Jackopierce to visit Johnson City on 30th anniversary tour

JOHNSON CITY — Thirty years has passed since the duo Jackopierce released the album that propelled them to new heights, but co-founder Jack O'Neill said it feels like yesterday."We just keep creating and it's just really mind boggling to look back and say, 'yeah, it's been 30 years,'" O'Neill said. "We've been doing so much in those 30 years, I guess that's why it feels like a blur. You know, we've been so busy that it feels like, kind of like yesterday, but not at all."In 1994, O'Neill and co-founder Cary Pierce released the album "Bringing on the Weather," their debut album with label A&M Records.Once they signed with A&M, the duo moved to Los Angeles to record the album and work with producer T Bone Burnett."We lived in this apartment building in the valley and drove over to a killer studio with T Bone Burnett and these amazing players, and it was really kind of like, wow. What just happened?" O'Neill said. "Here we are in Los Angeles, making a record when we used to just, you know, be bouncing around Texas and Colorado and playing gigs."O'Neill said a lot of the inspiration for "Bringing on the Weather" was found in the moment."A lot of those songs came from, you know, our experiences up to that point, which were a lot of hours driving to gigs, you know, driving to Nashville, playing a show and then driving all night back home," he said. "You know, the song 'Late Shift', I wrote most of the lyrics for that while I was behind the wheel (at) 3 a.m. driving an RV back to Dallas, Texas."During their 30th anniversary tour, O'Neill hopes audiences hear classic songs from "Bringing on the Weather" in a whole new light."The interesting thing is that those songs were written 30 years ago, and you know, they take on different meanings now, which is really kind of your perspective. It feels a little different now — it's kind of bittersweet," he said. "As you live with them and perform them over the years, they take on a little different shape. I don't want to say we're reinterpreting anything, but they come across with a little different vibe, a little different gravity."Aside from revisiting songs from their milestone album, the duo wants to share some stories with audiences about the band's history.After recommitting to the band a few years ago, the duo has been busier than they have been in years, meaning audiences may be in store to hear some of their newer releases, as well.Moving forward, O'Neill said he and Pierce are excited to continue making music, touring more cities, performing more shows and maybe writing the perfect song."It does come down to just continuing to make music, to go out and perform live and actually bring something valuable to people who are spending their Friday night with you," O'Neill said. "Dare I say, that we will be on the road even more. You know, it'd be awesome to hop in a bus and spend the summer touring America and playing shows. I think that would be awesome.""But I think Cary and I both will just continue to try to write the perfect song. I think that's what it comes down to is you're always trying to write a better song," he added.More InformationJackopierce will take the stage at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. on April 3. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: www.etsu.edu/martin-center/.For more information on Jackopierce, visit: www.jackopierce.com/.