Album Notes

Paste Magazine says "There's nothing more seductive than discovering someone who gives form to your thoughts with words more beautiful, evocative and true than you could ever find yourself." Jackson's music is Americana in the vein of Springsteen, Counting Crows, Tom Waits and Greg Brown.

"Boxfan" finds the Nashville-based singer-songwriter recapturing his roots in folk, punk, and late 80's-era alternative rock to produce an electrifying group of songs that showcases his penchant for narrative lyrics - along with the unbridled energy of guitar-driven roots-rock. He joined with producer/guitarist Rob Seals,drummer Eddie Walker (Ben Folds, Evan Olson), keyboardist Chad Barger (Cravin' Melon) and engineer/bassist Steve Graham (Evan Olson) to form The Leavers.


EXTENDED BIO & Beginnings:
It has been said that he sounds like a young Springsteen and writes like he's 100 years old. And although 24-year-old Steven Jackson claims no early influence from "The Boss," he certainly has the background to support that kind of intense sound.

"I was playing punk music in biker bars before I had even thought about driving a car," says the Alabama native. And while his punk roots may explain his gritty live performances, they don't account for his folky sound and a writing style that is deeply entrenched in the past - and more worldly than one would expect from a young writer.

"I guess I just absorbed the sounds of traditionally-influenced writers," says Jackson. "I used to sit in the back seat of my parents Buick and sing real deep and twangy - making fun of the country music they listened to. I was into the Sex Pistols and Ramones then, but I remember really connecting with some of the songs I heard riding around in that car. You could still hear people like Willie Nelson, Don Williams and Patsy Cline on commercial radio."

Then in true rebellious nature Jackson spent college years playing power-pop and psychedelic soul music before reconciling his roots. (FYI: In the bands Jack's Brat, Mister Shankly and Passing Through)

What results from the journalism major's musical ramblings is an intimate writing style that tips its hat to the past while bringing it up-to-date. And with a powerful, voice and a tendency to jump from observationist ballads to high-energy rock- and bluegrass-influenced songs, he is often compared to Tom Waits, Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett.

Jackson calls his music "Acoustic Americana." "The songs are stories," he says. "They're stories about people and places. Some of them I know, some are inventions of things I know to be true. It's about hometowns and leaving. It's about religion and whatever the opposite of that is. It's American music. And it's inspired by the music of this country like blues, bluegrass, folk and rock."