Punk to rock the snow castle
The River Jacks to provide music for The King's Mosh
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Friday, March 24, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The River Jacks want to stick it the man - with an accordion. And a harmonica.
Calgary punk band The River Jacks plays the snow castle tonight. - photo courtesy of The River Jacks |
Guitarist Spencer Jo Burgess says the band is a melange of folk and punk, heavy on the punk, but with a hefty dose of melody.
"You know something that's cool about Joe Strummer and The Clash, he was always evolving," he told Yellowknifer.
"Just before he died he was doing kind of a world fusion thing. And he was also quite influenced by folk - he did a lot of Woody Guthrie tributes and stuff like that."
Burgess isn't concerned the whole harmonica-accordion vibe is damaging the band's punk cred.
Bands like The Pogues and the Dropkick Murphys already blazed this particular trail, blending punk with folk styles.
"The fundamentals of punk rock are you can maybe be more yourself than you ever would be," he said.
"The coolest thing about punk rock is that it was made by people originally who didn't really know how to play it ... They were just regular people who had no training."
Which sometimes involved fashion statements such as safety pin-pierced eyebrows and pointy hair, but always included a healthy dose of anti-authoritarianism.
The band includes Mikey Blotto on drums, Kurt Jensen on bass, Jordan Barrett on guitars and Ben Olson on harmonica.
This will be the band's first time in Yellowknife, and Burgess said he's excited to play the snow castle, even if dancing on a frozen lake means moshing is a slippery proposition.
"We're a high energy band, good friends," he said. "We have lots of fun up on stage, and I think it's pretty apparent and hopefully the crowd can feed off that."
The River Jacks take the stage at the snow castle tonight as part of The King's Mosh alongside Crook the Kid.
