NO TAG, NO TAIL LIGHT IS PURE AMERICANA
Singer/songwriter Jon Shain has worked his way through several musical incarnations since his undergrad days at Duke University. He played lead guitar in the band that backed the eccentric bluesman Slewfoot and also backed Piedmont blues artist Big Boy Henry. Jon was a founding member of the rock band Flyin Mice, which enjoyed a considerable East Coast following in the early 90s. When the Mice came apart, Shain founded the roots rock act Wake.
In 1998 Shain went solo and acoustic, focusing on his songwriting and singing. In doing so, he entered what has become the most productive phase of his music career thus far. He released his first solo album, Brand New Lifetime, in 1999. Fools and Fine Ladies followed in 2001 and earned the praise of The Washington Post, No Depression, Relix magazine and The Village Voice, among others.
This month, Shain will release his latest album, No Tag, No Tail Lighty Produced by Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Armatrading, Brian Eno) and Tom Dube (Morphine, Richard Thompson, Reeves Gabrels), the record is by far Shains most polished and nuanced work to date. He is a true Americana artistone spin through the new album makes that evident. He's as comfortable working blues or rockabilly as he is with folk, rock, and country music.
Genres wax and wane from song to song as No Tag, No Tail Light unfolds. Shain isn't bound by any stylistic parameters; each song is clearly its own unique proposition, and he gives every tune what it needs, whether it be the dark folk of "Merrimack," the cabaret blues of "Only the Blues" or the gentle twang of "Getaway Car." With No Tag, No Tail Light in his hip pocket, Jon Shain has his bona fides in order. He's a singer/songwriter who's at the front end of his prime and, appropriately, he's set a new standard for himself.
One of the outstanding features of No Tag, No Tail Light is the production overseen by Mattacks and Dube. The tracks have been deftly handled and are rich in subtle embellishments that add tremendously to their texture. All the musicians who contributed to this project really contributed. Their playing is tight and right, and always appropriate.
Asking Jon how No Tag, No Tail Light differs from his previous albums, he quickly cited the participation of Dave Mattacks as the crucial difference.
"I worked with producers this time, and I think that's the main difference," Jon allows. "I'd obviously heard Dave Mattacks" work before, and he happened to be one of my favorite drummers anyway. I knew he'd have his stuff together, but I didn't know what a fantastic musician he is. He's easily, hands down, the best professional musician I've worked with, and I've played with a lot of people I highly respect, you know.
"His professionalism shows not just in his playing, but also in his approach to music, and in the manner in which he discusses his ideas," he added. "He brings out the best in the people with whom he's working. He not only plays drums on the album, but also plays keys. He also suggested chord changes on some of the jazzier numbers. He does a lot more than play the drums.
"When he offered to produce my album, I just figured he'd produced a ton of albums. I checked out his Web site and found out that he hadn't produced a single album. So Dave chose my record to be his first producer gig. A lot of that has to do with his relationship with Tom Dube, the other producer on No Tag, No Tail Light."
Tom Dube is a Boston-based sound tech/producer who, among other achievements, produced Morphine's debut album.
"Toms been Richard Thompsons sound man since about 1993, Jon noted. At that time Dave was Richards drummer and that's how Tom and Dave got to know each other. Eventually, Dave came to the States and spent a month with Tom, who arranged a bunch of studio work for Dave. They ended up hitting it off so well that, about a year later, Dave and his wife decided to move to the U.S.
"Dave settled in the Boston area, and Tom has gotten him a steady stream of work," he continued. "He's currently touring as Mary Chapin Carpenter's drummer and doing side gigs with a number of Boston-area bands."
When asked how he came to hook up with Dave Mattacks, Jon described it as a mix of dumb luck and his mother's unexpected connections.
I have a very supportive mother, Jon explained. She doesn't know much about the music business, but she's always sending my CDs to people. She wants to help. So, most recently, she calls up and says that one of the old family friends told her that a professional drummer has moved in next door to them, and he says he will listen to your CD {fools}. Of course, I skeptically said, Oh really? I mean, I know a few drummers myself. I asked who he was, and my mother didn't know. She called back later and said he was Mary Chapin Carpenters drummer. I figured, well sure, whatever, and sent off a copy of the CD to my mother to give to him.
"About a month later," he continued, "after I'd completely forgotten about this whole thing, my mom calls and says that her friends' neighbor really likes the CD, and he'd like to talk to you about it. I replied, 'Really? What's his name?' She says, 'David Mattacks.' She pronounced it like Maddox, so I just didn't make the connection. I asked her if she meant Dave Mattacks, but she didn't know. She told me to go look at his Web site and gave me the URL. I went to his Web site and realized, 'Oh my God, it is the guy from Fairport Convention.'"
Jon's mother gave him Dave Mattacks' phone number, and Jon didn't waste any time getting up with Mattacks. They talked about the tunes on, and the production of, Fools and Fine Ladies, and Mattacks allowed that he might be interested in producing Jon's next album. He asked to hear Jon's latest songs, so Jon and his friend/collaborator F. J. Ventre (bass guitarist) got together and cut a 10-song demo tape for Mattacks, who listened to the tape and agreed to produce what would become No Tag, No Tail Light.
"One of the great things about this was that I told Dave I had a great group of guys I played with down here, and he said, 'Let's use them,'" Jon said. "So we didn't bring in any studio hot shots, except Dave, of course. I was able to get my guys up to Boston, and we had some gigs in the area, which helped pay their way. F.J. played upright bass, John Currie played dobro, Bill Newton was on harmonica, and Dave did drums. We cut all the basic tracks live.
"We went up there a month before the studio dates and had a pre-production meeting in Daves basement," Shain recalled. "We played for 12 hours straight and worked out the details of every song. He wrote out notes, and we wrote out notes, and then it was like, 'OK, boys, take your notes home and practice.'"
Obviously everyone went home and practiced diligently, considering the overall excellence of No Tag, No Tail Light. For more info on Jon Shain, plus CD sales and tour dates (he frequently plays Down East, especially at the Backstreet Pub in Beaufort), check the Web at www.jonshain.com.