For those readers that have not heard of you before could you tell us a bit about yourself your story?
I’m from Newcastle Under Lyme. North Staffordshire, England.
I picked up his first guitar in 1978 at the age of 6, started writing, and became obsessed with recording and multi-tracking. I switched to percussion for the best parts of 20 years, still a large writing force in all projects then in 2008 recorded my first real solo project, playing all instruments.
I was lucky to be selected for 2 UK tours and a gig at the Whiskey a Go Go on Sunset Strip LA for former guitarist Michael Bruce of Alice Cooper. I got to meet and jam with the original band members, a truly memorable experience
In 2011 I was introduced to Assorted Records by former pupil, fellow musician, and Inspire Music Producer Matt Bishop of Honey Ryder. By September 2012, the EP ‘XXXIX’ (Thirty Nine) was released, available on all usual platforms. The EP promotion aired, amongst others at The Acoustic Festival of Britain.
A mammoth task ensued penning the 16 track album Contrast, some of which had been hanging around for a few years but ended up taking 2 full years to complete from 2014 to its release in October 2016.
The album was a mix of influences from Blues to progressive Rock! Still driven acoustic but with classic organ and synth, electric overdubs, and many layers of carefully crafted backing vocals. It’s definitely for the mature ear and harks back to some classic Rock / Blues and prog from the late 60’s early 70’s.
Who inspired you to get on stage and perform?
Has to be Queen, the earlier years up to about 1980, so unique, powerful and British!
Are there any particular artists or albums that have inspired you and informed your sound?
My biggest influences growing up were Queen, The Beatles, in particular, Lennon and McCartney’s writing partnership in their later albums, Pauls Bass licks, Queen’s earlier works, and Brian Mays’s unique sound and style. I also like a little bit of folk-rock and in the 90’s grunge, so a really mixed bag. Drumming became my main obsession and in particular, the late 60’s, early 70’s Jazz inspires Rock, Blues drummers such as Ginger Baker, John Bonham, and Iain Paice. It created a very unique era in music in my opinion and beautifully self-indulgent. I was also delighted when the ‘Unplugged craze hit, that suited me perfectly, stripped back but equally dynamic.
Do you have any songwriting rituals?
I’m thankful for the wonders of tech these days, sometimes I’ll have a tune in my head when I’m in the middle of nowhere and have the iPhone to hum into LOL. I do tend to write in batches and themes, but always on the acoustic guitar. once I’m into a new album I’m disciplined enough to knuckle down and finish them before I start a new batch. It will always start with a basic jam and get it recorded quickly but the results can often be very different after building up the parts and a few months of tinkering.
Could you tell us a bit about the writing/recording of the ReverbNation winning track “Liars”?
Liars came about during a batch of writing for the new album, very folky and dirty which seems to be perfect for a poke at politicians. I’m not usually political but the subject fitted the theme perfectly. We spend a lot of time getting the drums right, very driven, and plenty of ghost notes to lift out. I also dusted off the Mandolin and always use a very talented local girl for the fiddle which turned out great. The lead guitar solo is on my battered old Les Paul Standard which is the only tune I use this on. Usually, I’ll go with Fender Strat or Tele but this song needed the grunt of the double humbuckers.
Do you have any plans for a new album or EP?
I do. I’m releasing a new album in 2022 called ‘Last Chance Saloon’ and the theme for this is a blend of Rock, Country, Folk with a classic twist here and there to be released through Inspire records in the Spring hopefully. I’m also planning a re-mastered 10-year anniversary release of my 2012 EP XXXIX (39).
For now, you can take a listen to my 2016 release ‘Contrast’ available on all the usual outlet’s Apple, Amazon, Spotify etc. Visit www.jasoncallear.co.uk. For more details.
Here at Artistic Echoes, we are always on the lookout for new artists do you have any to recommend?
We are fortunate to have a vast pool of talent in North Staffordshire and would recommend checking out Inspire Music and Inspire Records.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
I will be playing a few live shows again for the first time in over 18 months, a mix of acoustic covers and originals, and laying down the final parts on the album before mixing and mastering commences. It’s a long process as a predominantly solo artist but extremely rewarding. I’d love some feedback on the tunes in various states of completion, all of which can be streamed for free on Reverbnation.
