Even with their new EP about to drop Portsmouth rockers find the time to help charity
Hailing from the South Coast of England, Kodiak Jack are a five piece hard rock outfit consisting of Bryn (vocals), Jeff (lead guitar), Jon (guitar & backing vocals), Keiran (drums) and Kev (bass).
Their debut album ‘Your Death: My Glory’ was released in late 2011 and gained critical acclaim across the board with Classic Rock, PowerPlay and FRONT magazine amongst those that hailed its release.
Radio airplay followed and BBC Introducing, along with many National and Regional stations all picked up on the catchy hooks and driving riffs that define the album. ‘Wasted Youth’ featured on a ‘Best Of British’ CD featured on an international edition of Metal Hammer, ‘Waves’ was used on the closing credits for Eurosports British Superbikes coverage and no less than five tracks were featured on Rumble Rides: Muscle Drag DVD that was released in the USA. January 2013 saw the band invited to record with Brian Wheat, bassist with US Rock Gods, Tesla.
Laying down eleven tracks including reworked versions of ‘Wasted Youth’, ‘Crossfire’ and ‘Waves’, at the request of Brian, the new album was recorded and mixed at J Street Studios in Sacramento over a four week session. Christened ‘Alhambra’ (in honour of the street the studio backs onto) the album was released in the Summer of 2014 and features the singles ‘Brother’ and ‘Wasted Youth’, both of which received heavy rotation on the ‘New Rock Show’ on Planet Rock with the former making it into their Round Up Of The Year show at the end of 2013. Once again the album received strong reviews across the board with Classic Rock, Big Cheese Magazine and Power Play Magazine amongst those hailing the release.
The band then took to the road once more as they continued to cement their reputation as a formidable live act with appearances at Victorious Festival and supporting Tesla at the O2 Islington among the highlights. January 2015 saw the band win the coveted ‘Best Band’ category at the Portsmouth Guide Awards and secure the main support slot on the ‘Hey Joe’ stage at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival as well as a prestigious headline slot at this year’s Victorious Festival on the Southsea Stage.
The band recently teamed up with Ean Proctor Photography, the official TT Racing photographer, on a special charity project. On the 19th May Kodiak Jack released a remastered version of ‘My Condition’ (taken from the Your Death: My Glory album) to raise money for the Unstoppable Simon Andrews Fund, a charity set up to work with injured motorcyclists in honour of Simon Andrews the rider who died on the 19th May last year. The new single ‘Only The Good’ is out as a digital download on the 27th July and followed by the ‘Scars’ EP on CD and download on the 10th August. More live dates to support the release will be announced soon.
