Jason Ward (singer/songwriter)

Last updated
Jason Ward
BornOctober 1, 1983
Annapolis, Maryland, United States
Origin Owings, Maryland
Genres Indie rock, folk
Years active2008–present
Labels Recorded Recordings Records, Stripping Room Records
Website www.jason-ward.blogspot.com

Jason Ward is an American-born singer-songwriter, who has experienced growing popularity since releasing the "Almighty Row" LP in 2009, [1] which was quickly followed up by the "Graceful Bow" EP in 2010. [2] "Bless You", a single from "Graceful Bow", performed especially well online, gaining praise from bloggers for being upbeat, but notoriously "acerbic". [3] [4] Ward has become increasingly popular with UK bloggers, especially due to his material's dark tone and his willingness to release digital content for free.

Contents

Early career

Jason Ward was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and raised on a tobacco farm in Calvert County, Maryland. He began writing songs during high school, and had amassed nearly 350 compositions by the time he graduated from Shepherd University in 2005. Soon after graduating from college, Ward started a two-year period of constantly recording lo-fi albums, and releasing them on CD-R's, though the albums were only distributed to friends and family members as they were recorded. [5]

Almighty Row

Ward recorded Almighty Row during the Spring of 2009, and it was promoted as a dark concept album, consisting of a cohesive ten-song structure. The instrumentation on "Almighty Row" was primarily an acoustic guitar, with layered vocals, and various atmospheric overdubs, including organ, string arrangements, and piano.

Ward released "Almighty Row" as a free digital download in November 2009, receiving positive reviews from several blogs, including Altsounds, Snob's Music, Cougar Microbes, This Winki's, Underskn, Slowcoustic, and Listen Dammit. Cougar Microbes referred to Ward as "Neil Young on downers", while a positive review by Altsounds magazine stated, "He is Kurt Cobain if Nirvana had never happened...making music out of the public spotlight and staying well in control." [1] [6] [7]

Graceful Bow EP

Hoping to take advantage of the online success of "Almighty Row", Ward compiled older singles from previous recording sessions into the 6-song "Graceful Bow" EP, which was released in February 2010, and received favorable reviews as well, primarily due to the singles, "Bless You" and "Here's Looking at You (From Behind)", which were songs noted as being of a more positive nature than the songs found on "Almighty Row". [8] [9] [10] The song, "Dark in Here", from "Graceful Bow", appeared on television during an episode of A&E Biography in 2010.

Last Time I Was There

Ward's follow-up to "Almighty Row", "Last Time I Was There" was an effort to put out a more comprehensive album, focusing upon the struggles of other people through various points of perspective. "Last Time I Was There" was self-released, through Bandcamp, in the Spring of 2011. [11]

Television appearances

Several of Ward's songs have appeared on television programs in the US, Canada, the UK, and elsewhere. In the US, Ward's songs have been placed on MTV's "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom", A&E's "Biography" and "Rodeo Girls", TLC's "Making Over America", Discovery's "Auction Kings", Animal Planet's "Last Chance Highway", "My Life as Liz", and MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real OC".

Film

Ward's song, "You Can Always Run Away", was used on the 2015 DVD release of "The Judge", starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall.

Related Research Articles

Franz Nicolay American musician and writer (born 1977)

Franz Nicolay is an American musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is also notable for founding Anti-Social Music, a composer/performer collective based in New York City, and for performing in the Balkan jazz quartet Guignol.

Billy Ruffian are an English indie rock band. Their debut album, My Secret Life, was released on 28 May 2007, with its accompanying single "Music vs. Money" following the next month. They went on hiatus in 2011, returning in 2013.

The Tallest Man on Earth Swedish singer-songwriter (born 1983)

Kristian Matsson is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the indie band Montezumas. His music has often drawn comparisons to the music of Bob Dylan.

Gained the World 2008 single by Morcheeba

"Gained the World" is the second single released from Morcheeba's sixth studio album Dive Deep. It was digitally released on 28 April 2008, while it was physically released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2008. The song features "bittersweet" vocals of French singer Manda Zamolo.

Pop Etc

Pop Etc, formerly known as The Morning Benders, is an indie rock band from Berkeley, California, later based in Brooklyn, New York.

Dead Confederate

Dead Confederate was an American alternative rock band, formed in Augusta, Georgia and based in Athens, Georgia. The band's sound was described as a mix of alternative country, psychedelic rock and grunge, and has drawn comparisons to Nirvana and My Morning Jacket.

<i>Audrye Sessions</i> (EP) 2008 EP by Audrye Sessions

Audrye Sessions is the 2008 self-titled EP by the band Audrye Sessions, which was released on October 14, 2008, under Black Seal, a unit of Sony BMG. It featured their first single "Turn Me Off", which fared well among critics and received airplay on the radio.

Kiss with a Fist 2008 single by Florence and the Machine

"Kiss with a Fist" is the debut single by indie rock band Florence and the Machine, taken from their debut studio album Lungs (2009). The single was released through Moshi Moshi Records on 9 June 2008 in the UK and was then released four months later on 6 October 2008 through IAMSOUND Records in the US. The B-side to "Kiss with a Fist" is a cover version of the Cold War Kids song "Hospital Beds".

