Draft:Jack O' the Clock

Jack O' the Clock is an American band formed in the San Francisco Bay Area, blending contemporary folk, progressive rock, Americana, jazz-fusion, contemporary classical, and avant-garde/experimental music. They have been described as occupying ”a category unto themselves."

Style
The band's music, written largely by Damon Waitkus with input from members, has been variously characterized as “modern progressive rock…without overt regard for categorization or genre,” “accessible avant-garde” and “rock-band-as-chamber-orchestra, and left-field pop music.”

History
Jack O' the Clock was founded in the summer of 2007 by two former Mills College composition students, Damon Waitkus and Nicci Reisnour. The pair was subsequently joined by Emily Packard on violin and Jordan Glenn on percussion in early 2008. A core quintet was solidified by the end of 2008 with Reisnour’s departure and the addition of Jason Hoopes (bass and vocals) and Kate McLoughlin (bassoon, voice and flute).

Between 2008 and 2018, the band self-released six critically-acclaimed albums      featuring guest artists including including Fred Frith (guitar), Myles Boisen (pedal steel), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Art Elliot (keyboards), Cory Wright (reeds), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), Andy Strain (trombone), and Jonathan Russell (clarinets), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Ivor Holloway (saxes, clarinet), Cory Wright (saxes, clarinet), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), Thea Kelley (vocals), and Art Elliot (keyboards, vocals), among others.

The band released an EP of song covers including those by Vic Chesnutt, Morrissey, Duran Duran, R.E.M., Paul Simon, Björk, and Charles Ives.

McLoughlin took a break from the project in 2016 and returned in 2021. In 2017 the band added Thea Kelley (vocals) and Ivor Holloway (saxophone and other woodwinds). Victor Reynolds (bass and "a million other things”) and Ben James (drums).

Since late 2020 Waitkus, Packard, and McLoughlin have resided in Vermont where their first album with Cuneiform Records, “Leaving California,” was completed and released in 2021. In 2023, the band released “The Warm, Dark Circus.” Both post-California era album have been received critical praise.

Studio Albums

 * Rare Weather (2008)
 * How Are We Doing and Who Will Tell Us? (2011)
 * All My Friends (2013)
 * Night Loops (2014)
 * Outsider Songs EP (2015)
 * Repetitions of the Old City, pt. I (2016)
 * Repetitions of the Old City,  pt II (2018)
 * Leaving California (2021)
 * The Warm, Dark Circus (2023)

Live Albums

 * Witness (2019)