Damon Waitkus - voice, guitar, hammer dulcimer, banjo, piano, pianet, flute, guzheng, ukelin, percussion, production

Emily Packard - 5 string and baritone violins, viola, banjo, psaltery,

melodica, musical saw

Kate McLoughlin - bassoon, voice, flute, recorder, percussion

Jason Hoopes - basses, voice, piano

Jordan Glenn - drums, percussion, accordion

***

Jack O’ The Clock brings a quietly giddy sort of energy to the intersection of American folk songwriting and experimental music. The group's sound, a jangly mix of concert-hall agility, acoustic rock drive, and junk shop scouring, is characterized by tight vocal harmonies and intricate arrangements for unusual combinations of instruments made possible by the varied musical experience and multi-instrumentalism of its five members, who have played everything from new music to art metal to fingerstyle folk to free improvisation, sometimes in the same concert. Jack O' The Clock's recordings go beyond the group's live sound to incorporate bits of on-location percussion, found sounds, clandestinely recorded monologues, city noise, and various birds and insects, as well as a number of guest musicians and singers.

This is a band entranced by and dedicated to songs, which it crafts with resolute attention to voice, melody, and storytelling. These songs are embodiments of the small, magisterial, inane, inspired, and pedestrian voices of everyday people and staticky news reports filtered through a string of sleepless nights. Your weird neighbors and relatives squawking back at you at 5AM.

band photo by Igor Urisman