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Rock / Classic Rock / Country | ||
Are you looking for something that is a little bit of country and a little bit of rock & roll? Are you looking for something with some substance or meaning behind it? Then this next performer is perfect for you. Jac Dalton is what is needed in the music industry at the moment; music that is actually good. With a ton of music focusing on degrading women and promoting sex and violence, Jac Dalton and Company are making music that just makes us feel good and makes us think. And the truth of the matter is that there is nothing wrong with that approach.
Headed by
Lead Vocals: Jac Dalton
Drums/Percussion: Mark Chewy
Bass/Vocals: Paul Dogherty
Guitar/Vocals: Doobie Whitehorne
Guitar/Vocals: Chris Hart
Keyboards/Vocals: Darren Mullan
Backing Vocals/Percussion: Louise Messenger
Check out this recent online interview that Jac took the time to complete for Juniorscave.com.
Q. What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
A. The longer you play and write and perform the farther you move away from the screaming-child that is your head, and the closer you sidle-up to matters of consequence as a true artist. Music is the language of the soul (even thrash-rock and heavy metal express something deeper than blind shock and 'sticking it to the man') and as the true expression of our hearts, she eventually nudges us to become more aware and sensitive to aspects of our lives that are worthwhile - aspects that might enable those who hear us to be a bit better for our efforts.
I started out not aspiring to write gut-wrenching, hip, pop/rock epics, but by distancing myself from all the flashing lights and white-noise of screaming crowds - sitting quietly, deciding what aspects of my life - so far - were most worth remembering. The easiest way I've found to express these 'lessons' is by writing them down in the simplistic verse of children’s' stories. The first time I attempted this, it was the hardest thing I'd ever tried, as it takes tremendous focus and effort to cut away every last shard of fat from the raw flesh of your sentiments. Eventually though, I came to realize that if you can cram all you wish to convey into a short, half-page, simplistic tale, you can write songs that matter too.
Q. What excites me most right now?
A. Knowing I am able - better than ever - to share through the language that is common to us all, things I've found to be worthwhile. And if I'm lucky, perhaps they'll be worthwhile to someone else as well.
Q. What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?
A. How difficult it is getting songs 'out there' where they can be heard and judged for their 'merit' by the masses.
With TV and radio converging quickly towards a singular media entity, the only criteria that seems to matter is not artist abilities or what you have to say, but how much sex appeal you have to attract corporate dollars - or how much you yourself can pay to 'buy' popularity.
It is a frustration to see real talent and artistry quashed and unsupported while mindless, formula songs saturate the airwaves for the main purpose of separating monies from teens who have allowances but no expenses. Of course, it is a music 'business' - but more consideration needs to be given to 'tomorrow' and the consequences of this not-often-enough-thinking, not-often-enough-feeling generation. Perhaps if more songs inspired us to think, feel - reflect - and were heard alongside the pop/advertising tunes, there'd be more effort at leaving some sort of legacy for those following in our stead, instead of carelessly sucking it all up for ourselves.
Not so long ago, talent and heart played the decisive roles determining what songs were played for the masses. You don't have to think too hard to recall artists - average as air to look at, without a nickel to their names
- who had songs on the radio that are still classic and popular today because they had something worthwhile to say. How many songs over the past 10 years have actually 'touched' you - not just appealed physically via flashing videos or gotten mindlessly into your head from repetition - but left a footprint upon some part of you that mattered? It's the difference between shooting stars and sunshine.
Q. What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).
A. Living in Australia in the driest state of the driest continent on the planet, water and rain concerns are always important. At present, the drought here is the worst in recorded history. Farms that have supported up to 4 generations of family are going under, and it will only get worse before things get better. No water - no farms; no farms - no food and towns; no towns, no jobs. And the big cities can only support so much overflow.
My band and I have spent the past several months writing and recording a song of hope and encouragement for the whole of the Australian farming community which we plan to use as a rallying point for aid and funding to help the backbone of this great Southland. It is our intention to solicit and enlist the help of the country's most visible and celebrated citizens, artists and corporations to join us in pushing the same direction helping these native sons hold on and ride it out. The song will be the feature of an EP - coupled with a world-class video to be aired on MTv, VH1, CMC, Rage etc. across the globe - with all proceeds from the CD and DVD, concerts and donations going to 'Land Aide'. But the project will not end there. It is as well our intent to encourage and inspire the contributing corporations to tithe towards ongoing aid until a time when the rains and the families return.
Heartfelt, selfless projects of this nature have been done before by other wonderful artists throughout the world. Down under as well has its heroes. Nothing however has been attempted on this scale here. Already I am deeply humbled by those putting their tired, calloused hands up to help in any way they can with their time and talents. It is a worthwhile project that needs to be done. And I was raised believing that 'there is only one real reason to do anything we do in life - that being, because we 'have it within' ourselves 'to give'. The song will be posted herein, on MySpace (www.myspace.com/jacdaltonrocks), YouTube, Helloworld and my website
(www.jacdalton.com) once we're satisfied with our efforts. Stop by periodically and let us know what you think.
Q. What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?
A. I'll have to say cramped and twisted within a closet filled with smelly 'junk' - the kind that usually tumbles out when someone unexpectedly opens the door - is the most memorable place I've ever recorded.
The first songs I ever wrote were funded by five starving band members pooling our minimum wage paychecks to afford whatever recording equipment we could afford to rent. Even then, the songs held promise - as a couple of them have recently been re-written and demoed 'correctly' and may even appear on future albums. But we kept having problems with 'street bleed'
and background chatter, clicks, unexplained humming.
