Static Jacks Gain Tours, Booking Agent From MTV Deal

Many bands would be ecstatic if their music was to be used on some of MTV's hit shows like The Hills, The City, or 16 and Pregnant. The Static Jacks' reaction? Ambivalence.

"It's weird and surreal, but we don't really think about it," said drummer Nick Brennan. "It's not really our scene."

The five-man, Westfield-based band had their music debut on MTV back in October. Since then, plenty has changed for Brennan, singer Ian Devaney, guitarists Henry Kaye and Michael Sue-Poi and bassist Spencer Kimmins. But they used the MTV deal as a means to an end, and it's in the past; Static Jacks isn't looking back.

"MTV purchased our EP (Laces)," said Brennan. "They don't really tell us what they use (the five songs on Laces) for. We'll get texts from our friends like, 'Oh, your song is the theme song for Baby High,' but we don't really watch those shows. Besides, we have so much new music (we want fans to hear)."

Far more important to Brennan and the rest of the band was getting a booking agent, which they hoped the MTV deal would help with. It did; the Static Jacks have been represented by Paradigm agent Heather Kolker since she saw them at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX in March.

"She's really helped us so much, more than we could help ourselves," said Brennan. "It's always great to get your own shows…but you can never get on tour or play with the right bands without a booking agent."

The band has since gone on two tours under Kolker's auspices. The first, with the band We Were Promised Jetpacks, was to Baltimore and throughout Pennsylvania. The second, recently completed, was a multi-city tour with the British band The Futureheads and the L.A.-based The Like. The three bands started in Brooklyn and hit Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C. before heading west to perform in Chicago and Detroit.

"Every city had something new to offer, and the crowds were great, lots of energy," said Brennan.

The members of the Static Jacks are all back in Westfield for a rare summer lull. They'll be busy again in the fall, but for now, they're writing. Guitarist Kaye usually brings an idea to his bandmates and they all sit down and refine it together; Brennan calls it a "very together process."

"This summer, we're just going crazy with writing," said Brennan. "We have all this time to write so we're taking advantage of it. Once we start touring again, we might not have time to write for another six months."

Brennan says a debut album might be in the Jacks' future, but if it is, it's a distant thought. The band's most immediate goal is to get back on the road again, which they will do after the summer. No dates have been nailed down just yet, but Brennan expects the band to be busy.

"This fall is going to be crazy," he said.