Career
The band was formed in 1997 when Erlend Sellevold asked for people to play percussion with him during a party in Bergen. Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm showed up through a combination of mutual contacts and high-school friendship. Supposedly a one-time-event, they had so much fun playing together that they decided to form a band, and Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band was formed. After releasing a 7" and a 12" on the Norwegian record label Tellé Records. Those limited releases were followed by some attention from magazines and dj's around Europe, including Dimitri from Paris who included the track "Nikita" on one of his Playboy Mansion CD-compilations. In 2002 they were signed by the US label Emperor Norton Records, and they released their EP, A Special EP. The album A Special Album followed one year later. It included the tracks "Casino" and "Think Twice", which both became hits in clubs across Europe, and commercial hits in Norway. During their touring promoting this album, the band was joined by guitarist Mads Berven on their live shows.
2004 saw them open the Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage.
In 2005, the album Your New Best Friends followed, to great reviews in Europe. Magazines such as Mixmag, Djmag and Sunday Times praised the new album as "Downtempo Heaven".
Their live shows have gained a massive reputation both in Norway and in the rest of Europe combining various percussion instruments and pyrotechnics. The band members have stated in many interviews that they are fans of the rock group KISS, and that this has influenced their live shows. The name of the band is taken from the B-film director Russ Meyer, Jack Herren being a fictional camera operator.
In August 2005 their Single "Think Twice" appeared on the Hôtel Costes, Vol. 8 compilation. "Think Twice" was also featured in the movie "The Girl Next Door".
In June 2006, the single "Kill the DJ" was released. The album "Sharp Knives & Loaded Guns" was released in September 2006.
In 2008 the song "The Teacher" featured on the Grand Theft Auto IV in-game radio soundtrack. It is a remix of a hit song called "Forelska i Lærer'n" (Eng: She's in love with the teacher) by the Norwegian rock band "The Kids". Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band released a new single called The Queen of the Night on their famous concert in Roxy (Prague) on 29 October 2008.
Late 2008, percussionist Thomas Lønnheim departed the band.
Read more about this topic: Ralph Myerz And The Jack Herren Band
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