Jackson United

Infobox musical artist
Name = Jackson United
Background = group_or_band
Origin = California, USA
Instruments =
Genre = Punk rock
Years_active = 2003 – Present
URL = http://www.jacksonunited.com
Associated_acts = Foo Fighters
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Face to Face
No Use For a Name

Jackson United is a band, consisting mainly of members of other bands as a collaborated side project.

Jackson United were formed by Foo Fighters and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes guitarist Chris Shiflett. The band also features guitarist Doug Sangalang (formerly of Screw 32 and Limp) Chris's older brother; bassist Scott Shiflett who made his name as a member of Face to Face and Mighty Mighty Bosstones drummer, Joe Sirois.

Career

Formation and EP

After years of playing a supporting role in other songwriters successes Chris Shiflett had the desire to release material he had written on his own. To this end he formed Jackson United, drafting in his brother Scott and drummer Pete Parada (who had played alongside the elder Shiflett in Face to Face.) They staged their first performance in April 2003 at the King King Club in Los Angeles. At this point the band were simply known as Jackson (based on Shiflett's long-running nickname) and shortly thereafter they recorded and released an eponymous EP. Around this time Pete Parada took his leave from the band due to his full time commitment as the then-drummer of Saves The Day. Replacing him in the band was Cary Lascala who had enjoyed a brief stint as a member of Communiqué. After a short period the band grew by one with the addition of Sangalang as second guitarist. It was around this time that the band decided to change their name due to the difficulty of obtaining any form of legal protection over their current moniker ("Jackson" was considered to be too common a word to be granted copyright.) There were rumours that the name change was prompted by a lawsuit from Michael Jackson, however the band members refuted this. The new name was reportedly suggested by Sangalang; his inspiration being Shiflett's well-known love of football.

It was around this time that Scott Shiflett announced his departure from the band, citing a desire to spend more time at home. Replacing him was Top Brown's Omen Starr.

Touring and 'Western Ballads'

With the new line-up in place the band hit the road, playing shows all across the world. They also released their long-awaited debut album "Western Ballads" in late 2004, which was comprised of songs recorded during the sessions for the EP, and as such did not feature any contribution by Sangalang, Lascala or Starr, although the trio were thanked prominently in the liner notes.

The album was met with praise from many critics who appreciated the band's ability to demonstrate a diversity in sound and influences whilst still maintaining a consistent feel throughout. A track from "Western Ballads" appeared on the hit TV drama "ER".

Further Lineup Changes

Following the successful touring in support of their debut album the band entered a long period of inactivity mainly due to Shiflett's commitments with the Foo Fighters. As a result of this Lascala and Starr decided to leave the band to pursue other ventures. The split was entirely amicable and all parties remain friends to this day. Replacing Starr was a returning Scott Shiflett. A permanent drummer is yet to be announced, during the sessions for the new album drumming duties were shared between Chris Shiflett's Foo Fighter bandmates Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. Joe Sirois, of Mighty Mighty Bosstones fame, is now the official drummer for the band.

New Album

In January and February 2007, Shiflett left many updates on the band's official postboard regarding the band's recording sessions. It appears as if the final mix was completed in late February/early March, but the album has yet to be released due to Shiflett's commitments to recording and touring with the Foo Fighters. Recently the band's website was changed and now consists of just a front page with an image of the band and the words 'New Site and New Music Coming Soon.' It also serves as a link to the band's MySpace page. The band also released a new song 'Damn You' on their MySpace page as a taster of the new album. It has been met with generally positive responses from fans. An interview with Scott Shifflett has brought to light that the band has hopes of releasing the album in February 2008, however will depend on Chris's commitments with the Foo Fighters. The album is also said to be much more fast paced then Western Ballads. Since the interview, Shifflett posted on the foo fighters postboard a link to a youbute site for a video for new song '21th Century Fight Song' directed by Djay Brawner. The band also played in early January 2008 and a song from their performance is up on youtube. Their myspace page has now confirmed the album will be released soon with the title 'Harmony and Dissidence'. Recently the band uploaded four new songs to their myspace page. Included are the previously released on youtube song '21st Century Fight Song'. The title for the live song which was also released on youtube is now oficially called 'The Land without Law'. The two songs unheard of are 'White Flag Burning' and 'Undertow'. The album has been released in Japan and Australia with the former available with a bonus track. The album was released on digital download to the U.S. and Europe on April 8 2008.