The Beatles, Jude, Death Cab for Cutie, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nat King Cole, Marty Jones, Concrete Blonde, Elliott Smith, Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Josh Rouse, Prince, Erin McKeown, Neutral Milk Hotel, Calexico, The Verve, Cracker, Neil Young, Slayer, Whiskeytown & Ryan Adams, The Drive By Truckers, Led Zep, Michael Jackson, Michael Vornon Holtz (The Yesman), Andrew Norsworthy, Big Big Nerds, Cyndi Lauper, Mike Gorder, Cat Stevens, Ben Kweller, Belle & Sebastian, Damien Rice, The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Joni Mitchell, Mike Doughty, Wild Alaskan Roses (Tears Painted Red), Journey, Palomino, Marcus Bently & The Beat Surrender, G-Ma Puffy Combs, Chad Bates and Corsicana.
If there is one thing Jared Woods knows about himself, it’s that he’s huge in Kodiak, Alaska.
“They treat me like a king when I am there,” he said. “They rent me a car and everything. A crappy car, but a car.”
If there is one thing Alaskans know about Woods, it’s that he’s a hit everywhere he plays in Alaska.
“(Woods) talks with a loud voice, laughs even louder and sings, strums, walks and dresses (he's a shopaholic who loves vintage clothing) with a visible self-confidence,” Josh Niva of the Anchorage Daily News wrote.
He’s the type of guy Alaskans would proudly show off to friends in the rest of the US but would first consider hoarding for themselves. Anchorage fans voted Woods best singer and best guitar player in 2006 and is often referred to as the town’s most popular acoustic performer.
“If you know anything about anything where local music is concerned, chances are you’ve heard of Jared Woods,” Monica Bradbury of the Anchorage Press wrote.
Woods plays shows up to five times a week, either solo or with his band Woodrow. He also hosts Anchorage’s most popular open mic night at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse.
“If I could play every night for four hours, I would do it,” Woods said. “It is kind of all or nothing for me.”
He is Alaska’s working musician. He makes his living on playing music in a State where that is almost unheard of.
Last winter, Woods ventured out to do a three-month national tour with fellow Alaskan, Andrew Norsworthy. They played gigs in all over, from small coffeehouses in Dallas, Texas to The Fox Theater in Boulder, Colo. The 50-date tour had the two musicians covering 14,500 miles in a small sedan they called "The Warrior.”
Upon returning to Alaska, Woods recorded a 4-track acoustic EP titled “Wren,” which was released in December 2006.
In the coming months he will record a full-length, pop-rock album, which he hopes to promote heavily through touring.
Alaskans, enjoy him while you can.
--Rosey Robards
Discography:
“Carnival Ride” released January 2000
“Spilled Drinks and Starlight” released in March 2004
“Wren” released December 2006
Gigged with:
John Gorka, Shawn Mullins, Erin McKeown, Third Eye Blind, Son Volt,
The Gin Blossoms, The Donnas, Rose Polenzani, Kristen Hoffmann, The Young Dubliners, Steve Forbert, Maura O'Connell, Tony Moore (Cutting Crew), Marty Jones, Hamell On Trial, The Devil Whale, Matt Lewis Band, The Whipsaws, Andrew Norsworthy, Sleep Machine, Delmag, Yesman, Xavier Rudd, and Kate Earl
Press Quotes:
"He's got a big sound for a lone guy with a string instrument."
-Anchorage Daily News (Dec. '06)
“…Woodrow demonstrated to the Anchorage audience that the Alaska music scene is as exciting as witnessing a breaching whale.”
–Northern Light (July 2005)
“Woodrow’s set was one of the highlights of the evening. Jared Woods, accompanied by his brother Christian Woods on bass guitar and Michael Holtz on drums, was in fine form. Woods is in a class with sensitive singer-songwriter types like Elliot Smith and could easily slide into the mainstream pop world in this full-band format.” –Anchorage Press (2003)
“The Bi-polar Bears lit up the student union for two hours and shook the foundation the
whole time.”
–Northern Light (November 2004)
“He’s turned out to be pretty valuable. On Monday night, you can’t get a seat in here, Humpy's manager Cyndi Ramirez said.”
–Anchorage Daily News (February 2004)
Just wanted to let you know that you guys ROCKED tonight at EDDIES.. I was glad I came out tonight.. You've come along ways from seeing you at UAA.. Keep up the great playing and singing....
Jared! What's up man??? Hey I noticed you have no show on the 26th.... We are going to be playing at the Players House Of Rock. We'll be on stage around 10. Love to see you there man. Hope all is well. PEACE
Hey, thanks for the add. So i missed you awhile ago when you came to Kodiak. then i went to anchorage this last week and missed you on wed and friday. then I go to the Mat-Su resort on mon just to see that you are there every tuesday. How crazy is that? ive missed you that many times! =( Do you know when you might come back to Kodiak?
