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Jumpin' Jack William - Vol i
Jumpin' Jack William - Vol i
Jumpin’ Jack William writes music that sounds like being free amongst nature and mates, with a household of thought; waves that crash over you and warm the soul of your skeleton - junctures of lapsteel like morning light on wet sand, guitar licks like charging into unforgiving white wash, bass thumps like the guilty pleasure of pissing where fish do, and the percussion of soft sand that frees you of your old skin. An exfoliating rhythm.
We spoke to frontman Jack McCloskey about home, collaborating with friends and the album he made to honour them.
TJ: So you worked and worked on a collection of songs, over many years in Melbourne, to pitter patter off in between border closures to settle down in Byron Bay. What is this going to do with the trajectory of the album release?
JJW: The songs on the album were written long before my mad run to the beach. They tend to come around on trips and then get glued together properly in sweaty rehearsal rooms in Melbourne’s inner north. I don’t know that they lend themselves to one place or another, that is up to the listener, I can’t predict what anyone will take from them. In terms of the trajectory of the release we can only do so much at this point with Covid and everything that comes with it. There will be shows whenever we are able to get together and play but who knows when that might be. We will start working on those details when there is clarity around gigs and touring. For now, it’s great to put it out. We have been sitting on it for a while and with no ability to tour we thought now is the time to get the album out and hopefully give ourselves a runway into a world in which we can all play gigs again.
What’s the origin story of this album - being that it’s the first of hopefully so many to come, how did you manifest the elements, the people, the atmosphere?
The story of this album is sort of the story of the last decade or so of my career and experiences within music and the people I have found. It’s the story of my relationship with my band and the things we’ve been able to do. It’s very much a first album in the sense that some of these songs are old and it kinda becomes like a scrapbook or journal of our adventures. It is an authentic representation of us as a band, which is really important to me. We wrote and produced it. It’s largely live with a few vocal and guitar overdubs. These songs have been played solo, duo, full band, half band, all the possible ways. All of these experiences performing and tinkering with them have got them to this point. The main thing for me is that I love playing with my band in a room and I wanted to capture that as a moment in time as well as a historical account of our shenanigans. I think we did that and I am very proud of what we got done.
If the album were a narrative - where every song was neatly placed in order to tell the story of someone or something - what would that story feel like to a new fan?
To me it’s got a road trip, camping trip, feeling of adventure sort of thing to it on the surface and the imagery that I have tended to use has been that sort of wide open spaces, long and winding road sort of stuff. These songs come from that place. That place being a collection of places all over the country. The narrative within that imagery is up for grabs I think, each to their own. The feeling of adventure, awe and wonderment is something I’m addicted to and I think creeps into my songs. Beyond that, on a more personal level it is a bit of a love note to my friends and family with whom I have so enjoyed sharing my life. I have been lucky enough to go on some amazing trips, tours and it feels like a thank you to those who were on it and those who were back home waiting for us.
TJ: So you worked and worked on a collection of songs, over many years in Melbourne, to pitter patter off in between border closures to settle down in Byron Bay. What is this going to do with the trajectory of the album release?
JJW: The songs on the album were written long before my mad run to the beach. They tend to come around on trips and then get glued together properly in sweaty rehearsal rooms in Melbourne’s inner north. I don’t know that they lend themselves to one place or another, that is up to the listener, I can’t predict what anyone will take from them. In terms of the trajectory of the release we can only do so much at this point with Covid and everything that comes with it. There will be shows whenever we are able to get together and play but who knows when that might be. We will start working on those details when there is clarity around gigs and touring. For now, it’s great to put it out. We have been sitting on it for a while and with no ability to tour we thought now is the time to get the album out and hopefully give ourselves a runway into a world in which we can all play gigs again.
What’s the origin story of this album - being that it’s the first of hopefully so many to come, how did you manifest the elements, the people, the atmosphere?
The story of this album is sort of the story of the last decade or so of my career and experiences within music and the people I have found. It’s the story of my relationship with my band and the things we’ve been able to do. It’s very much a first album in the sense that some of these songs are old and it kinda becomes like a scrapbook or journal of our adventures. It is an authentic representation of us as a band, which is really important to me. We wrote and produced it. It’s largely live with a few vocal and guitar overdubs. These songs have been played solo, duo, full band, half band, all the possible ways. All of these experiences performing and tinkering with them have got them to this point. The main thing for me is that I love playing with my band in a room and I wanted to capture that as a moment in time as well as a historical account of our shenanigans. I think we did that and I am very proud of what we got done.
