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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks

It’s hard to imagine that while playing as sidemen in both Roman Candle and Max Indian Nick Jaeger and Jeff Crawford would have the creative energy for anything else, much less songwriting. Nevertheless, the boys found themselves trading melodies and working up a batch of tunes that would soon turn into The Tomahawks.

It’s hard to imagine that while playing as sidemen in both Roman Candle and Max Indian Nick Jaeger and Jeff Crawford would have the creative energy for anything else, much less songwriting.  Nevertheless, the boys found themselves trading melodies and working up a batch of tunes that soon turned into  The Tomahawks.

With retro guitar licks, bouncy keys, hand-claps, and sun-bleached harmonies, The Tomahawks are part classic rock, part beach music soul, part indie.  Throwback hooks and warm riffs muck it up with loose rhythms to create an analog vibe.  It’s a vintage patina produced by a young band, brimming with talent.  The lineup is always stacked with the chops of Jaegar, Crawford, and Charles Cleaver, and is often augmented by other rambling, gifted musicians associated with Chapel Hill’s Drughorse Collective—“The Rons” Matt Damron & Cameron Lee (from Bright Young Things), Django Haskins & Mark Simonsen (from The Old Ceremony), Rob DiMauro and Patrick Phelan (from Luego), James Wallace and Carter Gaj (from Max Indian), and Brett Harris among them.

And you can come face to face with The Tomahawks and their spirited brand of roots soul this Saturday, April 17th at The Pinhook where they’ll be joined by their pals Luego and John Lindsay.

Now just to hit Nick with the five toughest questions in faux business:

1. If your band were a sandwich, what kind would it be?

For Flavor – the Manhattan from Neal’s Deli

For Name – the Big ‘n’ Tasty

For Historical Impact – Peanut Butter and Banana (Elvis’ choice)

2. What can listeners expect to hear on the new record?

Soul music as interpreted by a band of burnout badgers.

3. Describe how your father has affected your love of music.

Directly…I was hooked on his record collection growing up. He taught me how to work the turntable when I was probably 6 and I remember playing The Slider and Rubber Soul on repeat.  Currently, he influences me currently by making crazy good guitars (axes) for me to play (shred).

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

I was pretty into some punk rock in high school and I’ve been re-discovering some of that lately. The Descendents – Milo Goes to College was a pretty amazing record. Also, Dr. Dre’s – The Chronic…The drums and bass on Let Me Ride are absolutely disgusting.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How’d that turn out?)

Grades 1-5 – Astronaut/Paleontologist/Fighter Pilot
Grades 6-12 – Winner of le Tour de France
Adulthood – Rock and Roller

Entire Life – Fire Fighter/Pro Basketball Player

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Tune in next week for more furious five interrogations and head out to  The Pinhook this Saturday to catch The Tomahawks in action. And by all means, be sure to give Nick a high five when you see him!