Jerk With A Bomb Go It Alone

BY Neil HavertyPublished Jan 1, 2006

Jerk With A Bomb seem fairly detached from the place they call home. Bands that come from larger, more populated areas often extract a considerable amount of motivation and inspiration from a like-minded music community, but JWAB don't make Vancouver out to be all that special. Caught up in day jobs and their attempts to break the ensuing monotony, founding members Steve McBean (guitar, vocals) and Joshua Wells (drums, organ) shrug off any mention of a developing Vancouver scene.

"I don't go out very often so I wouldn't know," McBean says. "I've heard that the Attack, Destroyer, and S.T.R.E.E.T.S are all barn-burners." Wells adds that the "the scenery in Vancouver is quite inviting, perhaps you've seen a postcard" and similarly lists a few local names that have started to garner some recognition.

But if things go as they should, the next time you hear about music from our West Coast, Jerk With A Bomb will be the name that grabs your attention. With Pyrokenesis (an instantly identifiable classic for Canadian independent rock, and the band's third full-length recently released on Vancouver's Scratch Records), JWAB have collected ten gut-wrenching, bluesy laments fit for stoner rockers and pretentious music geeks alike. It seems the boys in Jerk With A Bomb (since joined by pianist/bassist Christoff Hoffmiester and vocalist Amber Webber) are unknowingly vying to be the country's newest critical darlings.

"We'll probably start selling more records after we break up or one of us dies in a fiery crash," McBean bleakly prophesises. "We'll see where critical acclaim gets us, but for now we're only just out of the starting gate and have many, many more old pedals to buy before the mission is fulfilled and we can finally rest."

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