If the album were a narrative - where every song was neatly placed in order to tell the story of someone or something - what would that story feel like to a new fan?
To me it’s got a road trip, camping trip, feeling of adventure sort of thing to it on the surface and the imagery that I have tended to use has been that sort of wide open spaces, long and winding road sort of stuff. These songs come from that place. That place being a collection of places all over the country. The narrative within that imagery is up for grabs I think, each to their own. The feeling of adventure, awe and wonderment is something I’m addicted to and I think creeps into my songs. Beyond that, on a more personal level it is a bit of a love note to my friends and family with whom I have so enjoyed sharing my life. I have been lucky enough to go on some amazing trips, tours and it feels like a thank you to those who were on it and those who were back home waiting for us.
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How personal is this album? Is it your story that we’re invited into? Or is it observational? Is it of a time - meaning, does it follow events that are of a decade, provoking future nostalgia, or do you intend and anticipate its timelessness?
It’s incredibly personal. Looking at the collection of songs, my writing is very much an intimate self-reflection. I am not really capable of singing about things that aren’t personal. It’s always coming from the inside out. If there are observational elements it’s not on a societal level, it’s an observation of the self and those closest to me.
I wanted to celebrate the good, gritty, love and pain and suffering and longing that comes with a life experienced and shared. I wanted to make music that my idols, contemporaries and community enjoyed playing with me. It loosely follows events that unfolded over a period. For those close enough to it, it will likely provoke nostalgia, or at least it does for me. Hopefully some fresh ears can attach their own stories to the songs as well.
It’s kind of a two part thing, while the writing is personal, private, sticky, messy and whatnot when it comes time to play the songs and by the time the band is done with them they are so much fun to play live that this also becomes a huge part of it. I want people to leave a show saying “fuck, how much fun was that”.
Can you tell me a little bit about the contributions of the instrumentalists in the band? What do they do and do for the album?
Andrew Braidner - drums
Lain Pocock - bass
Neil Wilkinson - guitars + vocals
Thomas Watson - slide guitar
JJW - guitar + vocals
The best way to put it is I wouldn’t have made it out of the garage or bedroom without these people. I’ve always struggled with the sound of my own voice but still had a drive to get out there and do what my friends are doing. This can be a complicated place to inhabit.
I have left many rehearsals and jams with my friends blue and bloodied, spitting up blood and bits of teeth. We beat each other up regularly and have fun doing it. We always push each other but we always help put each other back together. The guys in the band help me see things in my songs I couldn’t see or ways of arranging it that I can’t see.
I feel as though I come in with some rough black and white sketches and after a session or two with the band they become technicolour studio Ghibli style animations. I love giving these guys the freedom to arrange this album as a band and I think they nailed it.
It’s incredibly personal. Looking at the collection of songs, my writing is very much an intimate self-reflection. I am not really capable of singing about things that aren’t personal. It’s always coming from the inside out. If there are observational elements it’s not on a societal level, it’s an observation of the self and those closest to me.
I wanted to celebrate the good, gritty, love and pain and suffering and longing that comes with a life experienced and shared. I wanted to make music that my idols, contemporaries and community enjoyed playing with me. It loosely follows events that unfolded over a period. For those close enough to it, it will likely provoke nostalgia, or at least it does for me. Hopefully some fresh ears can attach their own stories to the songs as well.
It’s kind of a two part thing, while the writing is personal, private, sticky, messy and whatnot when it comes time to play the songs and by the time the band is done with them they are so much fun to play live that this also becomes a huge part of it. I want people to leave a show saying “fuck, how much fun was that”.
Can you tell me a little bit about the contributions of the instrumentalists in the band? What do they do and do for the album?
Andrew Braidner - drums
Lain Pocock - bass
Neil Wilkinson - guitars + vocals
Thomas Watson - slide guitar
JJW - guitar + vocals
The best way to put it is I wouldn’t have made it out of the garage or bedroom without these people. I’ve always struggled with the sound of my own voice but still had a drive to get out there and do what my friends are doing. This can be a complicated place to inhabit.
I have left many rehearsals and jams with my friends blue and bloodied, spitting up blood and bits of teeth. We beat each other up regularly and have fun doing it. We always push each other but we always help put each other back together. The guys in the band help me see things in my songs I couldn’t see or ways of arranging it that I can’t see.
I feel as though I come in with some rough black and white sketches and after a session or two with the band they become technicolour studio Ghibli style animations. I love giving these guys the freedom to arrange this album as a band and I think they nailed it.
