Sometimes it takes youth to lead us to the next place, to revive rock ‘n’ roll by taking the old and putting a new spin on it. Today, fourteen-year-old Jack West announces his debut, eight-song album, For the Record, for an August 2 release – sharing debut single, "What I Can Get" – stream + share via YouTube.
“What I Can Get” perfectly captures the pangs of a roller-coaster adolescence... What I can get, Is bigger than I am right now, If I could let it pass.
For The Record is a collaboration between West and renowned Seattle producer Barrett Jones (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Jawbox) at his famed Laundry Room Studio. West compiled 18 tracks, laid down the piano, guitar, bass and drum tracks on Logic, from which he and Barrett Jones chose to make For the Record, a nod to both old-school vinyl records and Jack’s first official recordings made public.
The songs on For the Record are about preparing to take flight, but at the same time, wary of plummeting to the ground. The opening track, “Won’t Look Back,” sounds like a lost outtake from Dark Side of the Moon crossed with After the Gold Rush, while the plaintive David Gilmour-ish guitar riffs in “Look Out Below (How Long)” offer a paean to surfing and the thrill of catching the perfect wave.
An homage to his hometown of Rochester, NY, “The Flower City” is a slice of ‘60s psychedelia that refers to the city’s annual Lilac Festival and the flour shipped through the Erie Canal from the shores of Lake Ontario, while “Unsinkable” has that unmistakable Springsteen fervor in its vow to rise above the world’s chaos. The glam-rollicking “Revival” manages to channel the spirit of Ziggy Stardust and Mott the Hoople – as well as Foo Fighters and Jack White – with whimsical flower power sentiments. West touches on the threats of global warming in the chilling apocalyptic, end-of-days Crazy Horse refrain of “Into This Lifetime,” then shows support for war veterans and gun control in the acoustic blues of “Leave Us Behind.”
West has previously performed with grunge-rock icon Eddie Vedder before 30,000 at a concert in Nashville. Now, he and his five-piece band - which includes a number of local, veteran Rochester musicians - will perform at the big Napa Valley, Memorial Day weekend festival, BottleRock on Friday, May 24, before select East Coast dates, with many more to be announced.
Pre-save For The Record here.
Tour Dates:
May 24 - Napa Valley, CA @ BottleRock
Jun 28 - Rochester, NY @ Inn on Broadway, Rochester JazzFest
Jun 11 - Rochester, NY @ Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Park
Aug 01 - Fairport, NY @ B-Side
Sep 13 - Boston, MA @ The Who Cares Teen Cancer America Boston Benefit
Sep 22 - Naples, NY @ Naples Grape Festival
