About Me
The Boston Globe calls _Walking on the World_, the newest release from singer-violinist Jake Armerding, "dizzying -- it weaves together fiddle, mandolin, and guitar; stories about Rome and nostalgia; consonant ballads about a fleece jacket; and dissonant, off-kilter rags." Marrying genres is Armerding's forte, a product of growing up with 1980's pop radio in one ear and classical violin in the other.At 14, after ten years of violin lessons, Armerding joined his father's bluegrass band, Northern Lights, on fiddle. He also turned his attention to songwriting. His first efforts were mainly attempts to weed out cliche, but within two years he had composed "Rome," a minor-key dreamscape that Armerding still performs in concert. Songs began to emerge, and by 1999 he had his first record in hand. _Caged Bird_ was an immediate hit with Boston's folk radio station, WUMB, which honored Armerding in 2001 with its award for "Best New Artist." He released _Caged Bird_ the old-fashioned way -- out of his trunk. Touring regionally and with support from radio, the record eventually sold more than 2500 copies and got Armerding noticed by the hip Nashville independent label Compass Records.In 2003, Compass released _Jake Armerding_, a collection of folk-pop songs written during a stint in Nashville. It was the 6 most added new record among Americana radio stations in April 2003, and finally shone the national spotlight on its author. "The most gifted and promising songwriter to emerge from the Boston folk scene in years," claimed the Globe, while the Washington Post praised Armerding's "remarkable" instrumental skills. Festival buyers also took notice, and that year Armerding appeared at the Newport Folk Festival (RI), Kerrville Folk Festival (TX) and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY), along with some of the country's best-known acoustic venues, the Ark (MI), Bluebird Cafe (TN), the Tin Angel (PA) and the Freight & Salvage (CA).After more than 500 performances, from Anchorage to London and Miami to Bangor, Armerding returned to the studio to record _Walking on the World_. With a mix of Nashville veterans (Dan Dugmore on pedal steel and Phil Madiera on Hammond organ) and his own friends in the scene, he crafted an album that is "sharp, original, quietly intense, and rewarding for any who'll listen with both ears" (Lansing State Journal). _Walking on the World_ is as difficult to categorize as much of today's best music; equal parts New England singer-songwriter, acoustic rock and newgrass, no genre is exactly safe. But the effect is natural. "His real achievement has been to bend the boundaries of the genre -- to break the conventions that define country music," writes the Boston Globe (March 2007). Armerding stands out from a crowd of new singer-songwriters for what has always been a hallmark of great songwriting: an ability to create something new out of something old.
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