Has Gil Gilmour’s photographic interpretations/documentations of your musical pathway effected your energetic pull or push as a musician? Making you feel that you have something to offer by means of something to offer collaboratively?
Gil is a collaborator, photographer, artist, director and friend. In the early days Gil and I would send each other messages, sometimes at 3am in the morning, as we madly worked away at our crafts. He is absolutely one of my closest friends. He arranged the track order of this very album. He was with Andrew and I on the last days of mixing and will absolutely be present and apart of whatever happens next forour next volume of music.
Before I played in any bands or had worked with any other musicians I would say that I was lucky enough to have Gil pulling and shifting my lyrics around or writing and wriggling his words for me if I was unable to execute the correct turn of phrase or expression. He is absolutely the keeper, archivist and bench mark of artistry for our musical community.
He has helped me to serve our love of music and art and life and helped me to not burn out and get disheartened. He’s there to dust off my grazed and bloodied knees and lovingly thrust me back into the quagmire of life to continue writing and composing from the gooey fleshy heart stuff that can sometimes hurt when it’s not received openly or in the way you had intended it.
Are there any songs on the album that you felt like you were pushing too hard for, that felt tiresome or confused? If so, how were you, the producers or the band able to overcome this? Was it in the studio or was it a personal and or mental process/challenge?
For me personally, ‘Leatherface’ was the hardest song to track and record, because it was just me and the guitar. Lovingly to help me overcome the jitters and psyching myself out of it Neil and Andrew stayed on in the studio offering me their thoughts and feedback as I proceeded to murder the timing of the first 4-5 takes. Neil actually held my hand on take 5-6, playing along with me in the control room, steadying me like a horse that had been spooked. In the end I think it was the next take or one soon after that that ended up being the take that is on the album.
If you could play these songs to anyone, who would it be and what song in particular and why?
Everyone, anyone, but mainly If I’m honest, my family and friends. They are the characters in these songs. They are the pilots, sailors and journeymen and woman of my life. This collection of songs is absolutely an ode and open love letter to them. And George Harrison or Louis Armstrong or Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder or Ella Fitzgerald.
Has the result of your music video for ‘Cowboys and Indians’ played any major role in the enthusiasm one has for the music and or album? Has your own culture rubbed off on you as you watched what we made?
Absolutely! What an experience. Seeing the mischief and cheekiness of the band and crew imagined into life and the final version absolutely has me super keen to getting them all together again on the other side of Covid.
Watching it back makes me smile and grin watching the laughter, silliness and play of it all. I would in a heartbeat work with these individuals again and am quietly hopeful we will be able to continue to create such comedy outtakes as we did on the video clip for ‘Cowboys and Indians’.
It is a hard thing to entrust writers and directors the task of visually representing the personalities of this band. To write a narrative that allows for, or embodies the silliness of these cheeky gremlins to run amuck for a weekend and come out of it with a video that was shot, written and directed by my friends and family was such an enjoyable experience and not something I will ever forget.
Gil is a collaborator, photographer, artist, director and friend. In the early days Gil and I would send each other messages, sometimes at 3am in the morning, as we madly worked away at our crafts. He is absolutely one of my closest friends. He arranged the track order of this very album. He was with Andrew and I on the last days of mixing and will absolutely be present and apart of whatever happens next forour next volume of music.
Before I played in any bands or had worked with any other musicians I would say that I was lucky enough to have Gil pulling and shifting my lyrics around or writing and wriggling his words for me if I was unable to execute the correct turn of phrase or expression. He is absolutely the keeper, archivist and bench mark of artistry for our musical community.
He has helped me to serve our love of music and art and life and helped me to not burn out and get disheartened. He’s there to dust off my grazed and bloodied knees and lovingly thrust me back into the quagmire of life to continue writing and composing from the gooey fleshy heart stuff that can sometimes hurt when it’s not received openly or in the way you had intended it.
Are there any songs on the album that you felt like you were pushing too hard for, that felt tiresome or confused? If so, how were you, the producers or the band able to overcome this? Was it in the studio or was it a personal and or mental process/challenge?
For me personally, ‘Leatherface’ was the hardest song to track and record, because it was just me and the guitar. Lovingly to help me overcome the jitters and psyching myself out of it Neil and Andrew stayed on in the studio offering me their thoughts and feedback as I proceeded to murder the timing of the first 4-5 takes. Neil actually held my hand on take 5-6, playing along with me in the control room, steadying me like a horse that had been spooked. In the end I think it was the next take or one soon after that that ended up being the take that is on the album.
