Handsome Jack

A few things you should now about Handsome Jack: They're from Lockport, NY. Their influences are rock and roll. They sound like rock and roll.

Do I have to say more? Well, do you remember how the Supersuckers used to thrash and trash their way through rock and the blues? Does your soundsystem shout out the rock revivalist sounds of Wolfmother, Priestess, The Buffalo Killers, or Vietnam? Answering no to the above questions, while it may not score any points with me, doesn't preclude you from kicking out this monster jam.

I've said enough. It's time to tune in, turn up the volume, and rock out.

You can expect a new full length from Hansome Jack in the coming months. Also of note, Handsome Jack will be doing a string of East Coast dates in June including a June 15th date with The Black Diamonds at The Beachland Ballroom. You can find more tour dates and some screaming, streaming tunes over at Myspace. - I Rock Cleveland

With Heatseeker the bombastic four-piece of Handsome Jack brandishes a jagged edge of skuzzy blooze and overdriven garage rock with a lethal threat backed up by a dual-guitar attack. Handsome Jack seem bent not on being the tightest or slickest band but the one who delivers the biggest riffs along with a sinister, snotty sneer and that certain thing which Iggy Pop once called the "shake appeal." Songs like "Love Machine" and "Evil Woman" are not rocket science nor are they out to make a sensitive artist statement. They go for that undeniable animal groove and fist-pumping rock glory. Handsome Jack succeed on Heatseeker because they have figured out to put together the immediacy of MC5's short, sparking fuse with the boogie of early ZZ Top and with enough swagger and latter day garage rock feel. - Artvoice - Buffalo, NY

A few things you should now about Handsome Jack: They're from Lockport, NY. Their influences are rock and roll. They sound like rock and roll.

Do I have to say more? Well, do you remember how the Supersuckers used to thrash and trash their way through rock and the blues? Does your soundsystem shout out the rock revivalist sounds of Wolfmother, Priestess, The Buffalo Killers, or Vietnam? Answering no to the above questions, while it may not score any points with me, doesn't preclude you from kicking out this monster jam.

I've said enough. It's time to tune in, turn up the volume, and rock out.

Handsome Jack - Dead Man [download]

You can expect a new full length from Hansome Jack in the coming months. Also of note, Handsome Jack will be doing a string of East Coast dates in June including a June 15th date with The Black Diamonds at The Beachland Ballroom. You can find more tour dates and some screaming, streaming tunes over at Myspace.

Handsome Jack on Myspace - I Rock Cleveland

The local music scene seems to have been overrun by a slew of garage rock bands in the recent years. From the now defunct Roadhouse Gypsies, to local favorites Johnny Nobody, Whiskey Suicide, Pink Tiger, and many more, rock'n'roll is back with a vengeance in the Queen City. Perhaps it's fitting--like the city itself, the music is raw, unpretentious, never perfect, and yet...you can't help but love it.

This Friday's show at Merlin's presents a perfect opportunity for those in the know, and the uninitiated to check out some of the best bands in Buffalo and beyond. Local foursome Handsome Jack embodies what is best about the scene, and the genre in general. Gritty, loud, and fun, the band puts the raw essentials of rock'n'roll first, and everything else second. Sexually charged lyrics and half-in-the-bag swagger can become cliché real fast, but somehow Handsome Jack manages to avoid sounding contrived. Maybe it's their relative young age, or a genuine belief in what they're doing; either way, the band succeeds in producing a quality soundtrack for a killer Friday night out. Handsome Jack recently released an excellent 11 track album called Heatseeker, but the best way to experience what they're all about is to see them live. - Buffalo Rising

In the whole retro-rooted world I come from, wallow in, gravitate to, and preach about, there are degrees of ragged energy that grab me before a band's talent or music does. I've always admired moxie and out-and-out-balls over proficiency. You can learn to be good - to a certain extent - but you can't Advertisementstudy up on wild 'n' loose; either you is or you ain't. That's not to say that a thumbs-up from me means you're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby you're no good... It's just that I love a big splash of wrong and raw along with the right and well done.

