Sky Rocket Jack are a fun SKA band from York. They like to have fun and SKA is the best genre for fun. They have a great live set and have shared the stage with some UK legends. They a great bunch of demos on the internet and at some point recorded and album. They also have a live recording on the BBC, wow! I got the band to tell their story...
Introduce yourself…
We are Sky Rocket Jack, the silliest band in the whole world.
How did the band start?
The band came from the ashes of another York-based band that never gigged called "The Billingtons". We got Naomi to take over the bass and stuck Sim onto keyboard. Lewis played guitar in The Billingtons and his musical skills on guitar were needed for Sky Rocket Jack. Our drummer Miles came along later, as we played 2 gigs with another guy called Sam. Sam decided he wanted to return to his home planet, so he left the band. Miles stepped in to replace him in June of last year (2011). T'vocalist, Mr E, is the band's main songwriter and general ringmaster. It was his concept to form it from The Billingtons, which he played drums for. Naomi, the new bassist, persuaded him to become a frontman for Sky Rocket Jack. At least that's my understanding of it all anyway...
How did you come up with the name?
It was the nickname of a murderer in Americaworld. There was a professor called Jack (unsure of last name) who had an obsession with Fireworks, so his students called him "Sky Rocket Jack", as fireworks are called sky rockets in Americaworld. He then killed someone, and became famous. His nickname was lifted from a book about murderers and used for the band. It is a good name for a daft band.
Who would you say are your influences?
Now, this is a sticky subject. We should say The Aquabats, but we didn't know they actually existed until we played our first gig and someone said "You sound like an English version of The Aquabats", so we weren't really influenced by them as such. We took our influences from bands like Half Man Half Biscuit, The Dickies, Bad Manners, The Rezillos. Stuff like that. Not "first generation" punk and ska, but soon after that. We wanted to do something different that focused on positive subjects, unlike most punk which focuses on the negatives. The band was designed to be a way for people to escape the dullness of their everyday lives. That includes band members as well as people who come to see us.
What is the punk scene like in York?
Not bad. It's not as good as it used to be say 10 years ago when punk was massive in York. We're trying our hardest to bring it back. There are a few decent punk acts around other than ourselves, and just recently a few more have come forward, like the massive 11-piece ska band called "Prawnskas". I'd like to think that we had something to do with them making a band, but I doubt that we did. In terms of the fans, we tend to get a lot of people at our home shows. Every time we've done a gig, we've had more people come down than the last time we did one. We work with a pretty cool promotions company called "Botched Job Promotions" who somehow do all their gigs for free entry. This ensures that we always play to a big home crowd. Our headline York shows are exclusive to Botched Job Promotions.
Describe the song writing process...
Someone (usually Mr E or Lewis) provides a riff or two. The band then kicks the riff(s) about and stamps on them a bit, does a big wee all over them and there we have a freshly-made song. It's about everyone putting their own stamp on someone's primary idea. And their wee.
What have you released?
We've done a series of shoddy demos and a full test-album (with our old drummer...this was never released). Just recently, we have done a live recording for the BBC, and we are going on their unsigned show at the back end of March to do a live set. In the future, we have our first album coming out for real. It is called "This is a Compact Disc". It shall contain 7 of our songs and is being sold with our own comic book that we have had created for us. The comic book contains a wild story that involves all of our song titles in some way. This album has been totally funded by us. Very recently, we have completed our first record deal. We are putting out 2 of our songs on a pink 7" vinyl single. This is being released on TV's Over Records. It's due out sometime in May/June. If anyone wants a pre-oreder, please email info@skyrocketjack.co.uk
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
We've played with some great bands in the short time we have been together. Some of the memorable ones were: TV Smith, K**t and The Gang, The Toasters, Luxury Stranger, Revenge of the Psychotronic Man and Geoffrey Oi!cott. We've also got some cracking gigs coming up, with the likes of Subway Sect, Garry Bushell and The Gonads, Punishment of Luxury and The Cravats.
Do you prefer to do shows at large venues or small clubs?
SMALL CLUBS! That's an easy one. We much prefer an intimate crowd to play to. You can get up close and personal. Big venues expect too much and are usually full of grown-ups.
Have you toured?
Not Yet. We have a tour booked for the back end of February. We're calling it the "You have to start somewhere" tour. We're doing 3 consecutive nights. Starting in Leeds on the 23rd, then York on the 24th, and finally Bradford on the 25th. We're worried about being away from our loved ones on this epic 72 hour stretch! I'm not even sure if we'll make it back alive...
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
We like playing with The Vexed. Kingcrows are also good to play with as they are proper nice guys and share our DIY punk morals. Generally speaking, we'll play with anyone!
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
Stereo in York. Whenever we gig there, the turnout is amazing! We also liked the show at The Adelphi in Ull. It was like playing in a youth club and the toilets were really nice.
Do you see is the future of SKy Rocket Jack?
We think it's a life band. We'll keep writing new songs, independently releasing new stuff and playing gigs until one of us dies. We're a very tight unit and it would therefore take a lot for one of us to leave.
How can people contact the band?
They can have a gander at our website: www.skyrocketjack.co.uk and then they can email us on info@skyrocketjack.co.uk PLEASE LOOK AT THE WEBSITE FIRST OR WE'LL SEND SIM TO PUT CRUSHED UP CHILLI DORITOS IN YOUR BED.
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