Jack Ingram
Jack
writes and records music that talks about real life and
offers moments of insight, comfort and fun outside of
everyday existence. His provocative, but truthfully
universal, songs are evidence of a deep respect for
country music. "(Country music) talks about things that
make you think," says Jack. "That's what it's about
when I'm listening to music. I write songs to figure
out why I feel the way that I do, and why things are
going the way they are." Then, with his rock and roll
style delivery, Jack performs these songs - both in the
studio and on the stage - to their truest, fullest, and
most raucous.
Ingram is more than capable as an
observer of human emotions. While college at Southern
Methodist University, Jack taught himself guitar,
produced two self-released albums, single-handedly
created his career, and earned a degree in psychology.
Within the songs he writes as well as those he covers,
one discovers Jack's quest to understand the complex
nature of human behavior. "On this new album I really
focused on what the bulk of my songs are about, which
to me is the human condition," he points out. "This
record is about figuring out the complexities of our
emotions and why we act the way we do. Those thoughts
preceded the psychology degree. The reason that I
studied psychology is that I am interested in it - in
people and what motivates us all and in what makes us
tick. That's why I started writing songs."
By now Ingram's rise to national prominence is almost
the stuff of legend. Before his Dallas college days, he
grew up in Houston, Texas, and was raised on a musical
diet of such Texas legends as Lefty Frizzell, Jerry
Jeff Walker and Townes Van Zandt, as well as country
giants like Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Merle
Haggard. Equally influenced by and raised on rock
luminaries like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bruce
Springsteen and Tom Petty, Jack's repertoire was
well-rounded from a young age.
While in college at SMU, he picked up the guitar and
started teaching himself the songs he loved by heroes
like Nelson as well as writing songs of his own. He
soon landed a weekly gig at Adair's, a local
honky-tonk, where he developed his first Beat Up Ford
Band and built an avid following. His growing local
popularity became a burgeoning phenomenon as his three
self-released albums began selling thousands of copies
in the Dallas area and then throughout Texas,
eventually racking up sales of about 50,000 CDs on his
own label.
"I didn't do it with that goal in mind," recalls
Ingram. "I was just thinking that if I could sell
these, I could pay for them. It was right when, instead
of making demos on cassette, you could make a CD. And
then you could put a cover on them with some artwork
and sell them for 10 bucks. All of a sudden you've got
a record. It just so happened that it struck a chord
with people because it was real; it wasn't a demo but a
record. So I started going out and selling them. And
that led to another and then another. It wasn't like I
was trying to make myself look like a real recording
artist. I was just making music."
The path Ingram forged during and after college as an
independent artist has since been followed by numerous
other acts in the Lone Star State. Yet none of them
have yet to come close to equaling the quality of his
musical accomplishments. That's because by the time
Ingram released his first major label album in 1997,
Livin' Or Dyin' (Rising Tide), his sights were set on
greater goals. The record landed Ingram in the proud
Texas lineage of Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle (who
produced the album) and Robert Earl Keen as an artist
and songwriter of unique vision and lasting impact.
His debut Lucky Dog release, 1999's Hey You, even
further impressed listeners with its extension of
Ingram's creative leap from his honky-tonk roots to an
expansive and eloquent modern country style. The
Washington Post called it "rough-house charm that's
hard to resist," while BarnesandNoble.com touted him as
"a major voice in development." Billboard dubbed him
"the ultimate anti-hat act" and the West Columbia,
South Carolina Free Times declared Ingram as "the kind
of artist that country radio needs." Being what the
Dallas Morning News described as "a fearless
performer," Jack rarely takes a break, playing some 200
dates a year in a multitude of venues - from rock clubs
to country bars to fairs to movies (he appeared in the
movies Hope Floats and Abilene).
In all of these venues, he consistently puts on an
energetic and exciting show. Jack comments, "For me,
the best part about a good live show is emotions that
are conveyed in the songs. When people gather together
to have a party, of course theyıre going to have fun,
but when people gather together on a much more
emotional level, now that is what creates something
lasting. I hope my songs are the conduit for that kind
of experience." - Picture and Biography
courtesy of
JackIngram.net
There will never be another person we will ever love
and adore more than Jack Ingram. He has single-handedly
roped us into the world of Americana Music, Alt-Country
Music, and Texas Country Music. We first saw him in the
Summer of 2001 and ever since, we have been thirsting
for him and other artists like him. He was the
inspiration behind SlackerCountry.com, of course he had
to be included.
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