What I like best about Jason Kemp's "This Dance" is that at the end of the last song, the CD repeats itself until I press the audio player button motioning it to stop (My audio player is wondering what's taking me soooo long!) :) As I listen to each song recorded on "This Dance", I feel as if Jason Kemp is actually playing his guitar on my front porch, resonating his great vocals of country music to me and my common country neighbors, just short of an hour commute to Nashville, Tennessee. His gift is in the truth of what he writes about and how he shares it with the world. The production of this CD is exceptionally well done, and the Good Lord has created at least two places which are so similar, and one Australian country music artist, Jason Kemp, who craftfully brings his musical talent into my home and close to my heart, being touched by his words of truth. "Charisma" is the word I can best describe Jason and his music. It's the simple truth of what he writes, how he sings and the wonderful instrumentation of great melodies accompanying each song that will either make you laugh or cry....and definitely make you want to hear more.

Jason Kemp: This Dance Album Review by George Peden "The floor of a shed was where I was born/ There was a picture of Elvis up on the wall/ And a spanner’s the first rattle that I’d seen/ From the seat of a hotrod in seventy three/ And at the age of thirteen I picked up a guitar and started writing songs which come from my heart/ With the smell of fuel runnin’ through my veins I took my country on a different train." -Jason Kemp from "Country Train" Jason Kemp is not your ordinary country music clone. He’s an Australian singer and songwriter, and he’s as true as a cold Down Under foaming Fosters on a hot summer’s day. He’s as ocker as expected from a bloke who calls rural Roma, Queensland, a sheep and cattle district, his home. And he’s committed to one thing – country music done his way. He brings that attitude and ambition to This Dance. The recently released debut is available through Steer Records. It’s an attitude perfectly captured in his defiant tune of social resistance, "Conformity". The song, one of 13 on this mostly self-written and introspective album, laughs at and challenges the rigid nature of rules. Enjoying radio interest on the Oz community band, the song tells, possibly in an autobiographical sense, of a guy who wants fun and friendship, all balanced with the Aussie ideal of a fair go. Listening to Kemp’s diverse lyrics, which cover everything from the distress of absent children ("This Dance"), to the satisfaction of owing a Ford truck, one with a story-telling dent in every panel ("No One Loves This Truck Like Me"), through to "Pass The Legacy On," a somber tale of dusty trails and hard saddles, it's obvious Kemp cares about what he writes. Music has always been in his blood. Starting as a kid, he kicked off his career by learning classical piano. By 13, he’d graduated to playing guitar. Several months later, he was in his first band. Later stints in local theater productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Sound of Music honed the voice and his confidence. They’re assets he brings to this debut. That confidence enjoys vocal support here from some established and emerging Oz country artists, including Gemma Doyle, Michael Flanders, Tanya Self, Josh Arnold, and Col Finley, among others. Their collaborative effort, "Through The Eyes Of A Child," is a touching tale of a young boy trying to send his sister's doll to her in heaven. Proving the wide success of the song, it landed in the top five at the 2003 Musicoz awards. Kemp's love of the land, mateship, and the stockman's way is obvious on many of his songs. "This Old Hat" is a travelogue of circumstances and locations, as seen by a well worn hat that's witnessed it all. The headwear affair continues with "A Cowboy's Hat," a song of continuing loyalty to fashion sense, while "Cowboy's Pride" tells of a kid's sandbox fascination with John Wayne. Other standout cuts include "Road Trip," the guitar-driven and hard-paced tale of mates and a muster, while "Ballad Of Adrian Peddenmore," complete with its life lessons of being easy and free – until provoked – offers shades of Steve Earl or David Allan Coe. Jason Kemp is proving, and quickly, to be a standout performer. He's doing it by not applying the rules. He's not chasing anything. He wants nothing. His musical journey is not about fame. He’s just one of those performers driven by a love of the music. He's talented with a manner and style definitely Australian, and that's why with country music sung and played his way, he’s sure to please.