Crackling Jack

A rumble in the blues-rock jungle. Crackling Jack is a progressive rock band with its roots in the blues, playing a diverse range of music from the latter end of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and original music.

Born out of a desire to play hard driving blues and mellow ballads ferociously and passionately, Crackling Jack is a three-piece outfit that likes to play hard and with the freedom that that allows for extended improvisation and dynamic interaction.

The blues we play are on the heavier side, modern and a little way from more traditional tropes in that genre – improvisational grooves, with all instruments – guitar, bass and drums – meshing together and blowing up a storm or distilling a quiet melody.

The band also writes its own music, which rocks the blues and touches upon the contemporary world, dealing with public and personal themes such as war (If Tomorrow Comes), loneliness (Down to the Bottom), mental illness (River of Fear) and the environment (Black Sunday).

We adopt the longer progressive format, favouring fiery and mellow riffs that can be developed and extended with high-flying motifs allowing the guitar to soar with its leads, the bass to mine the bowels of the earth and the drums to dream and dispense thunder.

We are inspired by the artists referred to who have produced so much as the musical accompaniment to our lives.

Some artists covered:

Eric Steckel (Tennessee)

Eric Clapton (Old Love)

Cream (White Room)

Walter Trout
(All Out of Tears)

Gary Moore (Story of the Blues)

Jimi Hendrix (Little Wing)

ZZ Top (Waiting for the Bus)

King King (A Long Way from Everything)

Robin Trower (Too Rolling Stoned)

Joe Bonamassa (Sloe Gin)

Paul Kossoff (Walk in My Shadow)

Rory Gallagher (Messin’ With the Kid)

Alan Mirikitani (Buddaheads) (Howling at the Moon)

Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) (The Bluest Blues)

Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Turn to Stone)

Pink Floyd (Comfortably Numb)

Quotes and feedback:

“Crackling Jack by any other name would be as hard rockin’!” (Shakespeare)

“They are The Business!” (comment overheard at gig)

“A beautiful refreshing rain of blues washing over you” (audience)