MEET
Another New Guy by Bill RuchieSince Bill Spalding had turned up missing without any explanation or clue to his whereabouts, we were faced with the task of finding a new keyboardist/vocalist for the band if we wanted to continue. A poll of the surviving members of Nightlife, Ramon, Mike and myself (Bill R.) indicated that we wanted to move on. Such comments as "are you kidding, of course we want to keep playing, I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, beer to buy, fishing trips planned, beer to buy, etc" were made during our phone conference. Oh yeah, we also considered that our fans would go through a horrible Nightlife withdrawal if we all quit! (ha ha) With that settled, we started to discuss how to go about finding someone new.
Just then, the operator interrupted our teleconference informing us that a fourth party wanted to join in. We next heard "Hey guys, this is Jack, heard you were looking for a new keyboard player, I'm available and interested". Jack went on to describe his qualifications and ask questions. To make a long story short, we decided that this was an easy and convenient solution to our immediate problem. Maybe a little too convenient as Spaldings disappearance had not been discussed outside of our band yet. But what the hell, Jack said he would buy all of us some good micro beer!!! He was in!!
So without any further ado, meet Jack Smith, also known as Mojo Jackson, our new keyboard player. Mojo also sings lead and harmony vocals and plays guitar, drums and percussion. Mojo is also a very accomplished songwriter and has written background music for film soundtracks and various other projects. He is currently involved in recording an album of original material in Nashville, which is being produced by Juice Newton's guitar player.
Mike worked with Jack in their last band, Code:blue and both Mike and Bill (the only one left!) worked with Jack in the Options from 1992 to 1995. Jack was born on August 6th in Los Angeles, California. Jack's greatest musical influences are Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Steely Dan and Tito Puente. Jack began writing songs as a child and says "I learned to play guitar and piano so I could play the songs that I wrote".
Mojo's hobbies are recording and baseball and he was a big fan of Seinfeld during its time on TV. Mojo has also learned to like new micro beers and will fit right in with the rest of the band! So be sure stop by when you are at one of our gigs and say "Hello" to Mojo Jackson, The New Guy!