100 Bands in 100 Days Presented by Verity Credit Union — Day 78: Shoot Jake
Ladies and gentlemen, and all local music enthusiasts, welcome back to the fourth annual outing of our year-end daily local music spotlight, 100 Bands in 100 Days, where every day until December 31st, we’ll be showcasing a new band or artist on the cutting edge of the Northwest, presented by Verity Credit Union. Make sure to check the #100Bands100Days hashtag at Twitter daily to stay on top of all the bands featured, and make sure to follow Verity on Twitter and NW_Music_Scene as well. Some days the featured act could be an established and locally-adored Northwest-based musician and other times they could be a band with a small following that just hasn’t had their deserved time in the sun yet. Either way, we’re fairly confident you can come away from this daily segment with plenty of new favorites. Today we’re taking our showcase in a bluesy direction, with a modern Eastern Washington blues and rock crossover heavyweight, Shoot Jake.
Under the name Shoot Jake, Ben and Lindsay Johnson have taken their contemporary spin on blues rock and funk all around Washington State since their inception at the start of the decade, whether it’s a small downtown tavern or an important blues festival. Their funky, bass-heavy take on rock shines in the live setting, with Ben’s vocals taking center-stage and guiding their songs forward. Taking influence from everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to The Black Keys to Eric Clapton, Shoot Jake takes their varied influences and melts them all down into their fun sound tastefully. Patient rhythms, vigorous, yet loose guitar leads, groovy bass lines, and charming lead vocals are the core foundation of the band’s sound, a formula to which the band likes to diligently stick with live and in studio.
2012 saw Shoot Jake release their self-titled debut EP, when the band started was just a duo, but it wouldn’t be until the band would begin work on their debut full-length studio album, Get Real, released on December 16th, 2016, that they got their full band sound. With bassist Dustin Rademacher added to the band’s line-up just the year before Get Real was released, his chunky, prominent bass playing adds a new and welcome element to the band’s sound. Get Real is home to infectious highs, like “Uptight” and “Maybe,” and depressing, tear-in-your-beer lows, such as “Love Don’t Have to Kill” and “Leave Tonight.”
Blues fans of the Northwest, meet Shoot Jake, a modern-day blues must-know.
(You can listen to Get Real below via Bandcamp; make sure to keep up with Shoot Jake via Facebook, Twitter, and the band’s official website.)
A huge shoutout to Verity Credit Union for doing so much for the music community and for being such a great partner.
