Jason Whitton Thriftstore Cowboy CD

Although his promo material tries to create a comparison to modern country rockers like Keith Urban and Nickel Creek, newcomer Jason Whitton harkens back more to the laid-back L.A. country vibe of the '70s on his likeable and simply produced debut. On the graceful, rolling folk-flavored "Jessica Drive," in fact, his warm voice sounds a lot like Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles. This vibe continues on the spare meditation "Fingernail Moon," which features actor Dermot Mulroney's cello harmony adding a poignant classical vibe. Even if the overall atmosphere is more retro and traditional country (even Americana) than today's slick pop variety, Whitton shows his potential for colorful storytelling on more upbeat rockers like "Lucy (Hungry Heart Café)" -- about a local waitress with Hollywood dreams. No doubt there are parallels to Whitton's own life in this tune, as the Texas-born singer now lives in L.A. One advantage Whitton will have over other up-and-coming country singers is his songwriting, which is engaging throughout. Still, he gets to show off a little more of his vocal range on a playful closing cover of Bill Withers' "Use Me." ~ Jonathan Widran

“Thriftstore Cowboy one of the best new albums of 2006.” Music-Sites.net“Perfectly suited for AAA mainstream radio,” Smother Magazine“Jason is a storyteller the likes of which we haven't heard in several years.” BloggingPoet.comCountry/Americana singer Jason Whitton spent the first few years of his life in a small rural Texas town named Bryan before his family moved to Houston in the early 70s. The first record he can remember listening to was a greatest hits collection from Elvis Presley, a treasured gift from his grandmother. Growing up in the south where country music is prevalent, it would be years before he would discover a band named The Beatles.Whitton has sung and performed most of his life and credits hearing the Garth Brooks country anthem, "The Dance," as the moment he started thinking about singing and songwriting on a professional level. After heading west and moving to California in 1990, Jason’s parents bought him a classical guitar as a symbolic gift to wish him luck in the pursuance of his career . At first, he tried playing the thing right-handed, but just like Ziggy Stardust, he played the guitar left-handed. Stringing it up-side-down, he soon began playing constantly and writing songs to sing for friends."People ask me, 'Where do you get your inspiration?' And I always tell them that normal people inspire me to write the songs I do. I feel that everyone has a story worth telling. Interesting things happen to regular people. So, I just try to listen for things that spark the writer in me. I try to tell stories that are honest, stories that are personal and stories that somehow touch people on some universal level. It is an ongoing process that I constantly work on. I also write songs about things that have happened to me, because I'm a regular person as well.”Whitton recently finished his debut CD, “ThriftStore Cowboy,” set for a February 7, 2006 release on V A V V Records. The CD was produced by Sebastian Sheehan and Jon Mattox and was recorded at Bright Orange Studios in Los Angeles. Jason plans to tour throughout 2006 in local and national venues. Don't miss this up and coming singer-songwriter who is bound to make waves in the Americana and Country music communities.

Recording information: Bright Orange Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Class Act Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Guinea Pig Sound, Los Angeles, CA.

Personnel: Jason Whitton (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jason Whitton; Jon Mattox (acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, organ, drums, snare drum, percussion); Geoff Pearlman (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Sebastian Sheehan (electric guitar, drums, percussion); Rob Zucca, Bob Boulding (electric guitar); Brantley Kearns (mandolin, violin); Bob Harrington (mandolin); Dermot Mulroney (cello);