If you could play these songs to anyone, who would it be and what song in particular and why?
Everyone, anyone, but mainly If I’m honest, my family and friends. They are the characters in these songs. They are the pilots, sailors and journeymen and woman of my life. This collection of songs is absolutely an ode and open love letter to them. And George Harrison or Louis Armstrong or Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder or Ella Fitzgerald.
Has the result of your music video for ‘Cowboys and Indians’ played any major role in the enthusiasm one has for the music and or album? Has your own culture rubbed off on you as you watched what we made?
Absolutely! What an experience. Seeing the mischief and cheekiness of the band and crew imagined into life and the final version absolutely has me super keen to getting them all together again on the other side of Covid.
Watching it back makes me smile and grin watching the laughter, silliness and play of it all. I would in a heartbeat work with these individuals again and am quietly hopeful we will be able to continue to create such comedy outtakes as we did on the video clip for ‘Cowboys and Indians’.
It is a hard thing to entrust writers and directors the task of visually representing the personalities of this band. To write a narrative that allows for, or embodies the silliness of these cheeky gremlins to run amuck for a weekend and come out of it with a video that was shot, written and directed by my friends and family was such an enjoyable experience and not something I will ever forget.
’Road Home’ is a pub chanty. Explain how you made this such a banger please? What happened in the studio that day?
I guess a good place to start is working in pubs, bars, clubs and music venues for ten years or so. The secret for me is throwing the song over to the band. I love playing this song with the band. I think it really shines a light on our love of all things pub rock, alt country and live music. It is great fun seeing the guys collectively ripping through the bars of this one.
As for the studio accounts, we were fortunate enough to have gotten through most of our tracking in good time and as such was a first for me having a few hours spare to just have some fun mucking around with the guys in the studio. My memory of it is that our engineer for the sessions Rohan Sforcina of Head Gap Recording Studios sat back once we had finished tracking it all, and sheepishly said something to the effect of, “look, if there was ever a track that you were going to consider a group hootenanny on, then I’d suggest that this is absolutely the one to do it on.”
So in true mischievous spirit, Hunnah Munnah, Sword, Lainy and I all hopped into the main recording room all around the same microphone and hollered and hooted our little socks off and absolutely provided one of my favourite moments of the record. Hearing all of these cheeky knuckleheads having a laugh in the back half of the song is a beautiful nod to our roots and love of all the pubs, clubs, front bars, public bars and venues that we lovingly come from.
I guess a good place to start is working in pubs, bars, clubs and music venues for ten years or so. The secret for me is throwing the song over to the band. I love playing this song with the band. I think it really shines a light on our love of all things pub rock, alt country and live music. It is great fun seeing the guys collectively ripping through the bars of this one.
As for the studio accounts, we were fortunate enough to have gotten through most of our tracking in good time and as such was a first for me having a few hours spare to just have some fun mucking around with the guys in the studio. My memory of it is that our engineer for the sessions Rohan Sforcina of Head Gap Recording Studios sat back once we had finished tracking it all, and sheepishly said something to the effect of, “look, if there was ever a track that you were going to consider a group hootenanny on, then I’d suggest that this is absolutely the one to do it on.”
So in true mischievous spirit, Hunnah Munnah, Sword, Lainy and I all hopped into the main recording room all around the same microphone and hollered and hooted our little socks off and absolutely provided one of my favourite moments of the record. Hearing all of these cheeky knuckleheads having a laugh in the back half of the song is a beautiful nod to our roots and love of all the pubs, clubs, front bars, public bars and venues that we lovingly come from.
What’s on the horizon musically and professionally now that you live in the sticks?
I took some time off there for a bit to be with my friends and family and really found it hard to get back into the music trade. But I am really excited to be writing again and chipping away at some more songs and arrangements. I was definitely a little wobbly at first and a bit hesitant to get back in the metaphorical musical boxing ring…
I was lucky enough to catch up with Neil earlier this year and among a few delicious beverages at The Eltham Hotel we unfolded a couple of new tunes and arrangements and discussed our plans and intentions for the next body of work, which will certainly be underway once I can get us into a studio together with the rest of the ratbags.
How are you going to contribute to the music scene, both northern rivers and Melbourne, in its rejuvenation come 2021?
