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| website = http://www.jasonwebley.com/
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'''Jason Webley''' is an American musician known for his fusion of [[folk music|folk]], [[experimental music|experimental]], and [[alternative rock|alternative music]]. Webley plays the guitar and accordion, sometimes providing percussion by stomping or shaking a plastic vodka bottle filled with coins. Webley began his career performing solo, but has collaborated with a wide range of artists. He has also organized several commemorative concerts and events memorializing everything from tragedies in his hometown of [[Everett, Washington]], to [[tomato
==Early life==
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==Career==
In the spring of 1998 Webley quit his day job and began busking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.springmanrecords.com/springman/aspx/band_info.aspx?ArtistID=11 |title=Jason Webley |accessdate=2007-11-25 |publisher=Springman Records |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011135515/http://springmanrecords.com/springman/aspx/band_info.aspx?ArtistID=11 |archivedate=2007-10-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later that year he recorded the album [[
Webley's first four albums were released or re-released by [[Springman Records]], but he now owns his own record label, Eleven Records, and sells his merchandise via website or at concerts.
Webley plays various instruments on his albums, including [[guitar]], [[accordion]], [[piano]], [[marimba]], and [[glockenspiel]]; when he tours, however, he usually only brings his guitar, an accordion, and a [[vodka]] bottle filled with coins from around the world. He has been known to do short tours with a backing band. Webley has performed at several festivals, including [[Burning Man]], [[Glastonbury Festival]], [[VanFest]], and the [[Oregon Country Fair]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Scanlon, Tom |title='Happy Death Day' with Jason Webley |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20031031&slug=nite31 |date=October 31, 2003 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref> His sound has been compared to [[Tom Waits]],<ref name="st"/> [[Vladimir Vysotsky]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Piper, Paul |title=Jason Webley: A Man with an Accordion |url=http://www.habitsofwaste.wwu.edu/issues/6/iss6art4b.shtml |work=Habits of Waste |accessdate=24 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610055435/http://www.habitsofwaste.wwu.edu/issues/6/iss6art4b.shtml |archivedate=10 June 2010 }}</ref> [[Leonard Cohen]],<ref name="st"/> and [[Bob Dylan]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Rathbun, Andy |title=Jason Webley's happy to play his hometown |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090206/ENT/702069960/1024/ENT05 |date=February 6, 2009 |work=HeraldNet |accessdate=24 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210080038/http://heraldnet.com/article/20090206/ENT/702069960/1024/ENT05 |archivedate=10 February 2009 }}</ref>
Webley's music and live performances reflect his eclectic personality. Webley has a fascination with the number 11.<ref>{{cite web|author=Corazon, Billy |title=Imaginary Interview: Jason Webley |url=http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/features/2009jul/imaginaryinterviewjasonwebley |date=July 1, 2009 |work=Three Imaginary Girls |accessdate=24 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404095400/https://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/features/2009jul/imaginaryinterviewjasonwebley |archivedate= 4 April 2012 }}</ref> References to the number can be found throughout his discography. He also performed a special commemorative concert on November 11, 2011.
Webley was also once known for incorporating vegetables into his performances.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kerry Skemp |title=Jason Webley at the Lily Pad |url=http://bostonist.com/2007/11/29/jason_webley_at.php |date=November 29, 2007 |work=Bostonist |accessdate=10 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323172328/http://bostonist.com/2007/11/29/jason_webley_at.php |archivedate=23 March 2012 }}</ref> He once owned a late 1990s model [[Toyota Corolla]] that had been converted into a giant [[tomato]]. It was painted red, and had a green fiberglass stem attached to the roof of the car (until the stem was stolen).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/djwudi/1165458|title=Goodbye, Jason|work=Flickr - Photo Sharing!|date=November 2004 }}</ref> He reported at a concert that his beloved Toyota had "passed away" around January 18, 2011. Webley's vegetable fixation is no longer a main element of his live performances.
From 2000 to 2004 Webley pretended to die every [[Halloween]] only to be born in the spring.<ref name="st">{{cite web |author=Scanlon, Tom |title=Jason Webley's giving death another go |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20021101&slug=nite01 |date=November 1, 2002 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref>
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In May 2014 Jason Webley performed the songs 'Promise To The Moon' as well as 'These and More Than These' by Joseph Fink; while doing a series of live shows with the show [[Welcome to Night Vale]], as well as writing an original song as the character Louie Blasco on the podcast.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sendejas Jr. |first1=Jesse |title=Jason Webley: Welcome to Night Vale Sure Beats Busking |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/jason-webley-helps-put-the-music-in-welcome-to-night-vale-9605721 |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Houston Press |date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>
In 2011, Webley scaled back his touring schedule and started focusing more on other projects. He still performs annually at some venues such as the [[Oregon Country Fair]].
