjo and Dobro. The recording was engineered and co-produced by former Doc Watson producer Jerry Brown at the legendary Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC. It includes two songs co-written with hot new Arista Nashville recording artist and former bandmate Jason Michael Carroll of “Alyssa Lies” fame, whose recent album debuted at #1 on the Billboard country charts.

Born in Athens, TN, Jed spent most of his childhood moving throughout the South, finally settling in the Raleigh area of North Carolina. During this time he was exposed to many different styles of music, picking up the guitar at age 10 and winning vocal competitions by age 14. Over the years he played with several well-known regional North Carolina acts in drastically differing genres, including jamband One Point Five, industrial metal funk act Jam Pain Society, and future country sensation Jason Michael Carroll. Realizing that none of these genres or projects satisfied his passion for a completely integrated musical experience, he moved to Nashville, TN to sharpen his songwriting skills and create a vision that would embrace the many styles he had incorporated into his own. Eventually he returned to NC to recruit the best players he had encountered throughout his career for an all-inclusive, all-star recording project focusing on his new original material.

Jed has given his life to his music, and his songs reveal the passion of his experience. In a world where popular music is often lacking in musical depth, tone, and complexity, traditional folk music remains largely overlooked due to its lack of emphasis on strong vocal hooks and modern lyrics and arrangements. Tennessee Jed strives to build a bridge between these extremes, exposing the public to the richness of acoustic music, while also presenting a pop mentality that makes the music more accessible to the mainstream public.