Snob Scrilla Musical artist

Sean Ray is an American-Australian rapper, producer and musician based in Sydney, Australia.

The Lovely Sparrows is an Austin, Texas based indie rock band currently on Abandoned Love Records and founded by Shawn Jones. Their sound is categorized as indie rock, folk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, or just rock, blending lush, complex arrangements with sing-along choruses that bring to mind folk-inflected pop and well-written novellas. Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint, released in 2006, captures the gorgeous melodies and warm, organic maladies of front man Shawn Jones. The September 2008 release saw the band embark on its most extensive touring to date, which included CMJ Music Marathon, Pop Montreal and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The Lovely Sparrows premiered the music video directed and animated by Eric Power of Clear Productions for "Year of the Dog" off Bury the Cynic during the 2009 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The video was honored as one of the 25 best music videos of the year 2008 by MusicForants.com. Bury the Cynics was on the best of list by Fensepost, The Bomb Shelter (#11), the Austinist (#5), Side One: Track One v1 (#7) and Side One: Track One v2 (#1).

<i>Hanging On by a Thread</i> 2010 studio album by The Letter Black

Hanging On by a Thread is the second album by The Letter Black. It is their first album to be released on Tooth & Nail Records and their first album to not be released independently. The album was released on May 4, 2010, and has sold over 30,000 copies in the United States by 2011.

<i>The Wrong Car</i> 2010 EP by The Twilight Sad

The Wrong Car is an EP by the Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad, released on 27 September 2010. The EP has two previously unreleased tracks, "The Wrong Car" and "Throw Yourself Into the Water Again", as well as two remixes of tracks from the band's second album Forget the Night Ahead: "The Room" remixed by Mogwai, and "Reflection of the Television" remixed by Errors. In late May 2010, Errors' remix of "Reflection of the Television" was chosen as The Line of Best Fit's "song of the day" and was made available as a free download. In January 2010, The Twilight Sad provided a remix of Errors' song "Bridge or Cloud?", which was posted as a free download on NME's website.

First Signs of Frost is an English post-hardcore/tech rock band from South East London. Forming in July 2004, the four piece originally conformed by songwriter / guitarist and vocalist Owen Hughes-Holland along with guitarist Adam Mason, bassist Dan Oehlman and drummer William Gates. After embarking on numerous tours the band made a significant impact on the UK's underground rock scene.

<i>Almighty Row</i> 2009 studio album by Jason Ward

Almighty Row is the first full-length album from singer/songwriter Jason Ward. It was self-released as a digital download in November 2009, receiving critical acclaim from several indie music blogs due to the album's sparse instrumentation and exceptionally dark lyrical content.

"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" is a song performed by American singer-actress Cher, taken from the soundtrack Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of the accompanying film Burlesque (2010). After a long time of hiatus in her acting career, Cher returned to the screen in Burlesque, which co-stars Christina Aguilera. It was released to adult contemporary radio station in the United States on January 15, 2011, as the first single from the soundtrack by RCA Records. Prior to the release, a remix EP which includes uptempo dance versions of the song was made available to purchase iTunes Stores on November 24, 2010. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Matt Serletic and Mark Taylor, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" is a power ballad.

Boolfight is an indie electro-pop band from Paris, France, best known for their album Feral released in 2012 on Montmorency Records, and their Multiple Devils EP released in 2010 on the same label.

Kim Taylor (musician) American independent singer-songwriter (born 1973)

Kim Taylor is an American independent singer-songwriter who plays primarily folk and folk-rock music.

<i>Secret</i> (EP) 2012 EP by Sebadoh

Secret EP is an EP by the American indie rock band Sebadoh, released on July 23, 2012. The EP was not released on a label and was made available for digital download on the online music store Bandcamp. The EP was recorded from March to July 2012 at Indietopia in Glendale, California. Secret EP is Sebadoh's first new material in fourteen years since the band's previous album The Sebadoh (1999).

<i>Attack of the Mountain Medley</i> 2012 EP by Eleventyseven

Attack of the Mountain Medley is the second official extended play by the Christian pop punk band Eleventyseven.

Jordan Rager American country music singer (born 2005

Jordan Rager is an American country music singer.

References

  1. 1 2 Jason Ward - Almighty Row [Album] | Altsounds.com Reviews
  2. ↑ Snob's Music: Search results for "jason ward"
  3. ↑ FensePost » THE Indie Music Blog » Jason Ward: Bless You [mp3]
  4. ↑ Jason Ward releases Bless You « The Mad Mackerel
  5. ↑ Jason Ward op MySpace Music – Gratis gestreamde MP3’s, foto’s en Videoclips
  6. ↑ jason ward’s almighty row — undrskn.org [ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ Jason Ward is having an Almight Row | Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants
  8. ↑ "Indie Arto Music - Land of the Latest Indie Music and Indie Artists". Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  9. ↑ Underwurld Music: Jason Ward - Graceful Bow EP Review (2010)
  10. ↑ Jason Ward – Power Under Control « Heroes of Indie Music
  11. ↑ Jason Ward: New Album Underway


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.