Email interview with Jacknife lead singer Joe Ortiz
January 6, 2006
 

“We don’t have any gimmicks, we just get up there and play,” says vocalist Joe Ortiz of Jacknife. Hailing from Dallas, TX, Jacknife’s sound can best be described as “Texas style brutality” and the band wastes no time showing listeners why they are the future of extreme music from the Lone Star state. Jacknife blends the best elements of the metal and hardcore genres seamlessly on their full length debut album Moment Of Reckoning, which was released September 13, 2005 on Zero-Sum Recordings. The current lineup, as heard on Moment Of Reckoning, comprises Ortiz, Mike Warren and Steve Pruett on guitar, Joseph Fontenot on bass and Tommy Crooks on drums. Citing such influences as Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Overkill and Meshuggah, this young band is well-schooled in the art of metal.

Dennis: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. I know so many bands hate this question but fans are always curious. How did you guys come up with the name Jacknife?
Joe: The original drummer actually named the band.  He was a truck driver and thought it sounded cool. Not as cool a story as you were hoping for huh? Lol.

Dennis: You guys just got back from touring with It Dies Today, Sinai Beach, Still Remains and Bullet for My Valentine. What is your most memorable moment of the tour and when will you guys be heading back on the road?
Joe: Well, Sinai Beach had to drop off the tour before it started. What I heard was their  drummer hurt his back or something and couldn't play. Scars of Tomorrow did the last 10 dates with us. First off, all the bands where so cool to us, we all got along. Actually the most memorable moment was actually after a show in Nebraska. Us and It Dies Today were hanging out with Bullet for My Valentine on their bus. We were all drinking and I said that Texas could drink New York under the table any day Nick (IDT) said it was the other way around so took a few shots of whiskey and took all the beer to our hotel room and start slamming beers. Well me and nick were going to see who could finish a 40oz. first. It got pretty ugly.  Anyway everybody was drunk in the room and Mike (our guitarist) puked in the trash can and Nick (IDT) had to be carried out of the room to theirs. We had bottles everywhere and my bassist and I decided to gather them all up, even the puked in trash can and put it all in front of IDT's door. Chris (IDT's guitarist) heard the bottles while we were setting them down and caught us. When he opened the door we just ran. I thought that was pretty funny. The best show for us though was in Orangevale, Ca.
Dennis: Sounds like my old fraternity days.  I don't miss them haha.

Dennis: Your debut full-length album, Moment of Reckoning, is absolutely amazing! It doesnt get much more brutal! What was the most difficult attribute for completing this album? The easiest?
Joe: The most difficult was making sure that the songs we put on the album were going to best represent us, I mean this was our debut full length. This is how we were going to be presented to the music world. The easy part was letting the label take it and promote us afterward.

Dennis: I noticed last week you posted that the band is looking for a new drummer. Any leads yet and what was the reason for Tommy Crooks leaving?
Joe: The search is actually over now. We recruited Josh Montano (Crematorium, War Within) from Austin, Tx. We've known him for a while, we met him when we were playing with Crematorium, Vehemence and The Red Death in Houston. He really liked our music and energy on stage and when he found out that we were looking for a drummer he got a hold of me and asked to audition. We tried out some bad a** drummers and he came in and nailed everything, even a song he learned in 1 day.  He was very energetic and was playing like he had been in the band the whole time. It was amazing! Um..Tommy wasn't doing his part as the drummer and that's it. He is our friend and it sucks that it had to be done, but it did.

Dennis: If you could pick any drummer in all of music, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Joe: The drummer from OverKill on Horoscope. I think OverKill is one of the best thrash bands and he is just amazing.

Dennis: A few tracks on your album really grabbed my attention, "A Glimpse of Hell", "Destined to Rise" and "Our Time Has Come." What was the purpose and emotion that went along with some of the metaphor and imagery in those songs in particular?
Joe: I wrote A Glimpse of Hell about how ugly this world can be. People now days are afraid of everyone, you don't know if the person next to you in a fast food restaurant is going to snap and start offing everyone. And it still doesn't change anything. We claim to want to get things back the way they used to be but no one is really trying, in my opinion. Destined to Rise was written as a way to give myself a push. At the time I was really down and I realized that I couldn't let those things take control. Life isn't easy but you can't give up just because it looks like things aren't going to get better. Our time has Come is basically about speaking up and not being afraid to voice your opinion. You're not going to get anywhere by just sitting still and keeping quiet, you have to take chances every once and a while.

Dennis: You had mentioned being raised in a Christian home, what caused you to leave the church?
Joe: I'm not the most perfect christian but I just saw things that I didn't feel was right. 

Dennis: What do you think the church could be doing to reach the generation you and other bands are reaching?
Joe: I'm really not trying to sway anyone into being christian or not, were not a christian band, I just
have my beliefs. I just want people to listen to our music.
Dennis: Yeah, sorry how that question sounded.  I know you guys are not a Christian band. I just mean mainstream bands like yourself seem to reach teens with lifestyles in a different direction than mainstream Christianity but the church seems to often fall short.

Dennis: With such a positive influence lyrically, how would you want fans to be inspired by Jacknife?
Joe: I write how I feel, if people get something out of it, cool. This is how I vent.

Dennis: We have a shirt that says "Death is not the end!" What do you think will happen at the moment of death?
Joe: I don't know and I hope I don't find out any time soon.