JACKPIPE
JACKPIPE
is as crude and fun loving as a heavy metal and hardcore-punk
crossover band can be, with all of the gruff bigmouth charm and
deeply buried (but ever present) endearing sentiment that helps
define the Big Apple. These are four guys weaned on Howard Stern,
Andrew Dice Clay, and S.O.D., armed with big riffs, bigger pitchers
of beer, and the biggest of belly laughs.
WELCOME
TO NEW YORK
is a full-length slab of Neanderthal riffs, barbarian rhythms, and
tongue-in-cheek lyrical revelry. It’s defiantly free of
trigger-warnings and safe spaces in its introduction of JACKPIPE to
the world.
This
is situational and observational comedy, the musical equivalent of a
night out with your friends. JACKPIPE sounds like Jim Norton
swallowed a gallon of coffee, stuffed his face with several slices of
New York pizza, and grabbed the microphone to rant over stomping
metalcore anthems made for moshing.
Lead
vocalist Larry Forman, guitar shredder Dom Emanuele, bassist Rich
Streng, and drummer Chris Califano follow in the fine East Coast
traditions of unapologetic blowhards and jokesters M.O.D. and fellow
native Long Islanders Ludichrist, with a brutal dose of heavy
Hatebreed-style breakdowns.
“I’m
normally a guitar player but I stink at guitar. I’m even worse at
singing, but I sing for Jackpipe,” Forman deadpans. “We’re
heavy and my voice is rough, but people can understand the words,
which is obviously important.”
“Take
Me to the Buffet” details the apocalyptic damage done when JACKPIPE
devastates any all-you-can-eat opportunity. “Catfight” is about
the can’t-look-away allure of two women brawling. “Inch of My
Love” is a self-deprecating celebration of the
not-very-well-endowed. The title track is about the attitude of the
greatest city in the world. “New York is kind of dirty and crappy,
but it’s still New York,” Forman explains. “People come here to
live their dreams.”
All
of them are veterans of their local scenes. Forman and Califano went
to high school together and knew Streng from their Long Island club
days. They grew up listening to classic metal bands like Maiden,
Priest, and Metallica. Emanuele answered an ad the guys put out and
brought the hardcore edge.
One
fateful night, the wisecracking working class troublemakers had just
finished playing a show in Queens, pummeling a packed crowd of sweaty
headbangers and hardcore kids with their distinctive brand of comedy
metal.
As
they stood outside the club afterward, talking trash with a few
friends, a woman casually made her way through their small group,
then dove into the dumpster. As she rummaged around, legs dangling,
drummer Chris Califano snapped a photo. The rest of the band crowded
around his phone to have a look and the consensus was clear and
immediate: “There’s our album cover!”
Buffalo
wings, Diet Pepsi, pizza, beer, and a tiny bit of kale (somebody’s
wife gets a little bossy!) power the East Coast’s most boisterous
musical wrecking crew. As Forman puts it with non-paralleled
eloquence, “We’re just four fat knuckleheads from New York who
like to eat, drink, and play stupid music.”
Everyone
is invited to the JACKPIPE party. The band’s short songs, catchy
riffs, delicious hooks, good humor, and unrelenting groove connect
across multiple genres and subcultures, like the subway connects the
boroughs.
LARRY
FORMAN – Vocals
DOM
EMANUELE – Guitar
RICH
STRENG – Bass
CHRIS
CALIFANO – Drums
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