I am excited by the prospect of contributing to the Melbourne music scene and Northern Rivers Community. I have so missed going to the pub and seeing bands, artists and shows. As the tragic music lover that I am, I will be busting to get around to as many local shows as I can afford to get along to. Hopefully things get back to normal soon enough and I can put on some shows hopefully in many places around the country. In terms of contributions to the scenes I just look forward to the communities coming back together and celebrating something that I think we will all be even more grateful for than we have ever been before. I don’t know what to expect or what the music world is going to look like when things get moving again but I can’t wait to play my small part in it all.
In terms of Melbourne and Byron Bay, is it going to be difficult to maintain a working relationship with the other members of the band? Or are they somewhat interchangeable, being that you are Jumpin’ Jack William?
I think that the realities of this band are that it is a special thing for me and us to all get together in the same room and play a show. All of the gentlemen have their own bands, projects and lives. They are in my opinion some of the best in the business.
Whilst I write the basic sketches of these songs, as soon as it gets to a rehearsal studio, bandroom, garage, porch, patio or shed with these guys it is no longer something that ‘I’ have made. Every note, stroke, rhythm, feel, harmony, accompaniment, lick, riff, groove etc. belongs to the band and as such all of these songs belong to the group of musicians that have made this record. No leader or musical directors or anything like that, the secret ingredient is love. Love for music and love for each other.
We will need to continue to schedule our future works around the busy loads of all of our pursuits, but we have been able to manage it pretty well this last 3-4 years and I guess the older I get the longer I am willing to wait to cultivate the precise blend of love and magic that this group of musicians does.
Why do you play music?
I play music because it is in me. it is in my thoughts, it is in my heart, I love it. Even if I am taking the dog for a walk, ambling amongst the shores and sand, I can’t help but hear melodies, rhythms and sounds. I guess it’s a part of me. I have been very lucky to receive as many sketches or doodles as I have in my songbooks. I will continue to sketch and doodle these little gifts that make their way through me and to me, so I may continue to share the joy that is making music with my friends.
I took some time off there for a bit to be with my friends and family and really found it hard to get back into the music trade. But I am really excited to be writing again and chipping away at some more songs and arrangements. I was definitely a little wobbly at first and a bit hesitant to get back in the metaphorical musical boxing ring…
I was lucky enough to catch up with Neil earlier this year and among a few delicious beverages at The Eltham Hotel we unfolded a couple of new tunes and arrangements and discussed our plans and intentions for the next body of work, which will certainly be underway once I can get us into a studio together with the rest of the ratbags.
How are you going to contribute to the music scene, both northern rivers and Melbourne, in its rejuvenation come 2021?
I am excited by the prospect of contributing to the Melbourne music scene and Northern Rivers Community. I have so missed going to the pub and seeing bands, artists and shows. As the tragic music lover that I am, I will be busting to get around to as many local shows as I can afford to get along to. Hopefully things get back to normal soon enough and I can put on some shows hopefully in many places around the country. In terms of contributions to the scenes I just look forward to the communities coming back together and celebrating something that I think we will all be even more grateful for than we have ever been before. I don’t know what to expect or what the music world is going to look like when things get moving again but I can’t wait to play my small part in it all.
In terms of Melbourne and Byron Bay, is it going to be difficult to maintain a working relationship with the other members of the band? Or are they somewhat interchangeable, being that you are Jumpin’ Jack William?
I think that the realities of this band are that it is a special thing for me and us to all get together in the same room and play a show. All of the gentlemen have their own bands, projects and lives. They are in my opinion some of the best in the business.
Whilst I write the basic sketches of these songs, as soon as it gets to a rehearsal studio, bandroom, garage, porch, patio or shed with these guys it is no longer something that ‘I’ have made. Every note, stroke, rhythm, feel, harmony, accompaniment, lick, riff, groove etc. belongs to the band and as such all of these songs belong to the group of musicians that have made this record. No leader or musical directors or anything like that, the secret ingredient is love. Love for music and love for each other.
We will need to continue to schedule our future works around the busy loads of all of our pursuits, but we have been able to manage it pretty well this last 3-4 years and I guess the older I get the longer I am willing to wait to cultivate the precise blend of love and magic that this group of musicians does.
Why do you play music?
I play music because it is in me. it is in my thoughts, it is in my heart, I love it. Even if I am taking the dog for a walk, ambling amongst the shores and sand, I can’t help but hear melodies, rhythms and sounds. I guess it’s a part of me. I have been very lucky to receive as many sketches or doodles as I have in my songbooks. I will continue to sketch and doodle these little gifts that make their way through me and to me, so I may continue to share the joy that is making music with my friends.
Jumpin' Jack William's debut album Vol i is out now - keep up to date with Jack and the band by following him below.
