WHO IS . . .

Who is Jackson United? They're one of the best bands you've never listened to. Why haven't you been listening to them? I can only give you speculative reasons which are; because you're not a music whore like I am, or maybe because you've never heard of them which, in my opinion, is the reason hardly anyone listens to them. I could be wrong but it almost seems like the band isn't concerned with getting their albums out there. They don't have an official website anymore, they just have a myspace page. (Which I don't really care for myspace band pages.) You can purchase their latest cd on Itunes but they don't have their first cd on there. And when I say latest cd I mean Harmony and Dissidence released near the end of 2008. I just bought it in December because I happened to stumble across it on the internet. They just don't advertise. I happen to be one of the few crazy people left in the world that like to own a hard copy of albums I really like, so I won't be completely happy until I find a copy of it. It just feels incomplete to me if I can't open up the plastic case and pull the sleeve out and read all of the lyrics that I will never be able to commit to memory (that's another story), or read the list of thank you's by the band members, or even find out the band members names because they don't have an official website. (Thank goodness for wikipedia.)

So let me tell you a little about Jackson United. They formed in 2003 as a side project (could be the reason they don't care about getting their music out there) for Chris Shiflett lead guitarist for Foo Fighters, and formerly lead guitarist for one of my favorite punk bands No Use For a Name , and also currently lead guitarist for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Chris not only plays guitar for the band but he is the lead singer as well. His Brother Scott Shiflett (formerly of punk band Face to Face) is the official bass player for the band, and Joe Sirois (formerly of Mighty Mighty Bosstones) is the drummer. This band together and separately have so much talent, experience, and know how that they instantly make a smooth record. It's no secret that "rock" is not my favorite genre, i'm not in any way a real fan of having to put bands into a genre at all. I don't even like saying the word. Jackson United is another one of those bands that understands what rock is supposed to be and the elements that belong in a rock band and yet they bring alot of punk/alternative aspects that improve rock music. There were so many heavy metal/rock bands from the 80's that ruined the genre that I am thankful for bands like these that can bring reality back to the music. I think some critics might put the vocals down a bit because he's not the most perfect singer in the world but i'm not typically looking for a lead singer to have taken voice lessons or to always have perfect pitch. Sometimes I prefer honesty and a singer that does it because he loves it. I love both albums by Jackson United that I highly recommend them to everyone and would love to hear other peoples opinion of them. Go to the playlist below for one small sample. (that's all I could find so far.) Happy listening!