Black & White Jacksons

What others think is very important to us:

"There is something about Black & White Jacksons that reminds us of Fugazi there's something about their spirit." - The Washington Post

"The Black & White Jacksons are an affable bunch of guys who love to have fun, but are very serious about music. Drawing from their considerable educations and influences from every corner of the rock universe, their songs are sparse, to the point, high energy and infectious. It can be a lot harder to write a simple-sounding, 3-minute rock song than it is to write a complicated, orchestral opus with everything you can imagine thrown into it. Black & White Jacksons think about what they're doing, and it shows, both on their highly-listenable EP and in their live shows. Taking cues from Medlock's explosive stage presence (that often explodes right off the stage and into the audience), the entire band plays with heart and energy and a sense of pure enjoyment that's often hard to find." - Dcist.com

"Playing together for a little over a year year, the boys have earned some local buzz, opening for DC mainstays The Washington Social Club and earning a spot in December’s JDub Record’s showcase at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue (which got some pretty awesome coverage in (the Washington Post), not to mention scored pretty highly in our all-important “Rattle of The Bands” .

.with a sound that blends garage rock with some familiar elements of DC’s post punk tradition, the Black & White Jacksons create a visceral listening experience with their debut self-titled EP." - Brightestyoungthings.com

"The Black & White Jacksons did not disappoint for the CD release. To say the DC indie band was full of energy would be an understatement. The band members bounce about the stage while belting out their tunes - and then they bounced out into the rest of the room. Led by front man Michael Medlock, the band was just at home in the center of the crowd as they were at center stage - and the crowd really got into it. Guitarist Tim George, bassist/guitarist Lucas Oswalt, and drummer Zach O also help push the show up to 11 with an intensity more accustom to a much larger venue. To sum it up - you had to be there." - NM3.com

".the band’s funky emo may remind the wider world of At the Drive-In, but D.C. listeners may shed a tear for Frodus and the Impossible Five." - Washington City Paper

"Let’s be clear: Black & White Jacksons is a band for clubs. This speaks not to their appeal, realized or otherwise, but to their aesthetic—they make sweaty post-punk that finds its natural habitat in dank buildings with low ceilings, barely there stages, and bright lights." - Washington City paper

"Directly opposite this pure style of music was the “dirty” rock played by the Black and White Jacksons. That sounds negative, but comparing a band to anything fronted by Greg Dulli is not a bad thing. This was apparently the B+W Jacksons last show ever, which immediately made me sad I had not seen them before.

The band has an interesting swagger, personified by lead singer Michael Medlock, who just seems to evoke a heavy does of “Fuck You.” And the music is more of a throw back to mid 90’s alt-rock, but the kind you never heard on the radio — let’s be clear, I am NOT comparing these guys toSpacehog. Large doses of punk seen through-out — and I would expect nothing else from a DC band — means this is a band that often goes unnoticed, that plays the basement parties instead of the cooler clubs. And maybe that is what sunk the band? Though, while I had never seen them, they certainly played around enough. It may just be the fact that DC has a lot of bands that “sound” like this? Even so, I find it hard to believe there are many bands out there that have the package the B+W Jacksons have. Or, sadly, had." - www.bigyawn.com



Past Shows:

4/1/09 - Black Cat (backstage)

w/ Exit Clov & Typefighter

3/11/09 - DC9

w/ Marnie Stern, Exactly & Four Fins of the Rocket

1/24/09 - DC9

w/ Ra Ra Rasputin, Four Fins of the Rocket, and Loose Lips

10/12/08 - American University Radio (WVAU) - Experimental Trash w/ Farley Miller

On-air live performance, interview and guest DJing

10/04/08 - American University - Capitol Punishment II (Sponsored by WVAU)

w/ The Laughing Man, Bellflur & FEVER

09/27/08 - Velvet Lounge

w/ Calpurnia, Hammer No More The Fingers & Len Bias

09/20/08 - Talking Head (Baltimore, MD)

w/ Your Imaginary Friend, The Turtle Neck Store & Pablonious Bill

09/06/08 - Dahlak

w/ Sweet Teeth & Bop Beetle

08/09/08 - Rock & Roll Hotel (2nd Anniversary Party)

w/ Ced Hughes, New Rock Church of Fire & Rattler

08/02/08 - The Third Floor (Fredericksburg, VA)

w/ End State & Imperial China

07/10/08 - Fort Reno

w/ John Wayne Hero & Friends of the Library

07/05/08 - DC9

w/ Fever, Wild Fictions & The Mirror Script

05/15/08 - Artomatic 2008

w/ Must Love Trash & The Mantras

05/02/08 - Velvet Lounge

w/ Caverns, New Rock Church of Fire, and Hammer No More The Fingers

04/18/08 - Rock & Roll Hotel

w/ Imperial China, Double Dagger & Zulu Pearls

02/29/08 - Velvet Lounge, CD Release show

w/ Lode Runner and comedian Jon Eick.

02/19/08 - Black Cat [backstage],

Dream Committee Records Release Show w/ Cannot Be Stopped & Wild Fictions

02/08/08 - Asylum

w/ Cannot Be Stopped

01/05/08 - Rock & Roll Hotel

w/ Len Bias, Tiger & The Snow and Meet The Speakers

12/08/07 - 6th & I Historic Synagogue

w/ The Leevees & DeLeon (as part of JDub records sponsored "Go Eight" Worldwide concert)

12/01/07 - DC9

w/Nunchucks, The Known Unknowns & DJs Mister Disco & Starrscream

10/19/07 - Solly's

w/Sun Committee, Once Okay Twice & Look! Bandits!

09/29/07 - The Hosiery

w/ Five Across The Eyes 2000 and Fever

09/08/07 - Rock & Roll Hotel

w/ Washington Social Club, Supreme Commander and Fever

08/26/07 - WMUC Radio

w/ New Rock Church of Fire

08/11/07 - DC9

w/ The Lucky Bastards, The Nice Jenkins and Rome In A Day

07/13/07 - Velvet Lounge

w/ The City Veins

05/04/07 - The Party Pit

w/ Sweet Teeth

04/28/07 - Velvet Lounge

w/ New Rock Church of Fire and Caverns