THE JAKPOT

Don't be mislead; The Jakpot are not a bunch of hardcore gamblers, as the name would have you believe. Although there were early tendencies. " When I was younger I spent all my summers in Cleethorpes in a caravan and would go to the arcades with my grandad so I became a bit of a gambler but not anymore, I've kicked it," reveals singer Matt... He's right, the first way to overcome a bad habit is admit it, learn from it, and then you can get on with the music. So through a shared appreciation of skiving uni lectures and fine drinking establishments (the landlady of their local introduced Matt, Bruce, and Neil), The Jakpot along with new drummer Joe have begun their mission of jagged pop melodies and lyrics that skiffle along like 4 northern Mike Skinners bashing each Arctic Monkey over the head with a guitar, and are now set to release their first single. " People are more intelligent now. They need to relate to something ", says more social pop commentator than frontman Matt. " I got into hip-hop when playing basketball at school but realised it had nothing to do with my life. I came from a small Yorkshire town not LA." It's true. One listen to now sold-out debut 'Too Much Time' or it's danceable flipside 'Fickle' with well-crafted punky rhythms and observational lyrics about small-town living, you feel some kind of irrefutable familiarity. Something to " get you going and make you sweat, " something much closer to home. " The things I sing about are what's happened to us and a lot of other people," says Matt . "L ife is the best outlet you can have; everything you love, all your frustrations, then tell people about it. Stuff that pisses me off will probably piss most other people of too." Indeed, it's probably for this reason the band have been asked to feature on High Voltage's forthcoming second compilation CD in the UK, as well as two compilation CDs in Germany to coincide with a December headline tour, and a Japanese compilation album! On top of this the band have beaten off hundreds of bands by being chosen as one of the key acts for this years' In The City Unsigned event. Now, after playing sardine-packed, stage-invading gigs from birthday parties to supporting Pete Doherty, Maximo Park and Bromheads Jacket, and with early airplay from Radio 1's Zane Lowe and XFM's John Kennedy, The Jakpot are about to do something special. In fact, if they hadn't given up their wagering ways, they'd probably bet on it. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.