A Tribute To Jack's Farm

Last night, State College, PA saw the final show for one of their greatest bands, Jack's Farm. In various forms, and even under another name, this collection of talented and driven musicians from all corners of Pennsylvania entertained us and made our Wednesdays, or Mondays, or anyday happy! From the humble beginnings of two brothers from a musical family, this band was the anchor for a community of friends whose connections went beyond their weeknights at a bar...not only did their music bring people together who may very well have never met, but their history is a timeline for many of our lives and our years coming to see Jack's Farm. Everyone has a Jack's Farm story. Everyone has a memorable show. Everyone has that friend they met through the Farm...or a friend they haven't seen in years who they randomly meet again at another gig. It even happened to me last night...being in a bar I hadn't been in for nearly a year it seemed, and I ran into a good old friend I hadn't seen in at least as long, and saw many others who I only see when the Farm's in the place. It won't be real to any of us until that night we're craving to go out and see a good live band, and our options are glaringly few. This town has seen it's share, and I'm sure someday soon some band will come and try to fill the hole their absence has made. They'll try.

They themselves have said it best:

On The Sound:

"We want to be a concert in a bar," Chris Rattie said. "The people that come to our live show want to have fun with our music as opposed to going to a foam party." (CDT)

"Honestly, I wanted to play all the time, but I didn't want to play cheesy covers." John said. "We don't shortcut it and play it our own way." (Collegian)

The band agreed the show is high-energy rock 'n' roll, but bantered over what the best song is to open a show. "They like to throw me a curve ball," Tarr said. "I like to ease it in . ..." Chris said. "There's no reason to do that," John said. "Who wants to see a lounge act? I guess it just depends on my mood." Then, all three went on to laugh about Lovcik's habit to try to bring up the energy right away. "Jimmy could come out with 'Hells Bells,' " Tarr laughed. (Collegian)

On The Crowd:

"When we played, all the hippies came out of the woods and watched us," Chris Rattie said. "We drug the crowd on stage and we thought it was going to collapse." (CDT)

On The Best Way To Treat Your Musical Instruments:
Guitarist/vocalist John Rattie decided to demolish his old Fender when the first version of the band played its last show at The Brewery, 223 E. Beaver Ave. in 1999. "That was a good night," Rattie laughed, saying he didn't know why he did it. "It seemed like the thing to do." (Collegian)

On The Future:

"I'm excited about next year to see where we'll be at," Tarr said. Chris Rattie has more optimistic views. "We took this gig Mondays at the Brewery with something to prove," he said. "We want to make Monday night at the Brewery the place to go." (CDT)

"The ultimate goal is play our own stuff." John said. "Hopefully, next year this time, the cover band thing will allow us to work on originals all day." (Collegian)


The members of Jack's Farm, past and present, are moving on to better things. They always have. Other bands, families, original music, or maybe just a little more normal life without the travel, the late nights, the smoky bars, the loading and unloading, the drunks calling for "Free Bird", the lack of sleep, the missing out on other weekend events, the shitty shows, the bad bar managers, the same songs over and over and over again, truck trouble, equipment trouble, lugging around the Hammond...but these things will fade. I don't doubt that someday, there'll be a reunion. I can't imagine them not doing it. A band with this much nostalgia won't be able to sit back and watch it fade away forever. But we all know that until then, we've all been extraordinarily lucky to have played some small part in their trip, and we'll all be there when the lights come up again.

When they do, we will remember them in the way put best on their guestbook by a good friend:

"Boys and girls, for those of you who have not had the pleasure of a Jack’s Farm show, please take note…Jack’s Farm is the greatest live band in the cosmos. A southern-style boogie experience that will get your ass shakin and your feet stompin. Through 3 years of my college career this band gave me a reason to get up in the morning and keep on living. It was a dark time for a brutha at that point and The Farm repeatedly pulled me from the brink of madness. Always reiterating that the sun will shine tomorrow, despite the seemingly horrible future. To this day I am still very much in fear of the Apocalypse. Armageddon is upon us definitely. But the melodious joy that is spread by this magnificent band seems to hold it at bay, giving us all one more day to breathe. One more day to laugh. One more day to love. One more day to live. Without their sheer force of musical will, I truly believe this world would plummet into the Abyss of evil. They infuse our Sun with energy and as long as they keep churning out their euphoric harmonies and ripping guitar riffs, the Earth will survive another day. This is the power of Jack’s Farm – the Greatest Band in the Universe. For those of you who have seen Jack’s Farm, well…you know exactly what I’m talking about. Shine On brothers. Shine On." (Kudos, Shaslam!)