The Jackets are blowing up the garage and delivering an explosion of wild and untamed rock and roll like no other. And in case you haven’t heard their addicting three chord rock the 3 piece band from Bern, Switzerland have been creating their own kind of sound that is anything but retro since 2006—but leading the way with their infectious original music that transcends time.
The Jackets feature Jack Torera on lead vocals and guitar; Chris Rosales on drums and Samuel Schmidiger on bass.
“We’re three people who have been playing Rock and Roll music together
for well over a decade. We are based in Switzerland but have toured all
over Europe/UK and several times in the USA. We’ve made four full length
LP’s filled with original songs for your listening enjoyment.”
“Jackie and Chris started the band originally back in 2006 as a two-piece
called “The Trash Department” but didn’t play any gigs. The idea was to
play straight-forward, fuzzy Garage Rock with a strong stage presence.
It took us a while to find our way but by our second LP the Jackets
style of dress and performance was fine-tuned. We were inspired by
American Garage bands from the mid sixties, Punk Rock, Dadaism and DIY
attitude.”
It might be easy to say that this band is retro and another 60s style rip off but in fact are setting the pace and opening the door to something new and fresh in the music world. “We never wanted to be a retro style sixties garage band. In fact, we really don’t like the moniker “sixties” to describe our band. We want to
be modern in our own way but keep our influences clear. I think that has
helped us stand out in the crowd of “60’s Garage Bands”.
The Jackets released their fourth LP in 2019 Queen of The Pill on Voodoo Rhythm Records. “A lot went into this record. It was probably the longest amount of time we invested in a record not only with the songwriting but the production and mixing, etc. We basically started the whole project with the
recording of our first 7” single Be Myself/Queen Of The Pill which was a
test for the bigger LP project the following year. We worked closely
with King Khan who produced the single and the LP and helped arrange
songs. After a few months of listening to the rough mixes we brought in
Jim Diamond (The Gories, The White Stripes, The Sonics, et al.) to do
the final mix and master. It was a long process and there were some
hiccups and heated discussions but it got to where we wanted it in the
end. We are extremely proud of Queen Of The Pill. It really captures our spirit like no other LP before.”
Queen of the Pill also caught plenty of attention including the likes of Alice Cooper and DJ Rodney Binginhimer. “I think Alice Cooper heard the 7” version of Queen Of The Pill on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM in the USA who was playing that single a lot in 2017. Out of the blue, Alice Cooper’s radio show producer sent us an email saying that Alice loves Queen Of The Pill and he’s going to play it and say something about it on his radio show. And he did! It was awesome and weird and the same time. We were really honoured! He (Rodney) played a lot of tracks off of our last LP Shadows of Sound on his radio show on KROQ in Los Angeles and since he moved over to Sirius XM (The Underground Garage) he keeps playing our songs and we are really honoured!! Chris, our drummer grew up in Los Angeles and had been listening to Rodney on the Roq when he was a teenager so it was a big thing!”
Everything they have accomplished is well deserved and lucky for their fans as well to have endured so long in the music world. “We have always had new opportunities each year like a new place to tour or a new record to make and that always kept us going forward. We have been very lucky! There have been many great moments for us but if we had to name a few for the sake of this conversation possibly the first time we played at Fantastic Dracula Carnival in Spain in 2013 because it was really a “breakthrough” gig for us. We had been touring like crazy all over Europe and the reception we got at that festival was really enormous. We were a different band after that and our bookings really improved along with everything that goes with that. And the first time we toured the USA in 2017 was really special because we were bringing our show to a
new continent and we made so many great contacts on that trip.”
When it comes to their music The Jackets turn up the volume and intensity and pour plenty of creative sounds that are sure to send chills down your spine that hits that unforgettable sweet spot in your ear that unleashes a sonic explosion leaving your senses fulfilled and craving more! And one thing you can count on they are driving at 120 miles an hour straight ahead without slowing down and have plenty of inspiration to write about. “Everything inspires our writing from the normal things like relationships to the dynamic that we have between band members. We write about everything we love and hate. Also horrible art and music motivates us! We have to drowned out all of the crap with our own sound! We are also basically fearless after all these years. We aren’t scared of
anything!”
The Jackets are here with a purpose–to rock you and rest assured–they will! They not only rock with excellent music but have the style and the buzz to make your world a better place. Not only addicting but mesmerizing. Be sure to get the Jackets music in every way possible. The videos are a must see and their albums should be in your collection. I am telling you they are all in mine and am looking forward to their live appearance….which for now is on hold due to the world pandemic but when this passes are one band not to miss!
https://www.facebook.com/thejackets/