Local musician introducing Red Dirt country on Pittsburgh radio station
Waynesburg native Jackson T. Gardner, 25, grew up listening to country music.
How could he not? His parents, Yvonne Lee and Jay Gardner, are such country fans they named him after Alan Jackson and Randy Travis, which explains the T., as in Travis, in his middle name.
Gardner’s early exposure to country stuck. The singer/songwriter/guitar plucking musician has made a career out of his favorite musical genre, and it even prompted him to relocate to Nashville to be closer to the epicenter of all things country.
Local fans are probably familiar with Jackson’s music through live performances at places such as Tommy Boys in Waynesburg, Rinky Dinks Roadhouse in Amity, at clubs in Morgantown and at events such as the Covered Bridge Festival and Rain Day. They’re also probably familiar with his single “”I Can Lie Too,” which is included on his album titled “Four Fights to a Pint.”
One day about six years ago, things took an interesting turn when a friend of his, Gary Parkhill, gave him a stack of CDs that featured Red Dirt Country artists. He immediately fell in love with the music, which he said changed his life.
“I’d been touring the country not knowing where I fit in as an artist and feeling disenchanted with the music climate,” he said “Until I discovered this genre, I felt we’d lost something and wasn’t sure where it had gone.”
Wikipedia claims the genre gets its name from the red dirt soil of Oklahoma and cites Oklahoma singer-songwriter, Bob Childers as the Father of Oklahoma Red Dirt Music with Stillwater as its center. Over the years, people have come to define Red Dirt as a mix of Americana, folk, country, rock, bluegrass, blues, Western swing and honky tonk with a few Mexican influences thrown into the bag.
There’s also a Texas subgenre associated with the likes of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, but the gap between the two geographical divisions has subsequently diminished.
This past summer, a luncheon encounter between Gardner’s manager, Daryl Price, and the program director of country radio station Y-108 in Pittsburgh proved significant for Gardner and his attraction to Red Dirt. Learning that Y108 wanted to expand its country platform, Price told the program director about Red Dirt.
Six months later, Gardner was asked to emcee a three hour-long broadcast on Sundays that airs from 9 p.m. to midnight and focuses on the Red Dirt genre. Gardner and his new show first hit the airwaves on January 7, with a mix of music and interviews with Red Dirt artists.
“I enjoy doing the show because it allows me to introduce the music to people who’ve never heard it before,” he said. “Hopefully, down the road, we’ll be syndicated on other stations across the nation.”
Gardner tapes the show titled “Red Dirt Revival” at his studio in Nashville, although he said he has the technology to record it anywhere he wants. To pick the artists he wants to feature, he listens to new artists from the promotions he receives as well as older recordings by established artists like Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers and Casey Donahew.
“It’s been my priority to get these songs out to people who are looking for something different, something real,” he said. “I think people will find the same things I did when I discovered Red Dirt. Things like deliberate lyrics, song writing that depicts the roots of past music, but also the originality of each individual artist and real life.”
As to his own music, Gardner released his first album five years ago and is currently working on a new single which he hopes to release in the near future. He wrote the lyrics and music for the single, one of three he’s considering for inclusion on a new album.
“For the past year or two, I’ve been working on new material and shopping around for record labels, the right management and booking agent,” he said. “I want to find the right team to get the project going.”
Area fans will have a chance to hear the singer/songwriter live when he returns to the area on Feb 17 for an 8 p.m. acoustic performance at J & D Cellars in Meadowlands near the casino. He also plans to come back home to southwestern Pennsylvania in March to play a full band gig, probably at Rinky Dinks in Amity, although no date has yet been finalized.
Gardner also performs in Nashvile from time to time, although his full-time work is song writing for Lord and Thorn Publishing.
“It’s just one of many hats I wear,” he said.