The Jacks may not have carried the Stanley Cup like the St. Louis Blues, but the Los Angeles quartet — whose video for its first single, “Walk Away,” is premiering exclusively below — is another winner from the hockey championship series.
The group, which performed at the National Hockey League’s Winter Classic back in January and at this month’s NHL Awards in Las Vegas, was part of the Stanley Cup Playoff campaign via NBC and the NHL’s social media. It was also the house band for the league’s awards show on June 19 in Las Vegas. “They’ve been great to us, and a lot of people are getting to hear our music because of it,” bassist Scott Stone tells Billboard. “I’m the biggest sports fan in the band, but we all love hockey and it’s been great to be part of all of that. It’s a super exciting time for us.”
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The Jacks’ Stanley Cup run is a set up for the group’s self-titled EP, which comes out June 28. The five-song set showcases charged, punchy rock that wears influences on its sleeve — Stone and guitarist Tom Hunter (they’re childhood friends) started out covering The Who, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones — with touches of garage, glam and more contemporary Britpop. “The fundamental aspect is we’re four guys with instruments — two guitars, bass and drums — and there’s a kind of sound you get with that,” Stone says. “That’s changing as time goes on and we’re developing, so I think there will be changes as we keep going.”
The black and white “Walk Away” video, meanwhile, serves as an introduction to the band, showing the members performing as it scrolls by horizontally. “For so long our live show has been one of our strongest aspects in terms of gaining new fans, so the video shows the energy we put into a live show and how we perform,” Stone says. “It kind of says, ‘This is who we are’ and gets that message across.”
The Jacks only have one date on the books at the moment, July 26 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, and Stone says the group’s focus now is on its second EP, which it plans to start recording during early July. “We’ve been writing a ton and have some songs we’ve been sitting on that we’re excited to get out there,” the bassist says. “They’ll obviously be in the same vein, but I think an enhanced or somewhat more mature sound. Our writing process has been developed more.” And, he promises, a Jacks album is also on the horizon.
“Oh, absolutely. All our favorite bands did full albums. The idea of an album is a little lost today — not to say there’s not great albums coming out anymore, but we really like the idea of something that’s a full concept and packaged idea. We’re going to do that for sure.”