Sean C. Morgan
Gone is the long Dave Mustaine-like mane, and in its place is a respectably short haircut, a handlebar mustache and goatee for eclectic local metalhead Jobe Woosley.
The metal snarl and electric guitar have also departed, replaced by an acoustic guitar and a soft folksy voice.
Jobe Woosley & Co. released a seven-song EP, “From Mountains to Sea,” on Sept. 26, a week before playing the Harvest Festival at Sankey Park. The group is headed into the Castle House Studio in Lebanon to record a full-length album in December.
The group is fronted by Woosley of Sweet Home, former guitar player for Cadacus and veteran of several local groups.
He is joined by Tim Meyers on the harp (harmonic), Charlie Fitzsimons on the drums and Chuck Fitzsimons on the bass.
They’re playing a mix of folk, alternative, acoustic rock, Americana – something like Neil Young, Woosley said.
“There’s a lot of new Americana bands. It’s a new sound but with old ways. It’s a little bit of folk. It’s a little bit of blues, a little acoustic rock.”
As of October, they’ve played together a year, Woosley said.
“I was going to go on my own. I hired a manager, and she was telling me I need to adjust my arrangements. I kind of write songs to sound like a band.
“She told me I should get a couple band members to accent things I’m doing.”
Meyers was the first into the group, Woosley said. He’s a multi-talented multi-instramentalist, Woosley said. Meyers painted several murals in Sweet Home, including the books on the front of the high school auditorium, which was covered up by brick 15 years ago during the remodel of that building.
Meyers, a world-class harp player, has a broad taste in music, and when he showed up to play with Woosley, they hit it off.
“I started playing some of my music, and he knew what to put to it right away,” Woosley said.
Meyers and Charlie and Chuck Fitzsimons had been in a band together, playing with Trevor Tagle, who played at the Oregon Jamboree this year.
Charlie Fitzsimons and Woosley have been playing together since junior high. He brought a cajon box over and clicked right in.
“Chuck felt jealous, and he wanted to be in on it,” Woosley said. He brought his bass, “and boom, we got a band. We started playing together like we’d been playing together for years.”
“The new EP is all original music,” Woos-ley said. “There’s some singer-songwriter stuff, and there’s stuff that showcases the band.”
Each member brings his own ideas and influences, Woosley said. Fitzsimons brings an old-timey background.
“I’m using new school guitar licks and strum patterns,” Woosley said. The heavy metal that influenced him first is in there. “I took what I learned doing metal and put it on an acoustic. You’ll hear some technicality in there, but it still holds strong rhythm.”
Charlie Fitzsimons brings a taste for contemporary rock, rap and pop.
“From Mountains to Sea” is available for download from iTunes and Amazon. A physical copy may be ordered from CD Baby. Woos-ley said he expects to release the new album in the spring.
The band may be followed on Facebook at Jobe Woosley Music.