Last week you came with me to the Rotosound strings factory where we met Jason How, Chairman and son of the original founder, the late James How. This week, we’re going to take a look at Jason wearing his musician hat.
Most of the musicians I write about tend to be of the acoustic, pretty laid-back, singer-songwriter variety, but what Jason and his band offer is quite different. It’s music that drips with attitude, with a driving bass & drum rhythm and guitar that doffs its cap to punk’s down and dirty insolence.
You won’t find gentle, ethereal vocals like those of Benita Johnson, nor will you see Jason’s fingers blurring around the fretboard like Neil Grove. The lyrics are less ‘Stairway to Heaven’ but more closely aligned with Jilted John and Buzzcocks. In other words, you know where you are with The Next Agenda. They tell it like it is.
When I tell you their website carries complimentary comments from James LoMenzo (Megadeth), Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Duff McKagan (Guns’n’Roses) and Captain Sensible, you’ll get an idea where The Next Agenda fits. Jason writes all the band’s songs “singing about population bombs and Sidcup station” sticking to familiar themes.
Like many bands on the circuit today, The Next Agenda possesses something of a revolving door as various musicians dip in and out for gigs. This tells you that the band members are top quality, always in demand somewhere. Jason is the glue that pulls the band together, of course.
Jason also produces solo studio albums. Still bringing the same influences – well, it’s still Jason, innit – but with swirls of 60s psychedelia to 80s matured-punk. The output is more melodic and the lyrics more poetic but still eminently accessible and oozing attitude. It’s a winning combination and one that pleases me very much as I remove the orange and white vinyl LP ‘Plastic Dreams and Lovers’ from my turntable… yes, it’s on vinyl, as befitting its content. I adore the cover, too, for which Jason appears to have located an old photo of my Mother-in-Law!
‘Plastic Dreams and Lovers’ is Jason’s seventh solo studio album. Six of them remain available to buy via his website. The album is confirmation of my assertion, last week, that Jason’s extremely talented (I was right!). As well as writing all the songs, he plays every instrument aside from the drums, for which he’s joined by Martin ‘Magic’ Johnson. I’ll also take this opportunity to point out that, in addition to talent, Jason has an abundance of imagination and ideas. As I write, he’s just finishing off his latest studio album and has a ton of material waiting in the wings – both solo and band.
For Jason’s solo offerings, you’ll have to be content listening “in the comfort of your own home,” either on Spotify or by purchasing, but if you like your music down and dirty, get out to one of The Next Agenda’s live gigs. They have some excellent ones coming up including festivals in Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Gillingham and a Friday night at the very popular The Forum in Tunbridge Wells (the perfect venue for them). Last time they played there, in December last year, they supported Eddie and the Hot Rods.
The only thing I’m left wondering is whether Jason has an endorsement deal for his guitar strings.
