Jason Spooner’s writing style continues to emerge as a crucial strength that sets this Portland, Maine-based artist apart from the fray of young songwriters populating the New England music scene. Admittedly far from content with the majority of songs dominating today's radio charts, Jason hovers in a unique space between the literal and the psychological. As a writer, he often provides enough detail to ignite the listener's imagination while enabling them to deliver some personal experience to the equation. In a recent interview, Jason described the songwriting process saying,

"I've written a handful of 'story' songs which can be interesting way to communicate but I definitely think the vast majority of the tunes I end up with tend to be broad-strokes vs. very literal accounts or thematic "songwritery" songs. I try and keep the concept of poetry in mind regardless...some poems are powerful in their starkness and others are powerful in the breathing room that reader has to process a series of words."

He later goes on to add...

"With songwriting, I view it as a spectrum between the stark and the broad-stroke as well. A writer like Johnny Cash for instance; there's really no time or need for songwriting devices, cleverness or trickery there. It is what is it. The poetry and the power is in the honesty and the starkness of it. On the other end of the spectrum, I think of bands like R.E.M. and Radiohead or songwriters like Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen. The lyrical approach is such a contrast to the literal stuff. Things are far more shrouded and murky but tastefully so. In these cases, I enjoy the mystery of the listening experience because I can inject some personal experience into the process. So when I write, I think I present a framework but I try not to hit listeners over the head. I generally don't enjoy songwriting where the metaphor is overwhelming or where the you can see the puppet-master's strings everywhere. It's almost like watching Soap Opera acting."

Whether you're a fan of great songwriting or power-house live performance, Jason Spooner and his fabulous bandmates represent a formidable emerging act that should be watched closely. We are thrilled to have Jason back at Skål!