Hey Sludgers, you guessed it?! It is time for another dose of 20 questions and this week I am speaking with Adam, from the excellent band, Jacknife Holiday.
This band have been making waves in the underground scene and I was lucky enjoy to see these guys destroy during the all day sludge fest in Sheffield, England a few weeks. Not only that Jacknife are due to drop a belter of a record next year, produced by none other than Sludgelord favourite, Matt Richardson of Bastard of the Skies.
I have a feeling that Jacknife Holiday are going to go onto bigger and better things next year, so I thought it would be cool to hook up with the band and talk about all things Jacknife. They released a shit hot EP a few year back, however the future is looking bright for these guys. Enjoy the interview and stay tuned for more 20 Questions. Over to Adam for this weeks interview. Cheers
Hey Adam, How
are you? I appreciate you taking the time to talk to talk to us, here at the
Sludgelord.
Q) Where are you at the moment and what
are you doing in terms of the band? You’re recording your debut record with
Matt Richardson (BOTS) at Full Stack Studios, is that right? How’s it going?
A) Jacknife is always fucking mental. Right now, we've finished the record;
it's now being mixed now by Matt (BOTS) and will then be mastered by Dennis
from BONGRIPPER.
It's fucking
massive...
Q). I have to admit, I have heard great
things about band, but haven’t actually heard your record. So for my benefit as
well as our readers, could you tell us a little about the history of the band
and some of the bands you've played with? Where you’re from? When Jacknife
Holiday first formed? Current band members?
A) Right, Jacknife Holiday started around summer 2009, my old band was
coming to a head and I wanted to start a new project. Something in the vein of
bands I was listening to heavily at the time, i.e. DOWN, BLS, Crowbar etc.
Obviously the sound has grown a long way from then, but that’s what started it.
We've been fortunate enough to have played with some incredible bands I
never thought I'd be sharing a stage with; Kylesa, Voivod, Soilent Green… It's
cool as fuck.
We're from the north west of England. Myself and Pete are Bolton lads,
John's from Bury and Eytan's reppin Manchester!
Q). Is Jacknife Holiday a full time
project?
A) Jacknife takes a lot of time up. Any band that wants to make an
impression nowadays has to be busy.
Q) What made you start the band? Did you
all know each other before you formed the band?
A) I was the guitarist in Displacement; a thrash band from Bolton,
Dirty griffin has always been my passion so I was always craving to explore
that. Displacement ended and I had a few songs written, some of which are still
in the set today, and after a few jams with various folk. I've known Pete
(drums) a long time, I asked him if he fancied a jam and laid out a brief idea
of what Jacknife was gonna be about, he came down, we rocked. We grew the band
round that.
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| Eytan Killing it |
Q) Since your inception you have gained
coverage from The Sleeping Shaman, whom reviewed your self released EP ‘Stinkin
‘N’ Drinkin as well as playing Download and a host of great bands such Kylesa,
Tusk. When you started the band, what were your hopes or aspiration for the
band?
A) The only aspiration I originally had for Jacknife was to get some of
the songs I'd written (one song was seriously written on the fucking shitter)
to a stage. Any stage. To have our name and a short bio in the programme for
Doningtons 30th anniversary year, is a dream come true. Truly is. I've still
not got a copy of that. If anyone has, PLEASE send me one!
Q) Given that that it is seemingly harder
to make a full time commitment to a band, what motivates you as musicians?
A) EASY! The feeling felt from a fucking sick show or good jam. It's
like nothing else out there. Fuck money.
Q) Are you a big fan of rock/metal, if so
what are you listening too at the moment? Any recommendations?
A) I'm a huge
Bongzilla fan, always listening to their records. As I type I'm listening to
Slabdragger's 'Regress'. Dopethrone too. Conan are favourites of mine.
Q) If someone was unfamiliar with your
band, how would you describe your sound and do you feel it has evolved, since
the release of your debut EP?
A) We're a completely different band now from when the first EP was
released. To describe our sound nowadays, wow… erm… It's certainly different.
The word violent springs to mind. It's a thick and violent sound representative
of our environment I'd like to think.
