By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Campus News
Photo credit: www.alidonohue.com
Kimmins, left, plays the bass in The Static Jacks
Where are you likely to find 19-year-old freshman Spencer Kimmins on any given night? Certainly not in his dorm room. Kimmins, a Graphic Design major, frequents New York any given night to perform with his band, The Static Jacks, a New Jersey based quintet. Kimmins plays bass in the band.
The Static Jacks have put out two EPs and already had one of their songs played on Nickelodeon and XM Radio. Their song, Fire on the Bridge” has also been remixed by Andrew Maury, a member of the Remix Artist Collective, who has toured with the band Ra Ra Riot as a sound engineer. The Static Jacks formed Kimmins’ freshman year of high school to play a festival for their school which was supposed to be a one time thing. Things worked out and The Static Jacks began composing songs. They then came up with the name, wanting something plain that people would have a hard time poking fun of. The band performs in the New York area twice a month. From Salve Regina, that’s a round trip of eight hours on usually a school night. “I’ll take a bus and then my mom will drive me back all in the same day,” Kimmins said. The rest of the band is still in the New York /New Jersey area, as Kimmins is currently the only member in school. The Static Jacks have played numerous shows, including a memorable experience with Tokyo Police Club in April 2008. The Static Jack’s got their name out to the public with that sold out show. “It was the first night we felt we were going somewhere,” Kimmins said. Kimmin’s prides his band on the way they write songs. The drummer and singer compose the lyrics, while the rest of the band come up with their own guitar and bass parts. The Static Jack’s split the work evenly, giving no one member more control than another. One of The Static Jack’s songs was also featured on the popular Nickelodeon show, Zoey 101. Nickelodeon looks for young, undiscovered artists for their televisions shows’ music. The Static Jack’s former guitarist knew someone who could connect them with getting their songs to Nickelodeon. Their songs were also featured on XM Radio with introductions. “Tomorrow we could be on Icarly,” Kimmins said, since Nickelodeon can still play one of their songs. The band is currently planning a tour for the upper east coast and tour for Texas in August. The Static Jack’s hope to sign to an indie label within the next year. Labels such as Downtown Records have shown interest in the band. Key tracks to check out are “The Waltz” and “Stay A Lover,” both of which can be found on their Myspace, myspace.com/thestaticjacks.
