Palpable Energy

An IntervIew with the JackOffs

BY HAYDEN KALP

Throughall the garage acts in Kansas, one separates themselves from the pack. The Jackoffs are a hardcore punk trio from Lawrence, consisting of Jackson Goodrich, Jack Lague and Jacob Smith.

I remember seeing them for the first time last year at The Kitten Castle (formerly named The Pussy Palace), a DIY basement venue in Kansas City. Everybody was jumping, rolling around on the floor and screaming to the music. A few months later, I got to see them perform as finalists in the Farmers Ball, a battle of the bands competition in Lawrence. Four bands played that night, but none made the crowd dance quite like the Jackoffs. You feel something in the air whenever they take the stage: a palpable energy.

Shameless plug; Hayden is in his own band called Island Policy!

Enjoy his fanboy kissy face and follow his band on Instagram @islandpolicy!

whO are the JackOffs? how’D yOu get started?

“I met Jacob last year through my brotherin-law’s band, Boy Soprano,” said Goodrich. “The two of us had a good thing going when I asked Jack to come jam with us. I knew he was a pretty good bassist because we play in another band together. And then we all just started writing songs together.”

You recentlY hAd a sIngle plaYeD on KJhk 90.7 fM, KansAs unIversity’s iconic cAMpus rAdIo statiOn. whAt wAs that lIke fOr yOu?

“Well, I work for the station so I have a different viewpoint on it,” Goodrich said. “Anyone can get on the radio. I’m just happy to be doing the dang thing and going out to play live shows. But that being said, getting to hear something you’ve created play on the radio is a fulfilling feeling.” whAt is yOur sOngwriting process lIke? whO writes the lYrIcs and the MusIc?

“Jack writes most of the ideas, and then we add our own things into it. I’ve written a few songs myself, but he usually writes the lyrics and we make them,” said Lague.

You guys hAd yOur fIrst albuM drop on Oct. 1, 2022. whAt platfOrms is it on?

“The album’s name is Prime Specimen, and my sister, Ellen Goodrich of Old Souls Tattoo Parlor in Kansas City did the artwork for it,” said Goodrich. “It’ll be on Spotify, Bandcamp and also cassettes.” where dOes the bAnD's energY cOMe from?

“When I go to a show, I don’t want to see a bunch of guys standing around for 0 minutes. Performance is half of it,” said Goodrich. “You can play the most beautiful song ever and have a shitty performance if you’re not up there having fun while doing it.” whAt hAs been yOur craziest experIence as a bAnD sO fAr?

“People come to shows to have fun, and if they see you having fun, it’s going to be a much better time for everyone. You just have to go on stage and send it. That’s the mindset you need,” said Lague.

“At Furniture Records, during the breakdown of one of our songs, I jumped to the ground and when I landed my bass strings started electrocuting me,” said Lague. “Later on Jack and I went down and we were both shocked. So we were freaking out on the floor and everyone thought we were going crazy, but we were just getting electrocuted. Our Doc Martens might have been protecting us while we stood, but there was a groundwire issue in their wall or something.” how wOuld yOu descrIbe the MusIc yOu plaY? where dO yOu draw yOur influence?

“I really like some of the classic punk stuff, like Bad Brains, The Dead Kennedys and Husker Dü,” said Lague.

“I’m into more classic punk too. I’m really big into that kind of glammy, 1977 British Punk Rock, or even earlier than that. Like Iggy and the Stooges, the original punks, the proto-punks,” said Goodrich.

whAt are yOur sOngs tYpIcAlly about? whAt are the themes of the albuM?

A

“The kind of overarching theme that I’ve drawn for our music, at least for our album, is politically influenced,” said Goodrich. “The A side is more about being bored with how this country is being run the way it is, and the idiots who are making it that way. The B side is more of a subjective viewpoint of misogyny. People who aren't good role models. The songs are framed in a way that looks at that viewpoint and how stupid it is, and how stupid men like that are.”

whAt dOes the future lOoK lIke fOr yOu?

A provides the following services:

“One can never know, but hopefully we stay friends forever and we keep playing shows. It would be nice to tour and play larger venues but honestly, if this fleeting moment is as good as it gets, it’s good enough for me,” said Goodrich.

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