===Monsters of Accordion===
Webley organized the Monsters of Accordion tour, an all-accordion extravaganza that took place on the West Coast.<ref>{{cite web |author= |title=Interview with Jason Webley |url=http://www.letspolka.com/2007/08/interview-with-jason-webley/ |date=August 20, 2007 |work=Let's Polka |accessdate=4 November 2009}}</ref> The tour came together when Webley was invited to play at an accordion shop in [[Oakland]], and met two [[Bay Area]] accordionists, [[Daniel Ari]] and [[Aaron Seeman]]. They decided to do an accordion-only tour, which was the first Monsters of Accordion.<ref>{{cite web|author=Greg Majewski |title=Monsters of Accordion to Play Luigi's |url=http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/12822/Monsters_of_Accordion_to_Play_Luigis |date=August 29, 2009 |work=Sacramento Press |accessdate=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004021438/http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/12822/Monsters_of_Accordion_to_Play_Luigis |archivedate= 4 October 2009 }}</ref> The tour has since featured such accordionists as [[Corn Mo]], [[Geoff Berner]], [[Amy Denio]], [[Mark Growden]], (former [[Gogol Bordello]] member) [[Stevhen Iancu]], and [[Eric Stern (musician)|Eric Stern]] (frontman of [[Vagabond Opera]]).
=== Margaret ===
In 2014 Webley released, [[Margaret (album)|Margaret]], a collaborative album commemorating Margaret Rucker, the daughter of a prominent Everett family. The album was sparked by Webley's fascination with Rucker's pyramidal tomb and his friend's discovery of one of Rucker's scrapbooks in a California dumpster.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kiley |first1=Brendan |title=Jason Webley and Friends Resurrect Margaret Rucker, the Mysterious Millionaire Poet They Found in a Dumpster |url=https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/jason-webley-and-friends-resurrect-margaret-rucker-the-mysterious-millionaire-poet-they-found-in-a-dumpster/Content?oid=21188087 |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=The Stranger |date=December 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Andrea |title=Rucker tomb: The giant granite wonder of Everett |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/rucker-tomb-the-giant-granite-wonder-of-everett/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Everett Herald |date=October 1, 2018}}</ref> The album was released along with a book and six live shows were performed up and down the West Coast. The project was funded via a [[Kickstarter]] Campaign.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Muhlstein |first1=Julie |title=The rescued story of one of Everett's daughters continues to be told |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/the-rescued-story-of-one-of-everetts-daughters-continues-to-be-told/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Everett Herald |date=July 29, 2014}}</ref>
=== One Hundred Years Ago Tomorrow ===
In 2016 Webley once again turned to crowdfunding to co-create an album centered on Everett's history. This time the focus was the [[Everett Massacre]]. The album commemorated the centennial of the massacre. It was performed live at the historic Everett Theater one day before the centennial (hence the title, ''One Hundred Years Ago Tomorrow'').<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Rick |title=Tonight: NW Musicians Revisit the "Everett Massacre" in 100 Years Ago Tomorrow |url=https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/11/04/24671522/tonight-nw-musicians-revisit-the-everett-massacre-in-100-years-ago-tomorrow |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=The Stranger |date=Nov 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kiley |first1=Brendan |title=In the key of blood: Concert marks centennial of Everett Massacre |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/in-the-key-of-blood-concert-marks-centennial-of-everett-massacre/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=The Seattle Times |date=November 3, 2016}}</ref>
=== Flotsam River Circus ===
In 2017, Webley began organizing a floating circus on the [[Willamette River]]. After his father became ill the project was delayed for two years. In the summer of 2019, the ''Flotsam River Circus'' finally set sail from [[Corvallis, Oregon]], after performing at the [[Oregon Country Fair]]. Shows were performed at waterfront parks with a homemade barge serving as the stage.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Muhlstein |first1=Julie |title=Artistry afloat: Jason Webley takes to the river in Oregon |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/artistry-afloat-jason-webley-takes-to-the-river-in-oregon/ |accessdate=25 July 2019 |work=Everett Herald |date=July 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=ROMÁN |first1=Michaela |title=Flotsam River Circus stops in Salem on Willamette River tour |url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/life/2019/07/25/flotsam-river-circus-docs-salem-willamette-river-tour/1824090001/ |website=Statesman Herald |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> In August 2021 the circus set sail again with a series of performances in the greater Seattle area.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Branglen |title=ArtSEA: A floating circus cruises into Seattle waterways |url=https://crosscut.com/culture/2021/08/artsea-floating-circus-cruises-seattle-waterways |website=Crosscut |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> During the summer of 2022, the circus floated down the [[San Joaquin River]] in Northern California performing in towns such as [[Walnut Grove, California|Walnut Grove]] and [[Bethel Island]] as well as cities like [[Sacramento]], [[Oakland]], and [[San Francisco]].<ref name="abc10">{{cite news |last1=Porras |first1=Gabriel |title='Rivers are magical places': Floating circus plans stop in Stockton |url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/floating-circus/103-6b573366-942d-44ab-a0e5-1ac0c14ec53f |access-date=4 July 2022 |agency=ABC10}}</ref><ref name="richmond">{{cite news |last1=Aldax |first1=Mike |title=FLOTSAM! River Circus to perform on Richmond shoreline |url=https://richmondstandard.com/richmond/2022/06/27/flotsam-river-circus-to-perform-near-richmond-shoreline/ |website=The Richmond Standard |date=27 June 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
In August and September
==Collaborations==
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*Released: March 30, 2010
*Label: 11 Records, 8
*Formats: CD, digital download, LP
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* [http://www.jasonwebley.com Official website] of Jason Webley
* [http://www.monstersofaccordion.com/ Monsters of Accordion website]
* {{
* {{YouTube|u=jasonwebley|Jason Webley}}
{{Jason Webley}}
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[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American
[[Category:American folk musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Seattle]]
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