All the eggshell cartons we'd hot-glued to the walls and ceiling (which kept falling down at the most inopportune times - damn it!) just weren't doing what we hoped they'd do. So, I opened my friend's closet door, tossed out just enough junk to be able to stand amidst worn-out football gear, baseball bats, dirty tee shirts and old, smelly shoes - ran mic and headphones cords under the sill and sang there trying not to gag from the awful smell and stench. You wanna hear the 'passion' and 'pain' of your songs? Put a tortured nose and panic for fresh air into the mix as you sing! If the song is already good, the added agony guarantees you'll have the whole audience in tears when they hear it!
Q. In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived); affect the music you create, or your taste in music?
A. I was born in New York and raised in North Carolina - an Army brat. My grandfather and 2 uncles were preachers. As a result of being close-by to good 'answers', we were never wont for love, support or encouragement to follow our hearts and seek our destinies. It was the strength of family we had that enabled me to set out on my own and travel widely from the age of 18. I had played fiddle since I was 6, guitar since age 12, bass guitar since age 14 and sang since before I could speak. From college I performed and danced my way across the world, eventually coming full circle to end up back in New York. My goal had always been to experience enough of the world while I was young to decide where I would settle down when the time came. I chose Australia the first time I arrived and awed over the bluest skies I'd ever seen.
When I sit down to write, I completely isolate myself from all inputs and distractions - this includes media as well as family. And this can go on for weeks as songs flow in their own time out of my mind and onto the page.
It is only from this quiet, empty 'space' I am able to hear the result of the ways the array of inputs across my life come together describing and illustrating things important to me. My music, though simple sounding, has layer upon layer of influence from many, many experiences and places I've been. The Aussie influence is perhaps the most notable because my producer/co-writer, Darren Mullan, is Australian, and what a mix it is with lyrics and tunes mostly American, but with unique riffs, hooks and construction unmistakably Australian. We are our experiences. These form the tapestry of our souls, and it is from here that the best and most honest songs arise from the unraveling threads. Let em fray.
Q. When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?
A. I just completed perhaps the 100th re-write of a song aimed at our biggest National concern - drought relief - entitled, 'Can Almost Taste the Rain'.
I first put pen to paper with it 5 years ago when I heard a fellow artist read a letter from someone who'd just lost his farm as a result of hardship.
The words reached down and wrung my heart so deeply that I 'had to' do something to help other than just donating a couple of bucks. Over the past
5 years I've spent untold hours within the depths of my soul, searching for just the right sentiments, stated in just the right way to share what I feel, and make some sort of difference. From the beginning, I wanted this song to really mean something to all who hear it - capturing and conveying pure, raw, fragile emotion. Five weeks ago, I showed it to my producer and we began putting words to music. The tune I originally had in my head would probably work well for any audience in the world - except Australia. This magnificent, isolated land is unlike any other, and demands that you see and experience and absorb - express - things her way. The words - even the music had to be constructed by strict, unforgiving rules in order to truly capture her spirit and essence - her concerns.
We went through 4 completely different versions of the song until finally lighting upon just the arrangement we needed. It took us 3 sleepless weeks to finally 'hear' the music as it needed to be written before we were satisfied. For all the bloodshot eyes, sweat and tears it took to write the original version, less than half the lyrics survived to the final version. But it is the song itself that determines and insists what it needs to be, how it needs to be - and fortunately my producer and I was committed and determined enough to wait for what needed to happen. As for the unused lyrics, those are for future songs, as nothing is ever wasted when we write - only revisited and recycled.
Q. As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is?
A. As I mentioned, it is 'my way' and personal process to isolate myself completely from all inputs and influences when I write. With so much of today's music sounding similar with its programmed, predictable formula, the last thing I want to do is create something that resembles anything that someone else has already done. If it exists already, create something new.
Or use existing song styles and inspiration to create something even more exciting and real to 'you' than the way you heard it originally. Always strive to push the bar ever higher. I suppose that's one of the most significant aspects of the journey as an artist anyway - the growth we experience by observing and the dimensions we achieve by remembering.
Typically, I begin with a point I wish to make with the song - something important, useful and with consequence - then I write everything in reverse, answering 4 key questions as I go: Who am I? Where am I? What do I want?
How am I going to achieve getting it? Songwriting often follows the same rules as acting. It's just how you bend the rules to make them your own.
Q. Lately, what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)
A. The truth of the matter is that I enjoy any style/genre of music that is done well. My own musical collection has everything from rock to country to blues to Zydico to R&B to electronic to alternative to progressive and beyond. Everything I hear and experience inspires, serving to keep my imagination and creativity pounding away, locked and loaded - ready to write when something brushes past the edges of my imagination insisting 'its time to create - now'. The more exposed we allow ourselves to be, the better and more likely an exciting project will result when inspiration flashes.
Q. Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician?
A. Someone once said that 'music is the foreplay, the prelude to love - the lyrics are 'the act' itself. Clever beats and hooks are what spark our attention when we first hear a song - but the part that stays with us, leaving us forever changed is the words. For me, there are several artists who are exceptional with the words and stories they share: these include Colin Raye, Sting, Mary Chapin Carpenter... three distinct styles and genres, but their music moves you, while their messages keep you thinking long after the song has faded.
Q. What's the saddest song you've ever heard?
A. I'd have to say 'Only a Dream' by Mary Chapin Carpenter because it describes elegantly and poignantly her sister's moving away from home - and the resultant emptiness of abandonment in knowing that things will never again be so innocent as they were when they were children. All of Mary's songs are terrific. Give her songs a listen if you want to be inspired by one of this generation's greatest lyricists and observers.
Photo used in this story was provided by Jac Dalton.
