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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
My trip to the Pub Ragusa last Saturday night to cover Jager Dave turned out to be Jager Dave fronting Crossfire Hurricane, rather than Jager Dave Massey’s solo act. Nonetheless, CH was rocking this hip pub off Bowden Road near I-95. This little mini-mall has become a bastion of eats and entertainment. Still, to me, Crossfire Hurricane is a new band on my radar. Of course, I’m always on the lookout for new bands or solo artists. Jacksonville is teeming with new transplanted talent that came here because Jax has a reputation as an underground music Mecca–a sort of Austin in the basement.
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This original/cover band has been gigging for 2 years. It gives Yager Dave a chance to present his intelligently conceived original songs with a full band. Joining Dave on lead vocals and guitar are CH’s founder, Justin Smith, on lead guitar, Bennie Clifton on bass, and Craig St. George on drums. Together this ensemble plays a diverse selection of classic rock covers with Dave’s original songs mixed into the repertoire.
Jager Dave has been playing music in the region for seven years. Dave used to be with Don’t Tell Anne but left to do his own thing. He joined Crossfire Hurricane as a side project. More importantly, he wanted to hear his originals played by a full band. Dave’s influences include Jason Mraz, Howie Day, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Matchbox 20, Dave Matthews, and Irish Folk Tunes.
Dave writes a variety of music from rock to reggae to ballads to rock burners, which sound great with CH. Dave with CH draw songs from every era of rock and play covers not usually heard from other bands. Dave is playing it smart, continuing his solo gigs at Your Place and My Place as well as booking gigs with CH. Flexibility leads to job security for today’s professional musician. You have to have many irons in the fire to survive.
For last Saturday’s performance, CH was using a substitute drummer, but sounded reasonably tight. After a few songs in the first set, CH found the groove. Justin Smith is an advanced guitarist who played a righteous verison of Hendrix’s Voodoo Child. The challenge of playing Hendrix is not playing a note for note imitation of his solos but playing original solos in the Hendrix style. Justin nailed his Voodoo Child solo with inventive single note runs and chordal structures that came out as a savvy facsimile of Hendrix but not a direct copy.
Interestingly, considering Hendrix died in 1970 at only 26 years old, he left a lasting legacy. Now, every aspiring guitarist learns the Hendrix style as a prerequisite to graduating as a advanced guitarist. And, shockingly, it’s all technique. Hendrix used one effects pedal-a Crybaby wah-wah pedal, with his Marshalls wired in parallel turned to max–10. He controlled his volume on his guitar. Naturally his pickups were loaded hot, so he could control the feedback. There is a rare recording of Hendrix playing an acoustic guitar, and it proves that his technique defined his sound, not electronics.
So it’s a litmus test of a band’s rock prowess to pull off Hendrix with originality, style, and grace. DH passed the test and then proceeded to demonstrate its versatility by playing an eclectic repertoire of material from Allman Brothers to modern bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers (one of my favorite groups) and songs from modern country artists.
And so, whether Jager Dave is either playing solo or with Crossfire Hurricane, he is working steadily and making a large contribution to the high quality standards of music in the greater Jacksonville region. Take if from me, there is a hot music scene brewing just beneath the surface here in Jax that rivals Austin, Texas. Jager Dave and CH are in that league.
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