The Jinx

The Jinx

The Jinx have been a presence on this scene for six years. They've recently moved to San Antonio and they're expanding with new challenges and a brand new group of fans to sway. Say what you will about their music, about their live show, about their potential, but one of the best things about these gentlemen are their attitudes and demeanor. Somewhat intimidating at first glance, once you meet the boys of The Jinx you quickly learn that they're some of the most normal people you'll ever know. It doesn't matter who they play next to, who plays before them, or who plays after them; The Jinx will stay for each and every set and truly give their undivided attention to any band. They're established advocates for local music and the scene, and as I found out, it may have a little something to do with how they evolved and even more to do with how they began.

The band, the legend, the feature: The Jinx

Where does one get the idea to start a band? For Johnny Hotcakes, it was really seven words that changed his whole life and perspective. "What happened to me is a friend gave me a tape at the car wash we worked at, and said, 'Have you ever heard of the Ramones?' After that my life was pretty much handed over to rock and roll, and I haven't looked back since," recollects Hotcakes. Clay Noah, guitar and keyboard, was more influenced by his family. "All my family is either currently in bands or were in a band or have their own record out, and that's mostly how it started out," he explains. Clay also received the more infamous, coming-of-age, hand-me-down enlightenment that has invoked change in many a young man's life when his brother gave him his very first punk album, and it featured music by Propagandhi, Bad Religion and NOFX.

When Johnny graduated from high school, he decided that he wanted, or perhaps needed, to start a band. When he started college, Johnny met drummer Jason Ard, who was really not a drummer, then, at all. Having never even picked up an instrument before but knowing full well that they wanted to, Hotcakes and Ard gave it a try one day and knocked out their first few rehearsals in a storage space. "The Jinx is the one band in Corpus that has started from truly nothing. People thought we were crazy for starting a band without knowing how to play any instruments. No one even wanted to be in our band," muses Hotcakes. The Jinx started off with aspirations to be a punk band, but they wanted to play happy, fun punk rock. They changed their format a few times over the years, and they added members and lost members. Eventually they gained a more electro dance sound that was right on par with the music that they always wanted to play. These days their lineup is permanent, as it is, with Hotcakes on vocals and guitar, Ard on drums, and Clay Noah on guitar and keyboard. It's hard to believe, now, that The Jinx would have any trouble scouring the city to find someone willing to play with them, but they were just a couple of kids then. All grown up, Jason Ard married just over a year ago, and the boys found their drummer moving to San Antonio with his wife. It was then that they realized they needed to keep the band together, and like clockwork, Hotcakes and Clay followed right behind the couple.

"The Jinx is the one band in Corpus that has started from truly nothing."

June 30, 2006 was the eve of the official move to San Antonio, and The Jinx played their last show as a Corpus band at the House of Rock that night. Their music came hard and fast with no mercy, no apologies and absolutely no remorse. They played like it was the last time they'd ever play music, but then that's just The Jinx, as they'll willingly play for an audience of one the way they would for a group of five-hundred. "We want to put on the craziest show people have seen. We want to get up there and show our heart through our sweat. We want to give it to people. They may pay as little as five dollars, but we always give them our best," declares Hotcakes. It's that same dedication and enthusiasm that has kept the band thriving for six years and made them one of the foremost local bands for about four years. They've gained and maintained a very strong following in Corpus Christi, but now that they've moved to San Antonio they will inevitably be starting from scratch again. They've worked hard to get where they are already, and they've made a lot of friends along the way. They've gained fans and lost fans. They've seen and heard and been through a lot. They're not afraid to get their hands dirty or to do grunt work in the name of their passion. As an example, they single-handedly organized their summer tour themselves and almost completely through Myspace. "I will spend four hours a day on Myspace and I'll add two-hundred friends. Then I'll leave them all individual comments just so one more person will listen for five minutes," says Hotcakes.

"We are The Jinx; we're here for the last time!"

That night, The Jinx - The Corpus Critic