19 November 16 - 22, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Rocking Outside the Box Dallas bluesman Jason Elmore shows his hard rock side on his new album. BY SAMANTHA THORNFELT J ason Elmore has a long, rich his- tory with the blues. He grew up learning blues guitar and loving old master recordings of the in- strument. He was brought up in two musical households, and the time he spent at his mom’s and grandparents’ was soundtracked by blues rock greats: ZZ Top, Steppenwolf, Tom Jones. After over a de- cade on the local music scene, the Dallas blues rocker hasn’t been one to stray far from genre traditions. A self-proclaimed fan of the classics, El- more and his personal discography have stuck to some of what he knows best. String-bending guitar solos and heavy, soulful vocals define most of his top tracks, such as “Dirt Ain’t Enough” and “All It Does Is Rain.” For years, the artist had planted roots in his love for blues rock, cementing a name for himself in the blues business. Elmore has stood out like a force in the Deep Ellum blues scene since the begin- ning, and has a number of accolades to show for it. His band, Jason Elmore and Hoodoo Witch, debuted their 2016 album Champagne Velvet at No. 13 on the Billboard blues charts. The same album reached No. 3 on the Roots Music Reports blues charts and held the No. 1 spot on the Texas music chart for six consecutive weeks. Elmore was also named Best Blues Act at the 2012 Dallas Observer Music Awards as well as in 2017. “They mean a great deal to me as an art- ist, to be accepted by a large portion of the blues world,” Elmore says of the accolades. “I’m still not traditional enough for many of the blues lovers, but if I play my cards right on any gig, I can usually fool them. I’ve had the good fortune of being able to open for a lot of great names in the blues and blues rock world. It means a lot to me to be ap- plauded for any of the styles of music that I play, and blues is no exception.” While Elmore has long been established as a skilled blues artist, he still felt some- thing was missing. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to try to make music that I think other people might like, but now I don’t know,” Elmore says. “I don’t know if it’s just the way the world is now, or me just getting older and more stubborn, but I’m just gonna make what I like. My music’s for me.” Now, Elmore is revealing a previously unexplored side of his childhood inspira- tions. While weeks with Mom and his grandparents meant country rock and folksy blues, weekends with Dad were full of headbanging heavy metal. The musician fondly looks back on the “rad-ass concerts” he attended with his dad as defining mo- ments that led to his career. Seeing and feeling the power of groups like AC/DC and Pantera live on stage changed his perspective of music forever, says Elmore. After all, what’s better than the music you listened to at 13? “Every time I see my dad, I’m like, ‘Man, thanks so much for doing that,’” Elmore says. “And he’s regretful about it. Some- times he’s like, ‘I shouldn’t have taken you to beer joints at that age.’ [...] But I’m grate- ful for it. I was just lost in what was hap- pening, and it really changed my life for the better.” Elmore’s new album, Rise Up Lights, proudly exhibits his harder side and that of his band, Jason Elmore and Hoodoo Witch. The group’s latest singles, “Fragile” and “Burning Bridge,” introduce longtime blues fans to a more aggressive, classic rock sound. Taking inspiration from the likes of Van Halen, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppe- lin, Elmore aspires to leave imprints mir- roring those of his favorite bands. “I think you just kind of absorb that stuff through osmosis,” Elmore says. “Hopefully, I’m able to move people the way that that music moves me. This album shows a lot of what I’m made of.” Elmore’s strong connection to the al- bum is partially due to the emotions that kick-started its creative process. In 2020, Elmore hadn’t released new music in four years and had trouble finding a good place to start. That all changed when rock leg- end Eddie Van Halen died in October of that year. Moved by the death of his idol, Elmore almost immediately got back into the groove of things. He returned to unfinished songs, wrote new tracks and reshaped his focus to follow sounds set by one of the most impactful musicians in his life. “They [the songs] have been there with me for a long time; I was able to finally find them,” Elmore says, adding that his ability to switch across genres is both a blessing and a curse. What’s fulfilling for him may not be the same for his listening base, adding newer obstacles to his cre- ative journey. “Blues fans want to listen to the blues, metal fans want to listen to hard metal,” El- more says. “Life’s too short to stay pigeon- holed into these boxes, with anything — music or otherwise. [...] The kind of people I’m reaching out to are those who are more open-minded about what de- fines good music.” Moving to a space beyond a people- pleasing sound has been good for Elmore. When looking back on his three previous albums, he says he crafts neverending lists of technical flaws and what-could’ve- beens. Through his fourth release, Rise Up Lights, Elmore has entered a new era of confidence and familiarity with himself and his sound. “I’m probably going to die poor and un- known anyway, so I might as well have some music that I’m proud of,” Elmore says. “This new rock record is the first re- cord that I’ve made where I enjoy listening to it. I love it all.” But Elmore knows that even this album isn’t perfect. No artist can look back on their work and find something they wouldn’t change. He says some vocals probably could’ve been rerecorded if stu- dio expenses had allowed, and certain gui- tar plays might have been better with one more play through. However, with each step he takes, Elmore says he’s growing with each album — and that’s all he can ask for. “I get to do this for a living, and you can imagine there’s not a whole lot of money in- volved in it, but it’s still worth everything to me,” Elmore says. “It took me a long time to get here, and thousands of bucks, but I’ve now really got a record that I believe in. It’s just gonna crush everybody’s f—king skulls.” Samantha Thornfelt Even in a blues town like Dallas, Jason Elmore stands out as a force. ▼ Music ENTER TO WIN TICKETS
