• About
  • Articles
  • Make Memphis
  • Music Blog
  • Photography
    • Behance
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Linkedin
    • Pinterest
    • Tumblr
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Rachelandthecity

Blogger. Photographer. Graphic Designer. Podcaster.

The Life and Times of Jack Oblivian

September 24, 2012 by Rachel Hurley Leave a Comment

Jack Yarber is a name that music snobs throw around like some sort of rock and roll currency. He may be “Memphis’ most influential active rock musician.” Known to his most dedicated fans as simply Jack O. (a moniker he held while serving tenure with local legends The Oblivians), Yarber still lives up to the theory that in Memphis you can hardly be taken seriously as a musician if you play in less than three bands. Yarber has been or is a member of Johnny Vomit & the Dry Heaves (a high school punk project that also featured future Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus), new-wavers the End, ’68 Comeback, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, The Compulsive Gamblers, The Oblivians, Knaughty Knights, South Filthy, The Cool Jerks, The Limes, Loose Diamonds and the Natural Kicks. While most if those bands exude an ultra-cool underground vibe, Yarber’s introduction to rock was pretty similar to most guys in his age bracket.

“When I was a kid I liked comic books, and that got me into Kiss and through Kiss, I discovered The Beatles and The Stones,” says Yarber. “I just wanted to play guitar or drums, and I even picked up the sax for a while, I’m not a master at any instrument, but I’m OK on some.”

Yarber moved to Memphis in the summer of ’87 to play music with his cousin. The cousin ended up returning to Corinth, MS while Yarber decided to stick around. It was a chance meeting with Greg Cartwright that led to the formation of The Compulsive Gamblers, a band that seems to receive a lot more respect in hindsight than they ever did when they were actually together.

“It was weird the way I met Greg, we put an ad in the paper, the Memphis Flyer, looking for a drummer for our band, and this guy showed up, and I told him that the band had broken up and he told me I ought to meet this guy Greg, and then about two years later we started calling ourselves the Compulsive Gamblers,” explains Yarber. “We did two seven inches and recorded a bunch of songs on home recordings, we recorded in Easley, but we never really had an album. Our CD came out after The Oblivians started playing, before that no one was really interested in putting it out.”

The Oblivians, still Yarber’s most well-known band, was formed in 1993 and included Yarber, Cartwright, and Eric Friedl), with all three members performing on drums, guitar, and vocals, switching during shows. They were well known as a staple in the garage rock movement of the ‘90s.

“We never really had a set plan, but I didn’t think we were garage rock like the Woggles, I thought that we were more aggressive garage rock – it was just rock and roll to us.”

But even with sold out tours in the States and Europe, their DIY aesthetic kept them under the mainstream radar and off the radio dial.

“The first European tour was a highlight – we started off in Holland and went to Germany, France Spain, and Belgium, we ended up doing a couple of gigs in England. We were being treated like rock stars, with free everything, we were trying to drink it all and eat it all – by the time we got to England, our shows weren’t getting listed, and we couldn’t find the promoters, it was back to a reality check.”

By the late nineties, the thrill was gone, and the members all went their separate ways, Cartwright started The Reigning Sound; Friedl started the Goner Records store and label, and after a couple of solo records Yarber hooked up with Scott Bomar and started The Tearjerkers. Bomar eventually became more involved in film scoring, working on both Memphis-filmed Craig Brewer productions, Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan, and starting his musical collaboration The Bo-Keys. Eventually, the band evolved into a project solely based around Yarber penned songs, currently known as The Tennessee Tearjerkers.

“Jack is one of the finest songwriters around,” says Bomar. “He’s one of the biggest unknown rock stars in town. I am a huge fan.”

The first Tennessee Tearjerkers album, Bad Mood Rising didn’t go over too well with former Oblivians fans.

‘That was my mental breakdown record – cause I didn’t know what I was doing and thought I might as well just document it” says Yarber. “People thought it was too classic rock and had too many slow songs.”

Then came Don’t Throw Your Love Away, which made a much better impression, landing in the number one spot on the Memphis Flyer’s Top 15 Local Albums of the Year. It’s the sort of attention that Yarber is still not used to.

“I just think people thought it was not so crazy – but it’s still not exactly what I had in my head, I think The Flipside Kid was closer to what I really wanted,” he says. He followed that album up with 2009′s Disco Outlaw and 2011′s Rat City.

While Yarber has definitely been paid more in lip-service than he ever has in royalties, he still isn’t phased. He’s played with every legit musician in Memphis and has toured to high acclaim all over Europe, and guested on about a million projects.

“I kind of look at it like there’s no insurance plan, so I pretty much know at this age, if I were gonna do something else, I would have turned around and done it years ago,” says Yarber. “I think about getting out of it sometimes, but then before I know it I’m playing in three bands. I tried to work five days a week, but I like these hours better.”

Jack Yarber (aka Jack Oblivian) is a featured artist in the new film Meanwhile in Memphis.

The Warm Up with Kids These Days
The Ballad of Harlan and Yvonne

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Testimonials

  • Peggy Phillip

    Peggy Phillip

    Station Manager at WMC-TV

    "Rachel is a bright and personable individual. She is a hard-working self-starter, capable of achieving any goal she sets her mind to. She truly understands and embraces communication on various platforms and was an Early Adopter in all things "internet."

