At the start of the new millennium, the band was comfortably doing occasional shows, although there was no drive to record new material. JATS suffered a significant blow in 2003 when Baggs decided to leave the band for health reasons and to pursue his solo persona.  Ringenberg was stunned: “With both Perry and Jeff gone, I had no stomach for it anymore. I felt that we were milking the legacy, a shadow of our past. I was just waiting for a good excuse to retire JATS.”  For the next few years the band would do an odd show here and there, with Fenner Castner doing a heroic job filling in for Baggs, but JATS was slowly fading to gray. Hodges joined Dan Baird’s Homemade Sin and did some solo work, whilst Ringenberg hit a seam as kid’s music star Farmer Jason.

Hodges, to his eternal credit, kept the band from folding. “I don't know if it was ‘keeping the band alive’ as much as feeling like we still had something to say,” he said. “I still felt all these years later, that we had a great record in us. JATS just wasn't over, in my head. I felt we had a bunch more music in us.”

As Hodges was expanding his musicial network, playing with Homemade Sin and The Stacie Collins Band, he quietly began laying the groundwork for a new record and band.  When Ames left the band in early 2008, Hodges worked in Al Collins, bassist and band leader of the Stacie Collins Band. The new bassist turned out to be perfect for them. In Hodges’ words, “I asked Al to join the band because he ‘got’ the older records, and knew JATS’ place in music history. He is also the easiest guy in the world to get along with, on top of the fact he's a monster bass player.”  They toured Europe in May 2008, this time with Swedish musician Pontus Snibb on drums. The new Snibb/Collins rhythm section turned out to be a godsend, giving the band a dramatic new energy and rock solid groove. The tour was an unabashed success, and the mojo was rolling off the stage once more.

That summer the Americana Music Association bestowed upon the band its 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance, further stoking the buzz. Momentum grew, with more good fortune coming their way. One day at lunch, Ringenberg and JATS manager Deb Whittington determined that economically there was no way they could afford to cut a record.  As they were leaving the restaurant to tell Hodges that the dream was over, they ran into the Music Producers Institute’s founder Steve Fishell, who on the spot offered to give them studio time in return for allowing people to attend the sessions. In a moment, destiny did a 180-degree turn.  Immediately songs fell out of the sky at an astounding rate. They started writing in December and by late February the songs were finished. In one week they wrote ten songs, with Tommy Womack, Ginger from The Wildhearts, and Dan Baird all camping out at Hodges’ home to help the cause. Friends came out of the woodwork to lend a hand.  Baird volunteered to play rhythm guitar so Hodges and Ringenberg could “do their thing.”  The band went into the studio in early April, filled with fire and hope. Brad Jones co-produced the record with Hodges. For the first time in their history, Jason and the Scorchers recorded the basic tracks live in the studio, with real folks actually watching and contributing to the vibe.

Live at the Classic Rock Weekend, Lillehammer, Norway, 2008. Photo © Geir Olsen

The resulting album, HALCYON TIMES, speaks for itself. This record is no “return to their roots.” It is instead a creative leap forward, showing the band at its peak, not on some sort of self-absorbed nostalgia trip. MOONSHINE GUY opens the record, full of bravado and bravery, driven by a character who “yells and he roars / likes The Stones, hates the Doors.” Whilst MONA LEE is certainly as exciting as anything the band has ever recorded, but it’s hard to pick a standout track on the record - they are all that strong.  Hodges’ guitar work has never been better, full of style and inspired originality, while Ringenberg rocks like he is  still 18, leaping off the edge of the world, laughing while doing it.  Snibb and Collins supply that elusive, magic rock ‘n’ roll groove, full of energy but grounded in confident unhurried power. Brad Jones, no stranger to the studio, says of Snibb, “Pontus might be the best rock ’n’ roll drummer I have ever worked with.”  However, like all classic rock records, HALCYON TIMES has more than enough moments of sublime grace to balance out the hormones. Listen to the 12-string guitar on LAND OF THE FREE. It’s like stepping into a Steinbeck novel. Or put on headphones and let MOTHER OF GREED take you down a road that winds from northern Wales in 1910 to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2009, the protagonists careening from one set of “arms of need” into another. It’s that kind of song, literary without being pretentious. In terms of production, it’s hard to imagine a better team than Hodges and Brad Jones. They succeeded in making a JATS record that captures the live energy of the band, with enough added ear candy to keep you coming back for repeated listens. This release almost demands multiple listening experiences; there is so much to take in.

Fourteen songs deep, covering a staggering range of emotions and style, HALCYON TIMES shows Jason & The Scorchers not only celebrating thirty years of creating music, but still expanding that creative envelope, still in command of their legacy. You can bet your life that in concert they will deliver with equal majesty. Catch their shows as they continue to find themselves out on that Lost Highway.