Kevin Bronson on October 19th, 2010

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“Stomp Out the Sun,” the first album from roots rocker Jason Diaz, provides a lot of comfort food for fans with an appetite for vintage ’60s and ’70s music, but the 24-year-old acknowledges that he felt as if he were the only person on that diet when he was a teenager. “I was weirdo in the corner in the strange clothes listening to classic rock,” he says. “That music always resounded with me for some reason.” Maybe it was his parents’ record collection, maybe the church music in his upbringing, but Diaz, who grew up in northern San Diego County and studied music at Azusa Pacific University, flavors his debut with the blues, gospel and soul. And even if those classic influences are at times too close for comfort, it’s a great start for a songwriter with a clarion voice.

||| Download: “Pleasure in Pain”

||| Live: Diaz celebrates his album release with a show tonight at the Bootleg Theater, also featuring the Diamond Light and the Muddy Reds.