With band members drawing on the rich background of Australian, Celtic and American tunes, the Jack Flash boys have forged their own sound and deliver a fresh contribution to the folk/ punk genre.
Who is Jack Flash... Are a six-piece, folk-punk act hailing from Toowoomba (although some of our members are now based in Brisbane and Ipswich). Since 2006 we have toured the east coast a couple of times, recorded a couple of EPs and an album and performed a whole swag of shows in south-east Queensland.
We sound like... We are mainly influenced by traditional Celtic/ Australian/ American music. If you had to pick, we probably sound closest to Flogging Molly, but with an Australian accent. We have drawn lots of inspiration from Redgum, The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Sydney City Trash and Mutiny.
Our first gig was... At the heats of the Eidecan Battle of the Bands competition in Toowoomba back in October 2006. The Eidecan Festival was a youth festival that ran in Toowoomba for ten years. Pretty much any Toowoomba-bred musician you can name in the last decade probably played their first gig at the battle of the bands.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... We settled on the name not long after we first started. We wanted it to sound Australian. There is an old, folk song called 'Flash Jack From Gundagai'. Another Toowoomba folk band had already used the name 'Flash Jack' way before us, so we switched it round and became 'Jack Flash'.
In the studio we usually... Do take after take after take after take...
If we could tour with anyone... Probably Flogging Molly, since they were perhaps the biggest inspiration for the band. Either them or Redgum if they ever reformed.
Social media is... Useful for connecting to thousands of people at once. Also a great way to spread rumours and misinformation at light speed.
My favourite app at the moment is... The six of us regularly use an app called kik. It's an instant-messaging app. Not particularly exciting but a great way to talk shit to each other when we're not in the same room.
Life on the road can be... A lot of fun. But also smelly.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains... Beers of the finest quality. And that you don't tell us off for drinking the rider that belongs to the other bands.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band... Christopher Lloyd aka Doc Emmet Brown. He's probably one of the most excitable and eccentric characters in film history. He'd be a fantastic spokesperson!
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Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party (why?)... Louis C.K., Shaun Micallef and Bill Bailey. Would be the funniest dinner party ever.
Shaun MicallefIf we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? Fondue.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... King Island cheeses.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... High school.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Dusting.
Do you have any phobias... please explain? Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. It's the fear of big words. I had to get a friend to type it out for me because trying to do it myself makes my eye twitch.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? If so, what type? Absolutely not. Ok maybe the 'Great British Bakeoff'. Just so I could meet Sue Perkins.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? Bringing your friends down is for jerks. I would have loved to have played a prank on the members of the 'Big Brother' house by pretending that a zombie outbreak or some other catastrophe had befallen the world by not communicating with them for a couple of days and flinging the odd mauled body over the fence of the compound.
Jack Flash with friends King Kongo and Wayward Angels play The Bearded Lady 2 May.
