written by Marko Jakob | 15.03.2022 |
Pix666: Hello Jackie. Thanks for your time. How are you doing these days, are you alive and well?
Jackie: Hi, I think the worlds getting better after the covid time – restrictions and no gigs, so I’m doing fing, thanksfor asking.
Pix666: Please introduce your band to the readers in a few short sentences. What kind of music do you make and how did you meet as a band?
Jackie: The music we play is some kind of a mix of hard rock and glam metal strongly influenced mainly by 80’s music decade. To be more specific, we like strong melodies, back vocal harmonies, guitar solos and riffs and strong, rytmical drums. So we compose our music based on these facts. I have to go back few years, when the band was founded. It was in 2013 and the funny fact is that only me and Tommas – the bass player are in the current line-up but we were introduced by former players they’re no longer in the band. Nevertheless it was me and him who created the band the way as it is today. In 2015 our current lead guitar player joined the band and we have found a new drummer shortly after.
Pix666: Who of you actually had the idea for this wonderful band name? Is there maybe a funny story about how you came up with this name?
Jackie: Actually, it is not 😀 We just wanted to have a two-word name, and we liked the idea about “groupies”. As we all have a long hair and liked the various meanings of the word “hairy” we have decided to go with it. You would maybe not believe how much attention it pays. It’s kinda funny what people coming up with about the meaining… Haha.
Pix666: You’ve been on the road with the band for a few years now. What have been the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences so far?
Jackie: You making me laugh again… 🙂 Obviously there is a lot of road trip and gig stories… For exaple before one really big open air festival when our intro started, Tommas accidentaly hit me with the neck of his guitar right in my face causing a huge puprle eye and I coudn’t see anything for half of show as my eye was flodded by tears. We are laughting to it now even because he was so drunk by that time that he doesn’t remember. But it’s not that bautiful… 😀 So to answer your question – it’s interesting that the most beautiful experiences usually not happen at the larges festival but from unexpectably smaller shows. Maybe it’s because they are more personal and friendly. It’s hard for me to pick one because it’s only me who is answering and my bandmates could answer it differently.
Pix666: In November 2021 you released your new album ‚Glamnization‘ – a really energetic album. How were the reactions to your new songs?
Jackie: I’m honered and grateful to say that we have mostly great and excited reacitons and feedbacks. Even musical critics are giving us thumbs up not only in the Czech Republic but also in the abroad.
Pix666: What inspires you to write your music and is there a sharing of tasks within the band for songwriting?
Jackie: If we talk about the lyrics it’s only my work and the inspiration is coming from my life experience and very oftend from my personal feelings how I see the world. According to music it is a bit more difficult process. Usually me or Denny – the guitar player, comes with some idea – riff, chorus melody or anything else. Than we start to work on in. I usually create the vocal melody, harmonies and structure to songs and Denny works on the guitar and bass arrangements. Once the song starts making the sence we present it to the rest of the band and getting to details together.
Pix666: How big is the rock/metal scene in the Czech Republic? Are your songs played on the radio in your home country and did you have the opportunity to perform live last year?
Jackie: Well, metal scene in the Czech Republig is pretty huge but it is a very specific kind of a metal which is produced by most of bands. You don’t want me to get deeper into it. It is not my cup of tea… 😀 The glam rock genre that we play is quite different style which is not so common to be played there. This music is usually not so ofted played on radios but after our new album “GLAMNIZATION” release we’ve been contacted by several readio stations to start cooperation which makes us really happy. And for your last question – last year was obviously not that great for anyone but mostly during the summer we have performed in quite a number of summer music festivals and concerts and that was awesome as always.
Pix666: What are your plans for the future? For example, are there any plans for a tour in 2022?
Jackie: Fortunatelly our schedule are getting full so we are looking forward concerts in Czech Republic but also in Slovakia, Germany or Sweden. Besides concerts we are working on a new music videos and of course on a new songs because you should never stop composing 🙂
Pix666: Tell me a little bit about your dreams…. In which locations or at which festivals would you like to perform and with which band(s) would you like to go on tour in the future?
Jackie: Dreams are never too big. So of course it’s the biggest festival you can imagine – like Wacken, Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Download or RockVille in Datona 🙂 And who would we like to play with? There is no band we don’t want to support on stages. Moreover the most famous band doesn’t have to be the best one 😉
Pix666: You shot a cool video clip for your new single. How long does the preparation and planning for such a shoot take and how long is the shoot itself? Where did you shoot the clip and were there any funny moments during the shooting?
Jackie: Oh, thanks for the music video compliment! Well, I had the idea in my head for quite a long time but real planning with the director took aproximately a month. The sooting itself took only a day but necesary to say it was exhausting especialy for me as I couldn’t take a break at all. But overall it was fun and this is exactly the work we love to sweat on. The biggest fun started with the scenes by the table where different guys are trying to conquer Jackie’s heart. Their acts were amazing and it’s a pitty that only few screens could be used. With every role the hole crew burst in laugh.
Pix666: Your songs have over 100,000 streams on Spotify – do you check these statistics from time to time and do you know where your listeners live?
Jackie: We’re not forced to do this. Our label is taking care of that and regularly informs us. Of course from time to time we check it too and we are so happy how our songs stands. We’re pleased we have listeners almost across the world wich is amazing.
Pix666: Jackie, is there also merch from Hairy Groupies for sale? I think the fans should come to your shows dressed suitably 😉
Jackie: Of course there is and is pretty vaste! We have a T-shirts, tops, hoodies, CD’s, buttoms, stickers, posters, baseballhats, bags and many other things. You should check it on our website’s funshop! 🙂
Pix666: As a musician, you surely spend most of your time creating music – but what else do you do in your free time when you want to distract yourself – are there any interesting hobbies you pursue? 😊
Jackie: Maybe you’d be surprised about my “girl’s” hobbies – I love sports and muscle cars and I don’t mean only watch them but drive them. And also I could be called a biker chick 😀
Pix666: Do you have any other news about Hairy Groupies that you would like to share with the fans and where can the fans read current things about your band?
Jackie: It’s very easy to follow us – every news are posted on our facebook page or websites. Many articles are witten in all kinds of music magazines.
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting answers – Good luck fort he future and stay healthy!
Jackie: Thank you very much for your question, thank your reader for their time and I truly hope to see most of you at our concerts. Let’s also hope that the situation in the world turns positive for every person on this planet the way it can put a smile on everyones face. I’m pretty sure you know what I mean.
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photos © by Lukas Vrabel, Jan Tichy and Jakub Kralicek