      While at WMC Action News 5, she injected passion and pizzazz into the assignment desk and on special projects. Personally and professionally, she was a positive force in our news department."

     

  • Tim Sampson

    Tim Sampson

    Communications Director for The Stax Museum of American Soul Music
      "Rachel Hurley is one of the best communicators in Memphis, Tennessee, and has been a tremendous help to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and Stax Music Academy. Through her popular blog and other means of communication, she has been of invaluable help to us in helping spread the word, promote events, and help keep the Stax Museum name in front of people in the music industry, which is of paramount importance to us. I would highly recommend her for any position that includes communicating with people at any level."

     

  • Marvin Stockwell

    Marvin Stockwell

    Founder of Rock for Love

     

      "Rachel Hurley is a person with great ideas and the confidence to make them happen. She is on the leading edge with social media and has proven she knows how to leverage its potential to achieve real-world results. She is also passionate about Memphis and making it all it can be. Rachel finds creative ways to be helpful. Rachel is a leader, and is equally adept during the big-picture phase and in handling the nitty-gritty details."

     

  • Parker Hayes

    Parker Hayes

    Videographer
      "I worked with Rachel on a number of "Ardent Presents" videos and also a series of videos for the Folk Alliance. Rachel was always organized and prepared for everything I was involved with at Ardent. She's a true professional and a great communicator. Any company would be lucky to have her on staff."

     

  • Alyssa DeHayes

    Alyssa DeHayes

    Publicist at Riot Act Media

     

      "Rachel is one dynamic lady. She is constantly implementing new ideas to advance the public image and recognition of Ardent Music, and create a web identity for them. As a publicist at Team Clermont, I've had the pleasure of working with Rachel as she sets up performance opportunities for our bands passing through her city (which are mutually beneficial for everyone involved: publicity for Ardent and for the band,) eloquently conducts interviews, and creates engaging web content. Rachel is a busy networker, and has developed strong relationships all over this industry."

     

  • Amy Lavere

    Amy Lavere

    Musician
      "Rachel is a wonderful person. In every situation I've encountered personally or professionally with Rachel I have found her to be very centered and positive. I am also aware that a great many of the innovative studio and artist promotional projects established over the past few years at Ardent have been of Rachel's doing.
      I first became aware of Rachel through her popular blog. She very honestly reviewed music and events and became the most feared music writer in Memphis. She kept the music community honest, helped raise the bar of craftsmanship and kept any phony hype at bay. She wasn't particularly well loved by some local bands back then, but over the past few years it has become clear that Rachel is passionate about good music, musicians and has dedicated her time and career to lifting it up, getting it out there and doing it well.
      She has the utmost respect in the music and recording community. I am a big fan. She would be an asset to any industry she became involved in."

     

  • Danny Flamberg

    Danny Flamberg

    Principal, OmniChannel Marketing at Opera Solutions
        "Rachel is among the savviest social media thinkers I know. As my editor at Talent Zoo for two years, she consistently had her finger on the pulse of consumers and brands as they negotiated and developed a new media universe.
        She is smart, easy to work with and full of ideas. She understands business and technology fundamentals and how to apply them competitively in the marketplace. She has a very pleasant manner and can seemingly get along with almost anyone. She sees 5 moves ahead because Rachel has an innate feeling for how people relate to each other and how they use technology to facilitate and enhance relationships.
        Intensely curious, with a sharp mind and even sharper wit, Rachel sees the big picture but can also focus intensely on the critical details. She will be one of the people that define and drive the next stage of social media adoption and use.
        I expect amazing things from her. If I had the opportunity to hire her as a community manager or as a content creator or as a strategic partner, I'd grab it in a New York minute."

     

  • Brandon Herrington

    Brandon Herrington

    Founder of Fareveller Music Festival
      "Rachel knows social media better than anyone I know. She always has. Ever since the inception of Rachel and the City, she has been at the forefront of the latest ways to socially connect people with the arts culture in Memphis. When I founded Fareveller Music Festival, I quickly valued her as a partner in establishing a credible online presence within the community. Everything she did worked great for me!"

     

  • Mike Williams

    Mike Williams

    President of Memphis Police Association
      "Rachel was an integral part of my campaign for Memphis Mayor. Not only did she consult with us on how to make the most of our marketing on a nominal budget, she researched and consulted on my mayoral platform. Her contributions were a tremendous asset and we would not have been as successful without her contributions. She is an extremely bright team player who can accomplish anything she sets her mind too. She is the reason Bruce VanWyngarden, Editor-in-Chief of The Memphis Flyer remarked, "I don't know who's going to win the mayor's race but @mikeformemphis def has the best social media game."

     

  • Richard Billings

    Richard Billings

    CEO of Leafless

    "Rachel is a highly motivated self-starter that is able to manage multiple projects. She is well organized and worked well with our staff and customers. While working with Leafless she helped build our social media presence through several previously unexplored channels."

     



901.619.5717 (texts preferred)
rachel@rachelandthecity.com
Current City: Denver, CO!

© 2021 · Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design