The Whiskeyjacks

It was a warm morning at Stanley Park in June of 2004 when two long time friends resolved to start a country band. Neither Matthew Watts or Woodrow Forester had been playing acoustic music for long but both had been writing and playing songs together for years. They came from the Vancouver punk scene and were influenced heavily by aggressive, politically aware music of bands like Dead Kennedys, Subhumans, D.O.A as well as many others. But as they grew and their musical tastes became more diverse artists like Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Leadbelly and especially Woody Guthrie had began to shift their musical focus.

In East Vancouver off the intersections of Main Street and Grandview Highway, was located Watson st., a short street with three run down anachronistic workers cottages, they were throw-backs from Vancouver’s simple blue-collar past. The three low cost houses served as the center for a small community of struggling musicians. On September 25th of 2004 the street became the back drop of two important events. One being a devastating riot that left the houses on Watson burned out and destroyed, the other was the meeting of a young talented banjo player who goes by the name Boxcar. Unbeknownst to them that night, this meeting amidst the towering flames, the angry shouts of the crowd and the ominous thump of police batons against riot shields would birth the three core members of a band that would later be called The Whiskeyjacks.

The three men became fast friends brought together by their shared love of old-time, country, blues, ragtime, bluegrass and folk music. With the songs of Matthew and Woodrow and the musical skills of Boxcar they formed a unique sound: a high energy form of bluegrass and country with topical, socially aware lyrics reminiscent of the punk bands that they listened to in the past. Though the core remained, the group experienced many line up changes, going through nearly ten members over the first two years. But before long the group was joined by Josh “Red” Doherty who plays a fiery style of harmonica reminiscent of Jimmie Fadden and Sonny Terry. The driving back beat was soon covered by Alex Kelly on the Dog house bass completing and solidifying the group.

The Whiskeyjacks are focused on the future, writing songs and mastering their craft. With growing notoriety and fan base in there home town the sky seems the limit, with a brand new full length album and tours on the horizon these boys will be bring the sound of East Van Blue Grass to your town very soon.

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