Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013

Rockers Jack the Radio to host ‘stripped down’ show

Downtown’s Amplified Art gallery will turn into a recording studio for a few hours Saturday, and the band Jack the Radio is inviting anyone who can pay the $10 admission charge.

The Raleigh-based Southern indie rock band is recording a new live album. The songs will largely be familiar to their fans, but the sound might not. Tunes from their latest album, “Lowcountry,” are driven by electric guitar. In the tiny gallery at City Market, the band plans to quiet down.

“The main goal is to do something unique,” frontman George Hage said. “The goal is stripped down, no distortion. We’re adding a string section to half our set.”

Songs such as “Carolina Mud” and “Truck Stop Man” will sound much the way they did when the band first rehearsed them. The amplifiers get turned up later in the process.

“We feel in love with that original version,” band member Danny Johnson said. “We’ve found excuses to go back and play them.”

The event poses a logistical challenge. The band has to fit its audience – as well as recording and video equipment – into the small space with the musicians. Still, it’s ideal for what they hope to accomplish, and two sessions should iron out any glitches.

“That space is totally worth the challenge,” Johnson said. “The first couple times we played unplugged was at Amplified.”

Jack the Radio formed about three years ago and has been performing throughout the Triangle and surrounding states since. The band members book shows around their day jobs, generally scheduling tours on long weekends, and they moonlight in other local bands as well. They’ll often team up with other regional acts when they tour.

“I think not having that expectation that you’re going to quit your day job has made it more fulfilling,” Hage said.

Recently, Jack the Radio has licensed some of its songs, a process that puts its music on TV shows and commercials. A few snippets were played on an Anthony Bourdain show on the Travel Channel.

The band members don’t watch enough TV to catch it, but “someone will send us a video of the song off TV,” Johnson said.

“To me, it’s amazing that a small indie band like us can get those placements without a major label,” Hage added.

In addition to the CD “Lowcountry,” Jack the Radio also has several songs on a vinyl record. The band isn’t yet sure how they’ll release the live material from Saturday. It might be a download or a DVD depending on how the show goes.