(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Montclair-based singer/songwriter Jason Didner has shared his musical conversations through two avenues since the pandemic: multitrack recordings where he performed and recorded all the vocal and instrumental parts; and solo acoustic shows – virtual during the pandemic and in-person once the virus became endemic.
Now he’s going electric with his new band “Jason Didner and the Drive.” The group will hit the stage for the first time at Millburn Rocktoberfest in the Music on Main Street section at 5:00pm on Saturday, September 9. The festival benefits the Millburn Education Foundation and runs from noon to about 10:00pm with stages in Taylor Park and the Music on Main Street area.
In addition to Jason Didner and the Drive, Millburn Rocktoberfest includes performances by The Gilfords, The Rudie Crew, 80 BPM, Acoustic Mayhem, Agni, Autumn Jones, Big Mamou, Cats Will Play, Distortion, Gabriel Rivera, Livingston Leo, Millburn Moksha, Mrs. Eller and the Fellers, The Parkers, Chris Pastore, Rhythm Tolee, Ryan Wang, Sanjana Krishnan, School of Rock, Side Buckle, So I Heard, Soulfege, Stuff Bros, The Thorns, and Valencia School of Music.
Joining in the conversation of lyrics and music are bassist Amelia Chan and drummer Leah Fox. “The moment we began rehearsing I felt this incredible rush of having the sounds I’ve heard in my head realized live in our practice space,” said Jason. “It’s a proud moment for a songwriter after all this time flying solo. Amelia’s musical powers keep growing by leaps and bounds every time I get to work with her. And Leah brings this remarkable dedication to craft drum parts that not only keep the beat, but also add to the telling of the song’s story.”
Jason’s other musical personality is as the leader of “Jason Didner and the Jungle Gym Jam” – an original rock band focused on kids and families, inspired by his own experience as a dad. Amelia is also the bassist in that group, playing an entirely separate repertoire of songs.
When she’s not playing music, Amelia, who grew up in Montclair, enjoys building her own guitar effects pedals using knowledge she’s gained in engineering school in New York. Leah, a fellow Montclair resident, works at Montclair Art Museum, where she founded “Innes and the Brushes,” a house band among the museum’s personnel.
Jason is best known for his humorous song “You Can’t Get There from Here in Jersey,” a musical gripe session about the peculiarities of driving in the nation’s most densely populated state. Asbury Park Press listed the tune in its Ten Best Songs of 2022 by NJ Artists. The song enjoys airplay on the Uncle Floyd Radio Show as well as National Public Radio and BlowUpRadio.
During the pandemic Jason, an Eddie Van Halen fan since age 15, took inspiration from the late guitar hero’s son Wolfgang, a true multi-instrumentalist, to learn drums and make full multi-track recordings at home.
Since 2022 Jason has released three albums. “Salt and Sand: Rock Songs to Heal the Mind” featured earnest lessons learned about preserving and nurturing one’s mental health in stressful times. He then accessed his more humorous side and recorded some new tracks for “It’s a Jersey Thing,” a compilation that also included previously-recorded but not previously released songs like “Cubicle,” along with some of his more Jersey-focused family-oriented offerings, which had previously been released under the “Jungle Gym Jam” moniker. Jason’s latest home studio effort was “Side Effects,” which balanced the earnest and the humorous, often in the same song.
