Weren't rock'n'rollers supposed to die before they got old at one time or some such malarkey? Clearly no-one bothered to tell the members of country-cowpunk-rock'n'roll trailblazers Jason & The Scorchers, for over two decades after they were scaring the living bejaysus outta the Grand Ole Opry purists down in Nashville and challenging the likes of Gram Parsons for elbow room in the roots crossover pantheon they seem to be busier than sodding ever.
Christ, just reading Scorchers' guitarist WARNER.E. HODGES' recent itinerary is enough to have this writer's head spinning. In the run up to this debut solo album he's done a solo acoustic tour, undertaken a short UK tour with the re-animated version of Jason & The Scorchers and followed that up with a more extensive UK tour with producer Dan Baird & Homemade Sin. Oh, and in case he's worried about the remote possibility of gathering moss some time in the next decade he's also taken on lead guitar duties with promising Nashville newcomer Stacie Collins. He is a living amalgam of Keith Richards and Bob Pollard and his energy makes this reviewer very envious indeed.
Actually, the Keef analogy's relevant enough, for Hodges is a man who knows how to bash the living shit out of the blunt end of a Fender Telecaster in the best possible way. Even without clapping eyes on him, it's plain that he's a living showman and that stepping into the centre stage spot previously reserved for Jason Ringenberg isn't gonna faze him one bit. His debut solo album 'Centerline' immediately finds him duelling with co-guitarist (and ex-Georgia Satellites mainstay) Dan Baird on the opening salvo of 'Gimme, Gimme' and 'Whole Lotta Fun', and it's soon clear we're in for a fun-packed ride of bitten-off, Keefchord-y riffing and ultra-immediate choruses: all topped off with liberal helpings of southern-fried boogie and Hodges' no-nonsense blue collar howl.
Much of what follows proves the prognosis to be true. Tunes like 'Hell To Pay' and the crunching ' Air That I Breathe' are thrusting, four-square rockers that proceed to spit volatile melody like bootleg firewater all over the shop; the niggly and tense 'How It's Gonna Be' ("I've been up all night/ didn't sleep for shit") grouches and grumps and finally delivers a full-on, nostril-flarin' chorus and while the Fabulous Thunderbirds' cover 'She's Tuff' may be about as PC as a Nuremburg rally it gives Hodges a chance to let loose several truly evil cackles and a supremely blazing guitar solo to take it home. Neither of which are bad things, believe me.
Of course it's not all lunkhead riffing and bar room brawlers, for a couple of the album's finest moments come when they ease off the throttle and let the vulnerability bleed a little. To this end, check the spangly, almost Byrds-y take of Merle Haggard's 'Branded Man' (where Warner duets with Stacie Collins) and the plangent, country-folk ballad 'Time Marches On' which is a soul-baring shuffle with Hodges and Baird showing off their finger picking skills and some warm and welcome organ leaking into the mix.
A southern gent to the end, Hodges closes the album by coming full circle and paying tribute to Jason Ringenberg with a beautifully poised and (sorry, but it's true) Stones-y cruise through Scorchers' standard 'Harvest Moon'. It is, naturally, dispatched with love and power to spare and serves notice that into his third professional decade, Warner E. Hodges is only now getting his creative second wind. Phew. Clearly, thinking about y'all fading away is not on his agenda for some years to come.
Author: Tim Peacock
http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=5570
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CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; Rock That Still Gets Power From Its Rural Roots
Mr. Hodges, between hard-rock chords and speedy, triplet-happy rockabilly runs, grinned and flung his guitar around his shoulder on its strap!
allgigs.co.uk
File under: Ace guitarist, excellent album.
Elly Roberts - 5/15/08
His CD packshot claims Guts, Guitars, Amps, Attitude. This is true in most part, but there’s a lot more than that. Hodges’ trusty Fender Telecaster must be well worn by now but the axeman can still pump the decibels. Good ol’ out -and - out rockin’ remains the order of the day, with large dollops of bluesy picks and riffs, though he can conjure a smart ballad too. Thrusting Gimme Gimme has shades of early Rolling Stones R&B textured by raucous riffs and high-octane chorus. The formula continues of fun-fuelled Whole Lotta Fun, a thumping Southern rocker punctuated by wailing bluesy solos and Chuck Berry riffs.
Warner E. Hodges (guitarist) June 4, 1959 - Wurtzburg, Germany.
His parents, Edgar and Blanche, were part of a USO touring country outfit, so one assumes they were either stationed there or playing around there at the time when he was born. Warner played drums in the country bands his parents frequented from the time he was twelve. He credits an AC/DC show in 1973, with their original lead singer Bon Scott, as a catalyzing event to entice him to learn the guitar. By age fifteen, Warner was a regular guitarist in many of the bands with whom his parents toured. Warner became interested in punk and hard rock after 1976, and he experimented with different styles of rock guitar while acquiring country styles as well.
In the 60's the Hodges settled in Nashville, TN where Warner grew up. His early Nashville bands such as the Electric Boys and the Purple Giraffes were high-octane rock outfits. Influences on Warner and these bands were Kiss, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Jimi Hendrix, and other hard rockers, as well as more mainstream artists like early Elvis, Little Richard, and classic rockers such as the Rolling Stones and CCR. Warner has described the Electric Boys, which Jeff Johnson played in, as very similar to Green Day.
Warner decided to become a full-time musician in 1980. When Hodges went to the Jason and the Scorchers show in 1981, he saw a kindred spirit in Jason Ringenberg. Once Hodges joined Jason and the Scorchers, and Perry Baggs and Jeff Johnson were backing them up as the rhythm section, rock had two mesmerizing showmen together on a common mission.
Warner's breathtaking guitar ability sets him apart from the start. He has a bag of tricks ready for anyone willing to be thrilled: he will spin in place in the middle of a song, jump around the stage recklessly, spin his guitar over his shoulder, all the while grinning gleefully at the world, as if he were having the time of his life.
After Jason and the Scorchers broke up in 1990, Warner moved to Los Angeles and worked in the video business. He played with Iggy Pop and Roscoe's Gang, but by 1992 had stopped playing guitar altogether.
In early 1993 Jason and the Scorchers went on tour again. Warner had become sober, and his playing on 1995's "A Blazing Grace" and "Clear Impetuous Morning" in 1996 re-affirmed his status as one of the most powerful guitarists alive. .
Warner settled in suburban Nashville in 1999, now married to Deborah. He manages his own construction business. .
Hey Warner... I play the guitar to and you have been my hero. Ever since you played with Link Wray at the Roskilde festival. Like you have the time to give a shit. cheers. /Pete
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