Cody Jasper

While it is slowly starting to come from under the shadow that is Stevie Ray Vaughan with it's increasing number of talented indie artists, Austin is still struggling to get rid of the label of being a town that hosts great music festivals but only produces good blues acts. And it seems as though every kid that grew up in or around this area feels the need to try and emulate Vaughan's style as well as his terrible hair. Now don't get me wrong, I realize that Amarillo isn't that close to Austin and I also get that Cody Jasper is also influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding, but it seems as though when he moved here and recorded his self titled debut album, he fell right into the trap that every other local kid does. But I didn't want to rush to judgement before I listened to his album and saw him perform live.

The second I popped his cd (yes they still make those) in and the first track stared to play, I immediately wanted to take it right back out. The album starts off with a drunken juke joint jam named Black Cadillac and comes complete with a banjo and white guys trying to sound like they've been working in the fields all day. You get the feeling that he saw 12 Years A Slave and said to himself "As hot as it got in Amarillo in the summertime, I can relate to this" Um, things were just a little harder than that Cody. But thankfully once the second track started up, you could tell that he stopped trying so hard and began to play what came naturally to him. He tightens things up a bit with Cherry Pie and begins to sound like he is actually from Texas as he is singing about whiskey and his desire to not leave a woman but also his need to stay alive. It has a driving beat and makes you want to drink a Lone Star while driving in the country. He continues this trend with Evil Woman and The Deal is Done; and by the time the lovely Holy Water starts up, you realize that you may have actually found another Texas treasure.

Now if you like what you hear so far, then I would suggest that you stop reading now and go listen to the cd for yourself to see if Jasper is worth adding to your music library. Because I can guarantee that my thoughts on his live show will make you think twice.

When he first walked on stage, I thought that he was attempting his best Jim Morrison impersonation with his super low cut v neck shirt and gaudy chain. And of course the Stevie Ray hair was flowing in full effect as well. But seriously, who wears straight legged stone washed denim jeans anymore? I guess its been too long since I haven't seen a musician wear skinny jeans. Now as far as his actual performance goes, he brought a lot of energy but the rest of his band mates looked like they were hired zombies, or they were simply too scared to be on a stage. His bassist was the lone exception but even he looked like the slim fast version of John Popper, so that was a bit distracting.

Jasper does have the ability to draw in a lot of cute girls to his show and it was nice of him to have his dad, who looked like Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace, record everything for him. But as I was taking inventory of the whole scene, it reminded me of the scene in Ghost World where Steve Buscemi takes his date to see an actual blues legend open up for this local scrub with flowing locks, and sadly everyone was there to see the scrub.

It wasn't until his third song in, where he starts wailing True Love is Gone, that you were able to hear his vocal range and see his guitar skills on display. The only thing is, it looks like he's having the worst orgasm ever during his guitar solos. But again, he had the local frat guys fist pumping during this song, so it gave them a temporary break from dispensing the date rape drug that night. I kid, I kid...not really. Rosemary is one of my favorite songs of his as it's a song about redemption. It pulls at your heartstrings and you cant help but find yourself grooving in boozy agreement as he takes you through this failed relationship. This was easily the highlight of the show. But just when you are settling in and getting into it, he then decides to slow things down a bit with some acoustic numbers, and naturally it took you right out of the flow and energy he had just built up. I hate when bands do this. The only way to make things worse is to follow up this slow down period with the awful Black Cadillac I mentioned earlier. And wouldn't you know it, he did just that.

From a live show perspective, this is perfect for tourists who are in town and want to have an "Austin live music experience". But as far as the locals are concerned, they know better as they venture elsewhere for good music. I think Jasper can potentially grow into a good live act but his A&R people have some serious work to do. Otherwise he will have a long career as a music teacher. For now he gets a rating of pretty WEAK.