If Joey Ramone and Tom Waits had a love child, his name would be Jason Webley. A coy, charismatic street performer from Seattle that has a spirit that seems to be made of glitter and moonshine, he has taken his show to the road and even recorded four albums, with a fifth on the way, armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar, an accordion and a whiskey bottle filled with coins from around the globe. He is a one man band.

His songs have the feel of stepping back in time, sitting around a fire in a gypsy encampment where the booze is flowing and stories are being told. That’s what Jason Webley does with many of his songs: he tells stories. The stories are of life and death, of good times and bad times, and many a silly song as well.

One of the saddest songs about love I know of is “Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.” The song is about feeling the distance between you and the person you love, or the pain you feel when you lose them, or they leave you. Being trapped in a world of pain, and drinking until you feel better and not really knowing how to find your way out of it.

“If I could just taste one sip of an answer, maybe I could break out of this drunkard’s prison. I’m homesick for a place I might have never seen… No i didn’t get here on my own. Who ever brought me here is gonna have to bing me home.” I feel this shows the mood of the song- you can feel the pain and heartbreak that one would feel as they are drowning their sorrows away.

But like many artists, he can see the joy in life as well with songs like “The Drinking Song,” which is a staple of his live shows and crowd favorite which the chorus turns into a giant sing-along. “When the glass is full, Drink up! Drink up! This maybe the last time we see this cup. If God wanted us sober, He’d knock the glass over, so while it is full we drink up!” You can very much tell through this song that Webley truly is a gypsy at heart, as the crowd joins him singing, swaying and drinking along with the song.

His albums are wonderful, but what makes him a fantastic artist are his live shows, chalked full with audience participation and crazy stories that leave you feeling a million times better than you did when you got there. His shows include tickle fights, balloons flying around in the crowd, sing-along’s and other wonderfully wacky things. So next time Jason Webley rolls through these parts, I highly recommend you go check out his show. It is a guaranteed good time, but in the mean time, pick up one of his albums and enjoy yourself a little Jason Webley.