The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio, Malcolm X Abram Column: Jacks to Kings Turns Up Aces

By Malcolm X Abram, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Mar. 20–Here at the Akron Beacon Journal, we generally try to maintain a modicum of professional decorum when it comes to our own folks’ accomplishments, but we are also not averse to tooting the horns of some of our own when good things happen to them.

So, congratu-lations to Akron rock band Jacks to Kings for winning the recent battle of the bands at Peabody’s in Cleveland.

The quartet features ABJ employees Frank Taormina on vocals and Shawn Murray on bass, plus drummer Dominic Perella and guitarist John Zazo. The band survived two rounds of eliminations, beating out five bands in Round One and besting nine bands in the finals held this month.

“We’re just four blue-collar guys — a couple of us haven’t played in years and another is a relative newcomer — and it’s really worked out so far, with our second gig getting us into the finals,” Perella said.

Jacks to Kings was founded on the ashes of Funkyard, the former band of Taormina and Murray.

While winning anything is generally better than losing, being the last band standing at a local battle of the bands is unlikely to inspire major label A&R reps to start blowing up your cell phone and begging for your demo. But the grand prize is 25 customized T-shirts, a headlining gig at Peabody’s and, most importantly, 20 hours of studio time at the Lava Room in Cleveland, where established acts such as Velvet Revolver, Garbage, Panic at the Disco and, uh . . . the Pussycat Dolls have all recorded. And when winning includes a submission of your Lava Room-recorded demo to one of seven major and independent labels, winning is not only awesome, but useful.

“That’s exactly why we entered the battle. We had been looking at different studios and listening to their samples on their sites, and we were trying to figure out ways to pay for studio time,” said band spokesman (because he talks the “goodest”) Perella.

Though it’s only been a band for a few months, Jacks to Kings already has a full set of originals, plus a few requisite cover tunes and enough songs to record an album. Perella said the band hopes to have its debut ready for a summer release, but he and his bandmates won’t rush the recording process.

“What we’re probably going to do is do each song to completion, including mixing and post-editing,” he said. “We’re probably going to have to buy some additional time to complete 10 songs.

“We could do everything that we’ve got demo quality, but we want something that sounds like it was recorded at a professional studio, even if it takes a while.”

The band of “experienced” musicians in their 30s and 40s doesn’t expect the album to turn members into overnight rock stars or “save” them from their dreary lives and part-time jobs. As settled grown folks with grown folks’ responsibilities, they don’t spend much energy on romantic notions of headlining Madison Square Garden a year from now.

“We’re in a unique position. A couple of us are older and we’re not your typical guys who just work at a music store for a paycheck while they’re trying to make it famous,” Perella said.

“The career isn’t just a steppingstone . . . We have health insurance and families to think about, but the music is very good and from my perspective, I think many of the songs are good enough to receive national airplay.

“If that doesn’t happen and we end up being an area band that’s very good and playing something here like Lock 3, that will be enough. But the quality of our stuff is something that maybe could take us beyond that.”

Good luck, guys.

Rolling Stones on film

Rolling Stones play Akron . . . on film.

So you missed the opportunity to part with a few hundred bucks to see the Rolling Stones the last time they were in the area. Well, on April 6, you can see the Stones perform right here in Akron at the Civic Theatre. Yes, tickets are on sale now for the (local) premiere of Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light, a concert documentary that promises “the Rolling Stones as you’ve never seen them before.”

Honestly, I can’t imagine what’s left to see, given that the Stones themselves have been cranking out multidisc DVD documentaries of their recent touring cash cows. Plus, as tour documents go, nothing the Stones could do now would be as fascinating a time capsule as the still unreleased 1972 concert show (Fellatio) Blues. But if anyone can find something new in a Stones tour, it’s Scorsese, who, you may recall, filmed the Band’s beloved concert film The Last Waltz and more recently No Direction Home — Bob Dylan.

Shine a Light was filmed over two nights at New York’s relatively intimate Beacon Theatre in the fall of 2006 (during Bill Clinton’s celeb-filled birthday bash). It features 20 of your favorite Stones hits, plus special guests Jack White, who joins in on Loving Cup; Christina Aguilera, who unleashes her powerful wail on Live With Me; and blues legend Buddy Guy, who appears on a cover of Muddy Waters’ Champagne & Reefer. The film also features backstage glimpses and plenty of archival footage and interviews, though from what I’ve read, it glosses over the entire Brian Jones era.

So if you’re dying to hear and see your favorite songs yet again while watching hundreds of close-ups of the deep, craggy and hard-earned topography of Keith Richards’ and Mick Jagger’s faces, get your tickets now at the Civic box office or through Ticketmaster.

For the hard-core fans, there is a $50 VIP pass that gets you “exclusive seating and a post-show reception at Chrissie Hynde’s VegiTerranean.”

I think I can safely say that none of the film’s principal characters will be in attendance.

Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.

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