Jeff Zentner profile picture

Jeff Zentner

we low angels. we angels of the dirt.

About Me

i write songs for those who see the face of god in dirt and rust and broken things. for those who love desolation and who make of it ceremony and song. for those who bear memory's weight and who count the days of their youth in the blinking lights of distant radio towers and deserted intersections. who read in the crumbling names of towns on water towers the dispatches of passing seasons and forgotten heartbeats. for those who in dreams find great and unknowable mystery. who love words that sound upon their lips like secrets and sighs.

My album, Hymns to the Darkness, is available for $13, including shipping, in the U.S. and $18, including shipping, overseas. I can accept payment by paypal at [email protected]. For alternative payment options, please message me. You can also purchase the album at http://cdbaby.com/cd/zentner; as well as on iTunes.
Without fail, the lyrics read well in their own right as poems, and truly shine out when put to Zentner’s hypnotic, whispering vocals and dreamy arrangements.Beware though, this album does not make for easy listening. Zentner’s tales are tinged with black, and as beautiful as his prose is, there is a real underlying darkness that imparts a deliciously deep sense of unease. Conjuring images of desolate, rusty small towns, and compelling tales of human tragedy, love, and friendship, the listener is transported away into another world entirely. --Americana-UK
Hymns to the Darkness on CD Baby
Hymns to the Darkness on iTunes

i also make music with a band called creech holler

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/11/2006
Band Members: Me. vocals, guitar, slide guitar, dobro, banjo, pedal steel, lap steel, mandolin, cello, piano, organ.

Influences: Townes Van Zandt, Cormac McCarthy, Joe Bolton, Raymond Carver, Breece D'J Pancake, Chris Offut, Steve Earle, Chris Knight, Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Flannery O' Connor, James Dickey, The King James Bible, Emmylou Harris, Leonard Cohen, Damien Jurado, Charles Bukowski, Gillian Welch, Nick Cave, Woven Hand, Mark Lanegan, My Morning Jacket, Whiskeytown, Robert Belfour, Blind Willie Johnson, Dock Boggs, Sara Zentner, Hobart Smith, Ryan Adams, Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine, The Be Good Tanyas, Jessie Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Grant Lee Phillips, R.L. Burnside, Kelly Joe Phelps, Chris Whitley, Charley Patton, Bukka White, John Lee Hooker, Langston Hughes, Clarence Ashley, Larry Brown, Will Oldham, Dillard Chandler, Entrance, David Gordon Green, Terrence Malick, Dolan Geiman, Jaclyn Sollars, Jim White, Alan Lomax, Jason Isbell, Caroline Herring, Roscoe Holcomb, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Magnolia Electric Company, Songs:Ohia, Otis Taylor, The Black Keys, Junior Kimbrough, Appalachian murder ballads, Robert Johnson, Harry Crews, Son House, Skip James, Richmond Fontaine, Richard Buckner, Jolie Holland, Two Gallants, Dax Riggs, Thad Cockrell and Caitlyn Cary, the Old 97's, Michael Acree, Kathleen Edwards, Neil Young, 16 Horsepower, Lucinda Williams, Lucero, Cory Branan, Bruce Springsteen, Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, The Everybodyfields.



Sounds Like: moonlight. train tracks. calm after thunderstorm. scarecrows. dusty bibles. abandoned houses. fireflies. wire fence. sunlight through dust. creaking porch. fallen leaves. churchyard cemetary. grey autumn sky. river levee. dark holler. gravel road. car overgrown by weeds. dying town. windchimes. humid night. petal crushed underfoot. smoke. dirt on coffin lid. sighs. train whistle on winter night. wooden floor. color of night sky. secret place. iron bridge. blossoms blown by storm. far off radio tower. raindrops running down window. locust. derelict boxcar. dreams. wind in poplar tree. swallow's nest in barn rafters. kudzu on telephone pole. smell of snow. first star of evening. last star of morning. dark canopy of trees. heat that rises from the road. red neon sign. hum of electric line on silent road. map of stars. hymnal falling apart. small white crosses by highway. days of rain. gathering of birds on power line. gas station lights. sound of water. cicada hum. smell of leaves. path through woods. ghosts. bottle on windowsill. midnight prayer. bare branches against darkening sky. rain on road. south wind. raven wing flutter. shadows. blinking yellow light at deserted intersection. forgotten church. sparrows. rust. dark part of flame. railroad crossing lights through fog. name of town crumbling off water tower. flock of birds at november twilight. wind before rain. weight of memory. lover's whisper. insect song at night. puddle of clouds. rusted silo. slowing song of crickets. dance of leaves blown by wind. green valley. decaying barn. field after harvest. city lights on horizon. clouds covering moon. lonely afternoon. quiet dusk. dying days of summer. shadow of bird flying by streetlamp. words of decline. lightning. red dirt. fall sunlight. tall pine. rain on metal roof. things that die. heartbeats.






if you would like the code to any of these banners for your page, please message me.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

on the passing of a year

go to your elementary school playgroundgo to rememberthings there are as you remember themthe branches are bare against the sky, as you rememberthe air smells the same as it once did.the ground beneat...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:21:00 PST

lyrics

by somewhat popular demand (2 or 3 people, god bless your hearts), i've decided to post some of my lyrics. and here they'll stay until i'm too self-conscious about having my words posted here devoid ...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:13:00 PST

The Serpent King- a short story

SERPENT KINGhe worked in the orchard as he had every day since his youthhis every day spent with the sun beating upon his brow and backand it gave him warmth and gave life to his orchard and it bore f...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 08:27:00 PST

Press

My first review.more lovehttp://www.swamplandzine.com/jeffzentner.html...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:01:00 PST

Labels/Radio/Reviews - I ask your assistance

As I begin to look toward recording my next album, I naturally want to make sure that "Hymns to the Darkness" has made it into the hands of everyone it should. As an artist that is comp...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 05:18:00 PST

Hymns to the Darkness- album now available

My album Hymns to the Darkness is now available for purchase. It's $13, including shipping, within the United States. It's $18, including shipping, outside the United States. I can accept a paypal ...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:38:00 PST

the artwork on my page

i won't waste your time with false modesty: i have really great taste in art, and i have friends who make awesome art. and they make my profile look really great by letting me use their fantastic crea...
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Sun, 10 Sep 2006 12:33:00 PST

Why have I been asked to be this fellow's friend?

Why have I asked you to be my friend? For the most part, it's because you have fantastic taste in music and art, and I have discovered you through the page of an artist who I greatly admire and enjoy....
Posted by Jeff Zentner on Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:46:00 PST