Published: August 11, 2006 03:24 pm      

Area musician wants to be big time crook

From the moment Jason Stevens performed on stage with his first band Triple Threat in 2001, the one and only time, he knew music was his calling.

His most recent band, Decibel Fluid, folded in late 2004 after the group was unable to find a full time drummer.

Now, in 2006, Stevens has recorded a new album, although he insists it is not a solo project, and he is preparing for a move to Austin to begin the next phase of his career.

“After Sammy Gore, our original drummer in Decibel Fluid left, things were never the same,” Stevens said. “Our last drummer was Nathan Currie, and we thought we finally had the right fit, but he decided to so another project at the same time, so we were going to be second on his list of priorities.”

Stevens said he and the remaining band members opted not to find another drummer, after Currie was the fourth in a seven month span, and called it quits.

After taking some time away from music, Stevens found his way back to his guitar, and then the music found him.

In the spring of 2006, Stevens released his most recent album under the band name County Crook.

“Some people say that if Decibel Fluid had recorded a second record, then this would be it,” he said. “Others say it is totally different. I guess since I wrote music for both projects some of the writing does sound similar.”

Stevens said he selected the band name, County Crook, after watching the Clint Eastwood movie, “For a Few Dollars More.”

Although he is the only band member, he plans to rectify that matter once he moves to Austin later this month.

“Right now, the plan is to find the right musicians once I get to Austin,” he said. “If it works out quickly, then I give it about a 50-50 chance of playing a show by the end of this year. Once we start booking shows, coming back to Southeast Texas to play is a sure thing.”

He said the style of music he writes has always been made welcome in Austin, and that is where Decibel Fluid played a majority of their shows.

“I expect County Crook to perform there a lot too,” he said. “So, I just thought, ‘Why not move there?’”

Stevens, 27, graduated from Port Arthur Thomas Jefferson High School in 1997. He was pursuing a music degree at Lamar University, but decided to withdraw from college rather than see his grades suffer.

“I was playing about eight shows a month out of town then,” he said. “Sometimes, I would roll straight into town and go right to class. My grades started to decline, so I made the decision to stop my education for the time being and continue with my music.”

Stevens offers a variety of names that he considers musical influences, such as Eddie Van Halen, Rich Robinson, Ian Moore, and Doyle Bramhall II. Probably his biggest influence has always been Stevie Ray Vaughan.

During the recording of his new album, “Sonic Poetry,” Stevens decided to give singing a try as well as guitar duties. He solicited the help of his friends, Jason Touchette and Paul Soroski of Podunk, a group from mid-county that relocated to Austin a number of years ago, to fill in as his band in the studio.

“It would have been easy for me to just get Jason to sing on it, but then it would have been a Podunk record,” Stevens said. “The voice of a band is a big deal in music because that’s usually how people recognize a group. I didn’t want to have someone sing that wasn’t in the band.”

Stevens recorded the album in Groves in Touchette’s home studio. Touchette also played drums, while Soroski came in from Austin to lay down the bass tracks.

Stevens said one of his favorite songs on the disc is “Good Times Gone” because of its catchy, Black Crowes-like chorus.

“Each song means something special to me,” he said. “I don’t think there is any song on the disc you would want to skip over. There’s a story behind each one.”

Fans interested in learning more about the band, or listening to some of the material from County Crook, can visit the band web page at www.myspace.com/countycrook.

The disc is on sale for $10, with free shipping, at www.countycrook.com, or at Sunrise Records on 11th Street in Beaumont for $11.99 plus tax.



Reach this reporter at 409-883-6568 or tmann@orangeleader.com