Thriftstore Cowboy: Jason Whitton

Jason Whitton

 I remember the first time I heard him sing. It was college. I was sitting on his Salvation Army couch, trying to ignore his crazy roommates upstairs. He played “Ruby” (at least that’s the song my memory tells me, I could be wrong). I remember thinking as he pulled out his guitar, “He’s a musician. Sure. Probably gonna play some lame seventies rock cover. Act impressed, and maybe I’ll get some make-out action out of it.” My musical taste at this point was pretty narrow. I really had no clue beyond what I saw on MTV or heard on the radio. You mean there is more to life than Smashing Pumpkins? But when he started playing and singing, there was no need to fake it. He was no wannabe.  He was the real deal. He, one hundred percent, earned that make-out
            That was fourteen years ago. And it has been years since I’ve seen Jason Whitton. It’s been, dare I say, a decade since we had a conversation that extended past pleasantries.
            So I’m nervous.
            More nervous than I thought I’d be. How to get past the enormous elephant in the room…but the moment I see him the nervousness melts away. The not-so-happy memories don’t matter. Here sits one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever heard and I’m determined to get more people aboard the Jason Whitton train.
            I inventory his appearance: tortoise shell glasses, cream colored newsboy cap, trimmed beard, leather cuff around his wrist. But it’s not the thrift store cowboy appearance that draws me in. It’s the same warm smile and blue eyes I remember. This guy was meant to perform.
            Jason knew he wanted to be a singer/songwriter when he was riding home from a football game in high school. He was an escort for the drill team (he assures me this was a cool thing) and heard the song, “The Dance,” by Garth Brooks. He laughs when explaining this to me: “Of course I found out later that Garth Brooks didn’t even write that song.” But apparently that didn’t deter Brooks. Whitton wasn’t deterred either. He moved to California shortly after and at 17 began writing songs. An example of Jason’s storytelling talent is in his song, “Madagascar.” I’ve heard it hundreds of times and it never ceases to make me tear up:

“He loves her.
Says she’s the reason that’s she’s even here
She moves him.
Closer to someone, he never thought he could be or even get near.
But oh she drives him crazy her love makes him lazy when he could be…
Thousands of miles away on an open sea to Madagascar.
Do you want to sail around the world with me, he says.
I could show you life on the open sea.
Did you know there are times where the sun will rise and turn everything an emerald green?
She said, oh I have to warn ya’ I’m movin’ to California in a few short weeks. But maybe
we could ditch Cali… for Madagascar…
For Madagascar…
She says…I want you to understand I want to believe everything you say, but I know
you’ve got your plans and I’ll be anything but in your way to Madagascar.
They’re on their way to Californ-i-a.
They made love beneath the desert sky.
She said, God I’ve never seen a night quite like this before.
And he said I’ll show you more stars than you’ve ever seen in your life. And I can’t
promise you much, except for my touch and hey what do you say? Said baby we, we
married in Madagascar. Madagascar.
Do you want to sail around the world with me?”

            About the song Whitton said, “When I heard that story I thought what a great life metaphor. Maybe people realize it’s a real story when they hear it or maybe they think I made it up. Who knows?”
            I smile, because I know this story very well. Jason has been known to write songs about people he knows. It’s an honor I think. “It’s to honor them,” he says. “The people around me inspire me.” I make a mental note: Watch out or your drunken shenanigans might end up in a song.

            Story is very important to him. He has country and Americana influences. In his work, story is the number one thing. I ask him the dreaded question: What inspires you? Cheesy I know, I say, immediately making excuses, but he stops me and answers. “Everyday life. What’s cool about both country and Americana is simple stories. The beauty in that. It’s easier now that I’ve lived a little, had a kid. I know it’s a common thing, but pointing out the simple things…there’s beauty in that. My daughter, Maya…seeing her sleep at night. That’s not rare, but I can’t think of anything more beautiful. Maybe make someone stop and take stock. The everyday life is what’s beautiful. It’s the simple things. There’s a cheesy answer.”
            Hey, I love cheese. Bring on the cheese.
            Here’s a snippet of the song he wrote for his daughter, “Angel in the Bedroom:”

“Angel in the bedroom, daddy’s workin’ so hard for you, angel in the bedroom, daddy’s
workin’ so hard for you.
Monsters in the closet, they will never let you forget, monsters in the closet, don’t believe
a word that they said.Angel in the bedroom, mamma’s working so hard for you, angel in the bedroom, mama ‘s
workin’ so hard for you.Gangsters on the corner, writing all their names on the wall, gangsters on the corner,
you’ll be long after they fall.
Angel in the bedroom no ones gonna hurt you tonight.”

            Simple beauty. He couldn’t have stated that better. If listening to that doesn’t make you take stock, I don’t know what will.
            A couple of Jason’s musical influences are James Taylor and Tom Waits. He considers James Taylor to be one of the first great singer/songwriters. He sings “Sweet Baby James” to his daughter at night. “Tom Waits is a great marriage of storytelling, poetry and music,” Whitton comments, saying that Waits’ later stuff is “that cigarette stained and whiskey filled sound, but his earlier stuff like “The Heart of Saturday Night” is much clearer.”
           We talk a bit more as we walk back to our cars. Small talk. He teases me about my favorite nineties music. (Hey I’ve broadened my taste quite a bit. Thank you very much. I like The Who, obscure side projects and even a little county. So there.). Kids. Writing. How grown up we are now. When did that happen? He leaves me at the parking garage, making a comment on how this was cool and a little weird at the same time.
           Although I associated him so long with one of the hardest times in my life (Worst girlfriend ever = heartbreak. Remember that kids!), I had forgotten it was probably the most musically rich time as well.
           He said, “It seems that in the seventies storytelling in music was much more upfront. Now, you have to dig.”
           Lucky for you, you don’t have to dig very far. Jason Whitton’s debut album, Thriftstore Cowboy, is available on itunes or on cdbaby. His is currently working on an EP that includes the song “Angel in the Bedroom.”
           And those of you living in the LA area, check him out at The Basement Lounge in Long Beach July 21^st where he will be the musical guest of The Lightbulb-Mouth Radio Hour hosted by the talented poet and (I mean this in the best way possible) nut job, Derrick Brown.

Learn about everything Jason Whitton at www.jasonwhitton.net

Beth Navarro is a frequent contributor to shaking like a mountain. Her last piece: The Mixtape to Give Your Best Friend when they tell you they’ve met “the one”: A Love Story was published on July 3rd.