OVER THE last decade or so, singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Bible and The Train Wrecks have been the local gold standard for Americana and roots music.
While most Savannah music lovers know Bible through the Train Wrecks project, the quietly charismatic Texan will play a solo set this week comprising new takes on the Train Wrecks repertoire in what is becoming one of the most highly anticipated gigs of the year.
Fave local songstress Payne Bridges opens.
The setting will be The Gingerbread House, right down from Foxy Loxy, which hosts the official after-party. The gig represents not only the debut of that normally wedding-heavy venue into the live music mix, but is yet another signal of Savannah’s cultural center of gravity gradually moving south out of downtown proper.
We had a quick chat with Jason the other day to talk about the gig.
The Venue:
“It’s sort of the perfect living room type deal. But it’s a little different, it’s off the usual beaten path. We’ll get in there early that day, sort of get the feel of the sound of the place for awhile before the show.”
The Set:
“What I eventually decided to do was take two songs off each album, but sort of show a different side of them. A lot of this goes back to the guitar and harmonica, really back to my own roots in folk music. I eventually came up with a 28-song set. It’ll run about an hour and a half, with a short break. I’ll be doing some of my older tunes, in alternate tuning. In open tuning especially, fingerpicking can really fill out the sound.”
The Stories:
“Oh, I’m not really a super long-winded kind of guy. The stories will be sort of a mix of how the songs were written, about some personal things, like not drinking anymore. A lot of this goes back to Texas, where I started folk singing, where my roots are. In storytelling, in fingerpicking.”
Savannah’s Music Scene:
“When I first moved here in 2001 from Texas, at that time it was easy to get a solo gig between River Street and Congress Street. There were tons of opportunities, mostly for solo gigs. Nowadays I think it’s really neat that there are so many different bands playing here. There’s not quite the competition you might get in other places, like Athens, where a lot of people will just split after they hear one band and not stay for the next band. There’s no sense of community in that. Here, the bands are very supportive of each other. As for me and myself, my family comes first, so my music is pretty directed these days.”
