Wednesday, March 12   10:00 p.m.
The Ale House   (310 E 6th St (Alley Entrance))

Biography
JD THOMPSON

"When I first started writing music, I resisted my roots. I wasn't interested in "my grandma’s music." Then, it was said to me, "Boy, you're tryin' to reinvent the wheel before you've learned how to use it. Play what ya' know, and don't worry - nobody sounds like you."
- J.D. Thompson

In the modern world of popular American music, it's not uncommon for artists with deep traditional influences to be overlooked. It takes a special character with a unique talent to set one man and his guitar apart from the endless hordes of singer/songwriters, and stand out against the grain of modern pop culture. But Oklahoma born and raised songwriter, singer and guitarist, JD Thompson is just such an artist.

With stories and a style all his own, Thompson builds on the legacy of America's most original storytellers like Johnny Cash and Woody Gutherie, while combining a lurid intellect with something more carnal, almost bordering on subversive. His deeply spiritual voice and mournful guitar work takes his audience through the backwoods and back alleys of one man's experiences on the fringes of purgatory and paradise.

At age sixteen, Thompson left his home in Grady County, OK.(known better as "Hell's Fringe" to history buffs and Western noir readers). From there, he set off in search of a future in music. For nearly a decade, he had traveled across the U.S. and beyond until one fateful Fall afternoon in Dublin, Ireland when he and legendary folk/pop producer Lou Adler crossed paths. Thompson was "busking", or performing on the streets for change when Adler heard him first and picked up a copy of Thompson's home recorded demo. In fact, Thompson's music was so compelling it brought Adler out of ten year hiatus and back to the cutting edge of American music.

JD Thompson began recording his first original album for commercial release with Adler. A relationship which Thompson describes as "rare, and invaluable". Within a year, Thompson was collaborating with drummer Joey Waronker (AIR, Beck, Johnny Cash) and bassist/producer Mike Elizando (Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Fionna Apple) and others recognized as some of the best in LA.

Adler returned to Dublin to complete the recording. The CD is being released on Gary Gersh’s TAO label and distributed in the U.S. by Razor & Tie.

"I was worried about how to go approach making this record, and after a lot of thought and discussion, Lou said simply, 'Just get your guitar and play.' No click tracks, no fancy tricks, just a mic and musicians that play for the song. Lou encouraged me to go with my guts and I did. For me, music is about capturing a feeling and communing with an audience - like sayin', Don't worry, we're in this together. I'd like to think we're accomplishing that."