~The Hunter~

Five Johnston County, North Carolina natives are pursuing the dream Of hitting it big in the music world. Lead guitarist, Andy Mclamb - 20, drummer, Chris Mouser - 20, bassist, Mike Sheridan - 19, and lead singer, Tim Scott - 24, are the band "JAKT". Larry Smith - 33, is their manager.
In German, "JAKT" means "the hunter" and "We basically hunted for the name all night one night while attending a party", recalls bassist Mike Sheridan. A couple of the band members have been playing together since middle school, and several graduated together from Smithfield-Selma Senior High School. The band itself has only been together a short while. Their 1st professional gig was at "The Attic" in Greenville, NC, January 8, 1999, even though they had played a few smaller clubs prior to that.
"The band had produced a low quality demo, and sent it to PhaseIII Music, but because of the low quality, they couldn't understand it and asked the band to play at The Attic", says manager, Larry Smith. They did and have been back several times since.

The band's music falls into the heavy metal/alternative genre, but Sheridan calls it "Fresh & Inventive" and says "it's representative of the new millennium". If that's true, then Buckle Up & Hold On Tight, because the millennium to come is going to be fast and furious!
Lead guitarist, Andy McLamb writes most of the band's music. "I've been writing music for about six years, I guess," Mclamb says. "But I don't really look at it as writing. We usually do more of a freestyle jam where everybody just does their own thing, and then we blend it all together. That's how we come up with most of our own music."
"We're really grateful to have Andy," says manager Smith of the songwriter. "He's got a blues/classical background, and when you combine classical with rock, you have something amazing." McLamb credits his grandfather (mine too, lol), Frank Lambert, the owner of "Lambert Engines Sales & Service" in Smithfield, NC, with getting him into his guitars, and his uncle (my Dad), Barry Creech, the owner of "Sky High Satellites & Video", with some basic instruction when he was 6 or 7 years old. All members of "JAKT" are self taught musicians. Sheridan, the bass player, did play in the middle school band and says he did have a couple of lessons, but mostly he learned from watching others. Mouser, drummer, says he plays by ear. "I just listened and watched what other people would play."

The band only plays original tunes at its gigs -no covers. "JAKT" has written 20 songs and its play list includes songs such as, "Thing", "Rise", "Angels", and a song about a Johnston County man called, "Hoffa". The band is working on a professional demo tape with hopes that it will land them a recording contract. For now, though, band members say they're having the time of their lives playing different venues throughout the state. "The Attic" is our favorite place to play," says Sheridan. "The atmosphere for musicians is unreal there. They're very open and friendly, and the crowd's always real good." To help the crowd get into the act, Smith and band members ask people who they came to see play and "if they say "JAKT", we slap a sticker on their chest," says Smith. Smith has helped promote the band by slapping its logo on stickers, bumperstickers, toboggans, and car tags. The band members hope to broaden their horizons soon and start traveling outside the state. "The whole point is to get out there and go places," McLamb says. "We're not just musicians," says Sheridan, "we're adventurers."

Click On Card To Send An E-Mail To "JAKT" - Attn: Larry Smith, Manager

Playing: "Bleeding Me" By: Metallica