JACK SKULLER SHARES HIS GIFTS WITH SMOKIN’ CHRISTMAS SONG “STUCK IN THIS HOLIDAY”
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Local-hero Jersey boy goes to Memphis to bring back new holiday charity single from the cradle of rock
The ghosts of Christmas past are chased away by New Jersey singer/songwriter Jack Skuller’s high-energy new seasonal song, “Stuck in This Holiday” — though it also shows he knows his history.
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The 20-year-old singer-songwriter, who has been performing since his debut single at age 14 and was picked for a Radio Disney tour soon after, and went on a different kind of journey to get to “This Holiday.” All the way to Memphis, Tennessee, and the roots of rock, where Jack visited and did a session at Sun Studios (legendary home of Howlin’ Wolf, Elvis Presley, and others).
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Working with local Memphis musicians and taking the lead on vocals, guitar and harmonica, Jack absorbed the atmosphere of the area’s musical mythology and cut two songs, his own “Stuck in This Holiday” (co-written with acclaimed indie guitarist and leading man of the Tall Pines alt-Americana duo, Christmas Davis), and Floyd Dixon’s 1950s classic “Empty Stocking Blues.”
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Jack taps the timeless heartache of such songs while bringing a blast of sound that is pure present-day club-rock adrenaline. “This Holiday” is a punkabilly 3-minute epic of Christmastime loneliness, and “Empty Stocking” a master class in haunted hollering blues.
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In honor of the vintage sources, the two songs will come out in a limited pressing of 300 7-inch vinyl singles (with “This Holiday” as the A-side), before being available online.
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First comes the physical disc as part of a PledgeMusic campaign (http://www.pledgemusic.com/jackskuller) (The full experience will include the 7” vinyl; a CD single; test pressings; a photo album of Jack’s Memphis odyssey; a holiday song performed over Skype; a living-room holiday concert; and an 8×10 photo, everything autographed.)
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Then the songs will be digitally released via New Jersey indie label Mint 400 Records on iTunes and streaming on Spotify as of November 11.
True to the spirit of the season and the cheer the song may bring to others with high hopes and a hurting heart, 10% of Jack’s profits will be donated to the Holiday Express charity (http://holidayexpress.org/our-mission/).
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Jack Skuller turns 21 in January, and sets out with a just-formed band, The Skullers, to perform his newest music. Looking beyond the season of lights and sweets and presents, these new recordings are a coming of age in more ways than one.
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The character in Jack’s song may be “Stuck in This Holiday” — but his music is anything but stuck in the past.
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ABOUT JACK: Jack Skuller is the 2014 recipient of the Holly Prize awarded by the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a tribute to the legacy of Buddy Holly.
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SOUNDCLOUD link: “Empty Stocking Blues” http://bit.ly/2dKdn3U
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PLEDGE MUSIC campaign / pre-order for 7” vinyl single and other exclusive items: http://bit.ly/2dKddtu
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WEBSITE: http://jackskuller.com/
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