Time: 9 p.m.
Cover: none
Monday
night is a very special open mic night at Owl Acoustic Lounge. Come
play some tunes alongside your Calgary pals, River Jacks, on their first
date on the road-- part of their Quest to the West Tour 2018.
Everyone is welcome to play at this open jam.
Spencer Jo, Mandrill Shannon, Mikey Blotto, Jordan Barrett, Tyler Burton.
River Jacks are the kind of band that can’t help but breed nostalgia;
their ever prevalent punk rock roots make you want to raise your pint
and look back on the days when there was
no such thing as an early night and certainly no morning meetings.
There was just music that made you want to put your arm around the
person beside you and sing along until sunrise. Perhaps this warm fuzzy
feeling is partially due to the fact that the gentlemen of River Jacks
are from bands that we used to share those ever fleeting moments with.
They recorded their self-titled album at Arch Audio with Lorrie
Matheson in summer 2013. The band promises that they have managed to
produce an album that doesn’t preach or whine, so much as an album that
makes you smile, then asks you to think. With their blending of punk
rock aggression and folksy narrative (two genres that occasionally take
themselves a little too gravely) River Jacks recognize the importance of
having a good time, first and foremost.
“It’s got to be the
death of art to take yourself seriously,” says songwriter Spencer Jo.
“As soon as I start really focusing on writing emails, trying to meet
the right people and trying to write songs that are going to appeal to
somebody, it starts sucking my soul out. I think the essence of the
River Jacks is: We’re doing what we love and we’re going to have fun god
dammit.”
With that in mind Spencer does point out that despite
River Jacks having an upbeat attitude, there is still room for a
message within their music: “Writing lyrics is like getting bad mojo out
and there’s a lot to say about the society that we live in. We have fun
in a creative way, expressing our discontent."
--Cobra Collins, BeatRoute
Listings 