And just when I think I'll never see a band rock a stage with a classic nod and a contemporary irreverence - oh, say for example like The Supersuckers, New Bomb Turks, Nashville Pussy, Jack Black, Tenderloin, or The Hellacopters - a band like Buffalo's Handsome Jack comes into my life. Tuesday night on the Bug Jar stage, this band was cocky, arrogant, and brash, twisting the blues with gritty guitar and howling vocals. Handsome Jack is young, and weren't even an impure thought in their daddies' minds when long-haired rock initially took its white monkey wrench to black blues. The guitar shook me (yup, had to put a Zeppelin reference in here after sneaking in the Ronstadt). You could cut the bravado with a knife as one chica next to me lustfully eyeballed the stage, pointing directly at the bass player as he played in mid-gunfighter stance.

"I want him," she said.

There wasn't a dry seat in the house... or an un-ringing ear. - Rochester CITY Paper

"Handsome Jack tore the stage apart with a killer set of bluesbased primal hard rock. The group generated incredible excitement, coming across like a cross between the MC5, Wolfmother and the best of White Stripes. The band’s guitarist boasted a killer tone, his Les Paul-through-Marshall combo suggesting an unhinged Jimmy Page. Fantastic."

Jeff Miers - Buffalo News Pop Music Critic - The Buffalo News

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Handsome Jack
Handsome Jack
Provided by: Marcus L. Wise

Contributed by: Buffalo.com/YourHub Marcus L Wise on 2/4/2008

What constitutes a Groundhog Day Party? Merlins bartender Michelle said she didn't even realize that there was a groundhog party going on. Co-Host and bartender (Punxsutawney) Felicia says "she saw her shadow and calls for six more weeks of winter". We can't really fault Merlins for not having groundhog themed specials, because they still did well what they do best; throw a party for the sake of a party. "The Elmwood strip's working mans' bar" invited three local rock bands to light up their stage and blow out their speakers.

Originally slated opening band Chylde called in sick, and Rochester rock group the Hounds of Hell, made it just in time to set up and go on about 45 minutes late. The headliners, Lockport's original, Handsome Jack, put on a show that was worth waiting for.

Handsome Jack is the quartet made up of Jamison, Joe, Rick and Owl. These guys have been friends since high school and have been collaborating to create straight up rock since 2002. Owl, drummer and back-up vocalist says they all started out playing guitar and had to hash out as to who would take which instrument, and from the sounds they made, it sounds like they made some wise choices.

The guys of Handsome Jack say that Merlins is their "home base". Owl says "they love the foot traffic they get from Elmwood, and the staff treats them well". Curt Rotterdam, booking agent for Merlins says that the bar couldn't have sustained without Handsome Jack, who play at Merlins frequently. Rotterdam calls them "down to earth" and explains that for the amount of local celebrity that they have accrued, they haven't let a bit of it get to their heads.

Yoav, sometime doorman and member of now disbanded Roadhouse Gypsies, agrees. He has known the boys in the band for years. He has played with them, and even lived with them, well Owl anyway, and sings their praises. He says that the raw rock that they play is their passion made into music.

They are currently working in an almost restored studio on Broadway Street to piece together their new and next album, as yet untitled, which they expect to debut May 28 th at Mohawk Place. But, let's not overlook their most recent collection of tracks, Heatseeker, which was featured at last night's show. The band names AC/DC, ZZ Topp, and the Who as some of their biggest influences, but they don't fail to mention their love for the Stones, Van Morrison and the Beatles. Comparisons aside, this band is a rock band plain and simple, there is no crazy classification like emo or shoegaze or metal, they are straight up rock, and they rock well. Available from local label Stampede Records, Heatseekeris gearing them up for the big time.

The members of Handsome Jack are amping up for a Northeastern tour this spring which will take them to NYC, Detroit, Boston, and Chicago to name a few, with home stops to be sure. Check them out live at upcoming Mohawk Place show on Feb. 4 th, or visit their MySpace page ( Handsome Jack) to get a preview of their sound before you go their show.

So, there were no creatures popping up from underground for this Groundhog Day celebration, but Merlins provided plenty of hospitality, good beer and good music. So mark you calendar for Groundhog Day 2009, and be sure to show up at Merlins, forecast of snow or not.
- Buffalo.Com