After reviewing Jack Berry’s new album ‘ Mean Machine’ earlier this month, we decided to have a chat with him about his new album and to get to know him a little better.
How Did ‘Mean Machine’ come about?
I had a bunch of songs I was working out and I got a call to use an old track (“Kiss Like”) for a Showtime show but I had to re-record the instrumentals. We went in, recorded it in an hour and the engineer just says, “Well, you’ve got the studio for the day…want to record anything else?” Three days later we had Mean Machine.
Did you find it difficult to decide what tracks you wanted on the album and what order to put them in?
Which songs were already set, but the order I treated like a concept album. Lyrically everything is correlative and the story carries itself throughout and I arranged the tracks to justify that.
The songs on the album all keep in with the same theme of conflicting emotions only portrayed in different ways was it difficult to keep the same theme through all the songs?
I certainly didn’t plan it to be that way, so it wasn’t difficult to stick to it. It’s more difficult to just stay out of the way of the flow. Let it breathe.
Your songs are full of swagger and confidence does this reflect on your personality?
Most of the figures I placed as heroes growing up had bravado in spades. Like Clint Eastwood or Muhammad Ali – but I wouldn’t say I walk the streets like Shaft. I’m a lot more laid back than what my music suggests…til I’m not.
Which of your songs are you most proud of?
I’m really proud of The Bull. The storyline alone was a fun thing to create and everything fell into place from there. I never planned for it to be so heavy but that’s what I love about it – the rise and tension. Parts of other songs still give me chills which is weird I reckon, to get that feeling from your own songs but I’m pretty good at detaching myself from the project as a person and artist.
There are some really great riffs in this album, were they difficult to come up with or did they come naturally?
Thank you for saying that. Naturally I suppose. The difficult part was refining them. I could hear them in my head but I’m only a sub-par player so it took time to do the riff justice.
Do your songs draw inspiration from personal experiences?
I like to use the content or vibe as a sort of score or soundtrack to my personal experiences so in a way yes, but not verbatim.
From your album you get a sense that these songs would be epic performed live, what is your Favourite song to perform live and why?
The live show brings the ruckus, I can tell you that much. I try to bring the energy of a punk show in rock form. We’re all dropping in sweat by song three. “Bad Dog” is typically the closer and for good reason.
What advice do you have for people who want to start a career in music?
Once you commit to starting that road, don’t turn back – only way you’ll make it is being relentless. Especially these days. It’s a beautiful thing to have so many artists among us, but it makes it a bitch to survive and get noticed.
What has been your biggest challenge in the music industry so far? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
Keeping my mouth shut about other genres or artists that receive so much fame and attention. There’s just no point but I’m so opinionated and certain things like country, which is just pop music with shit lyrics these days, not at all a candle to what it use to be but…ah dammit. See. Shut my mouth.
Any Plans to come to Ireland in the future?
By order of the Peaky Blinders I assume.
What is next for Jack Berry?
Shows, shows, more shows. Then back to the drawing board. Scatter some whiskey and tacos in there and that should cover it.
Whiskey and tacos sound good! might do that myself! stream ‘Mean Machine’ below.
https://soundcloud.com/jackberrymeanmachine/sets/mean-machine
punchy drums it’s a fantastic start to their set. Blossoms are a band that you absolutely have to see live to really appreciate their talent as we see from this instrumentally energetic track. They give you a full bursting sound that you don’t here in the recordings. They follow with their new single ‘Getaway’ which as we hoped in our review of this track earlier this year was amazing live, once again they gave us a new more voluminous sound and dimension to this smooth indie pop track giving it a edge and bite. Blossoms fly straight into ‘Across The Moor’ as the crowd enjoy it’s sleek seductive style with bouncy funky beats and flirtatious bass. It’s 
irresistible keyboard melody has everyone bouncing and swaying. They slow things down with ‘My Favourite Room’ before they blast into ‘Blown Rose’ followed by the crowd favourite ‘Charlemagne’, with very little speech between tracks. Blossoms let their music do the talking, while their cool, calm persona radiates and gives them that attractive feature that draws the crowd in and makes them listen attentively. They conclude their set with the dynamic ‘Blow’ this song is full of swagger with enticing psychedelic guitars and strong alluring bass. This song performed live commands your body to dance and leaves the crowd wanting more. An excellent warm up and a strong act for The Last Shadow Puppets to follow.
of stage performance. We see a fresh more playful side to Turner as he interacts with the crowd and his partner in crime Miles Kane. They perform some beloved songs from their first album which obviously are a big hit with the crowd as they watch Kane and Turner perform in a theatrical manner full of hip thrusts and guitar poses. Both are pros at performing and command the stage and captivate their audience as they perform. Nothing can put them off their stride not a lead coming out of a guitar while playing or a mic falling off its stand while Turner is singing. Turner simply carries on with or without them. The show is full of dynamic playful energy. They surprise us with ‘Is This What You Wanted’ a 
Leonard Cohen cover in which Turner sings the verse while Kane’s strong vocals take on the chorus. They return for an encore of ‘Meeting Place’ ,’The Dream Synopsis’ and of course ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ The Beatles cover which gives the crowd an explosive ending as we are presented with a full heavy instrumental end of pounding drums screeching guitars and insane synth sounds. It’s definitely a show I’m glad we didn’t miss as it was a refreshing change to see such a fun light hearted show that was bursting with fantastic music from the much loved duo.
