New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Raleigh, NC roots-rockers Jack the
Radio recently released their first single "
We're Alright" (featuring soul singer Tamisha Waden) off their upcoming album Creatures, out July 10, 2020.
The song is currently streaming on Spotify, was featured on DittyTV's Ditty Dozen Spotify playlist the week of June 1, and was performed by the band on WNCN-TV's (CBS 17) My Carolina Today. Their song "
Trouble" was just featured on Visit Raleigh.
Creatures, recorded at
Warrior Sound in Chapel Hill, NC with seasoned engineer Al Jacob, blends rock and blues sensibility with Americana, folk, and country to create a tapestry of swampy southern-tinged sounds. All of the songs on the album were written by singer / guitarist
George Hage with a common thread that weaves its way through telling us to stand strong as we ride out the highs and lows of what life throws at us. And with the state of the world today, it's even more poignant to relay this message and to remind us that we are all creatures of this earth and we can overcome anything.
"
We're Alright" (featuring Tamisha Waden) was written about the increasingly polarized state of our country and the desire to reconnect and support each other regardless of our cultural or geographic differences. This particularly hits home with Hage who grew up in the south as the son of Puerto Rican and Lebanese parents. "I was exposed to a lot at a young age with my family speaking a combination of English, Spanish, Arabic, and Armenian," says Hage. "I knew I was different to the other kids I went to school with and because of this I experienced the good and the bad, the love and the hate in people. My hope now is the same as it was then that our country's differences must be what brings us together."
Other tracks on the album include "
Trouble" (featuring Jeanne Jolly) which was just featured on Visit Raleigh, about persevering during times of struggle, "Creatures" (featuring Tamisha Waden), inspired by the classic tale of A Christmas Carol, "Getting Good" (featuring Lydia Loveless), a country tongue-in-cheek tale about the bright side of failure, "Don't Count Me Out," about an unlikely hero saving the day, "Let's Be Real" with its message of "...life ain't kind It's messed up but we'll be fine," and "Paint The Sky" about how the moments in our lives will live on in the memories of our family and friends long after we pass on.
To accompany the album, Jack The
Radio will also release a companion comic book Jack The Radio: Creatures Anthology (published by A Wave Blue World) June 24 - see the trailer HERE, based on the album Creatures. The collection of cosmic-country-fried sci-fi short stories catalogs the adventures of the ever-resilient character, Jack the Radio, and includes comics and pinups from 30+ professional artists from around the world. The idea was born from Hage's passion for art & design, who's not only created artwork for Jack The
Radio but has also done work for Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters), American Aquarium, and festivals such as Hopscotch
Music Festival, Dreamvillefest, IBMA's World of Bluegrass, and January Jams.
Over the years, Jack The
Radio has shared the stage with The Avett Brothers, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Cold War Kids,
George Thorogood, Rayland Baxter, and American Aquarium to name a few. Their music has been featured in countless commercial, film, and TV projects including
Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, Graceland, Beverly Hills 90210 as well as in sports programming for NASCAR, NFL, and PGA among others. They've been through line-up changes, hiatuses, and four album releases (2011 Pretty Money, 2012 Lowcountry, 2013 Devil In Here, 2015 Badlands) since forming at NC
State University back in the summer of 2005 but with Creatures their line-up is solidified and are now in a place to breakout on a national level with
George Hage (Vocals, Guitar),
Danny Johnson (Guitar, Keyboard, Lap Steel, Vocals), Dan Grinder (Bass), and
Kevin Rader (Drums, Vocals). "Through all the years with Jack the Radio, the one through line has really been a shared drive among a group of friends to create," says Johnson. "The anticipation and excitement we all have for Creatures is really reaffirming. And putting these songs out into the world and letting people find their own meaning in them feels like just the beginning."