Q) Who would you say are your
influences/heroes both musically and artistically in terms of the band sound?
A) My heroes, Kirk from Crowbar/Down springs to mind. The usual
suspects, Ozzy, Iommi, Nikki Sixx… I fucking love it.
Q) I love the reference in the Sleeping
Shaman review which states your band name says it all ‘the delight and
recreational possibilities of pure mindless violence!!!’(Ollie Stygal). Was
that he vibe you were going for in terms of choosing the name?
A) Truth is… No fucking idea mate. The first drummer I jammed with came
up with the name. Thought it sounded cool. ha-ha! Wish there was an awesome
story...
Q) I’m assuming all musician like to talk
about gear, so with that in mind what gear do you use in terms of guitars, amps
and why? Also what tuning do you use?
A) We're
tuned to A. I've had my 91 Epi Les Paul for years now, it's battered and
fucked. I'd never replace it though. For me, you just cannot beat a Les Paul.
Amps? Ask me in 2013 ;)
Q) What is the scene like in your
hometown? What are your thoughts? Where do you think Jacknife Holiday fist
within that?
A) The scene
in Bolton/Manchester is awesome. I've seen scene's all over the UK and spoken
to a lot of promoters in bigger cities, a lot comment on how well respected the
scene is up here. I love it. Very fortunate.
Q) What are your views of blogs such as
the Sludgelord reviewing your records? Has your music reached the mainstream
mags, at home or around the world?
A) Things like the sludgelord are vital man, I personally have learned
of so many killer bands through zine's/blogs etc. We've had some real wicked
reviews from sites all around the world. At this level, any help you get is
massive.
Q) How you feel your band
has generally been received?
A) Good one. I think people either get us or they don't. We are
different and we're difficult to pigeon hole. The very first review of the very
first demo we did, I remember was from DOOMANTIA.com. We got 8/10. Which was
awesome considering we recorded with one mic on a piece of shit. But, I
remember them saying, they have no idea where fit in. I buzz off that.
Q) What can we expect from the new record
and why did you go for Matt Richardson? How was your experience of working with
him and at Full Stack Studios?
A) Matt rules. End of. Perfect producer for Jacknife. I hope he'll work
with us again ha-ha!
It sounds better than we could have ever imagined. It's HUGE.
Q) I heard you also got members of
Bongripper involved with in the mix or mastering of the record, is that right?
Obviously you’re fans of the band? How’d that come about?
A) Cool story really. We've been fans of Bongripper for a long time
now. I was wandering the Internet one night; I posted on the bands wall, and
had contact back. I then showed the guys some of Jacknife, Dennis offered to
work on our new record. We've been mates ever since.
Q) Are you releasing the record
yourselves or you signed to a label? How do you feel about sites like bandcamp
and releasing music for free to get your music heard?
A) We're currently sorting through some things. Stuff like bandcamp is wicked man.
Q) What was your approach to new writing
material for the band? Is your debut indicative of how you sound now?
A) The debut was a 3 track record that put our foot in the door. 'Mea
Culpa' is a fucking monster. The approach for writing… The tunes off this
record were written a while ago at a wicked room we used to rent. We'd go there
all the time, till like 4am sometimes. Get shitfaced and jam.
Q). In terms of the band do you feel that
2012 has been a good year for the band and what are your plans for the rest of
the year and 2013. More importantly when does the new record finally drop and
can I have a copy (Lol)
A) 2012 has been
a busy, hard and transitional year yeh man. We've introduced a new front man
and a new bassist as well as dealing with a whole heap of other shit. We've
just finished our first tour as this line-up. Man that was wicked. Cold. But
wicked.
'Mea Culpa' is
out on 02/02/13.
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| Crushing |
Q) Thanks for answering my questions, but
one final question, you got anything you like to say to your fans?
A) We
appreciate every single fucking thing anyone has ever done for Jacknife
Holiday. Seriously. Cheers
So a massive shout out to Adam for taking the time to answer the questions. Please show your support to this band. Check the link below for more info on the band.
Thanks for reading. Cheers Aaron
Thanks for reading. Cheers Aaron
