ALBUM:
Acoustic Thunder
TAYLOR USED:
510ce
SONG CLIPS:
Duval Street
28K | 56K | MP3
I Like It When You Get Me High
28K | 56K | MP3
CONTACT INFO:
123 W. Luddington Ave.
Ludington, MI 49431
Tel:
(305) 296-4240
Fax:
(305) 295-3889
E-mail:
fremont john @netscape .net
Web:
http://fremont john. iuma. com
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Listening to Acoustic Thunder, one can imagine Fremont John Ashton's burly voice slicing and dicing with a busker's
forceful grit through the din of café chatter or the white noise of a street in the Florida Keys, his current
musical nest. The ragged passion of his vox runs the gamut from the wistful pangs of Neil Young to a dead-on John
Fogerty (Ashton aces Creedence's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" on Acoustic Thunder).
Ashton is the former frontman for the West Michigan rock band, Alias. For a while he juggled music with his
professional partnership in a robust environmental firm, but recently decided to make music his full-time pursuit.
He sold his stake and moved to Key West, where he dove into the trials, tribulations, and pleasures of "Indie" life.
He started a label, Aim High Records, which he runs with his wife Margi, and plays regular gigs at The Bull & Whistle
and Garden of Eden in Key West.
Acoustic Thunder culls together eight original tunes - some solo, others with a band - and four covers. In the
opening track, "Duval Street," Ashton and his 510ce get all folked up, slipping into the eye of the storm to chronicle
Key West's annual Spring Break descent into depravity. It's an unsentimental account, but Ashton's huge, gravelly
vocals inflate the tune's lyrics into a folk anthem; one can picture a bar full of sloshed college students swaying
and braying along: "It's a drunken mess/ Spring Break down in Key West…" Ashton eases off the throttle a bit on "I
Like it When You Get Me High," with a more ethereal, undulating vocal that glides over a lazy groove, before returning
to a more earthy texture for the chorus.
It's not hard to envision Ashton entertaining audiences with worthy renditions of the many classic rock staples that
fatten his repertoire, from Del Shannon to the Allman brothers to U2. Ashton balances his acoustic thunder with fun
in the sun, which makes for great happy hour sing-alongs.
"Fremont John has a strong, growling voice matched by thundering six-string work…this is one great soloist who can fill a room…with a bigger-than-life sound."
— Fast Eddie, Paradise This Week (Key West)
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