Annie Stoic Interview: Jackknife Stiletto

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

Photo courtesy: J.S.

New York based rock band Jackknife Stiletto is kicking ass and taking names. Since trimming down the group from a quartet to a trio, and ditching the name Violet Vier, these three talented rockers have graced the stages of some of New York City’s biggest clubs, including the Knitting Factory and Don Hill’s, as well as played on the Vans Warped Tour, not bad for a band that’s just released their debut record.

Jackknife Stiletto’s music is everything that good rock n roll should be. The lyrics are gritty yet catchy, the vocals are harsh yet melodic and the guitar work is raw and energetic. This trio of hard-rockin’ ladies has spent their formative years wisely, soaking up bands like Rancid, Concrete Blonde and Blink 182, then taking those myriad influences and turning it into a sound that is steeped in the rock tradition, yet personalized enough to stand out on its own in today’s overcrowded modern rock scene.

Guitar International recently sat down with guitarist Annie Stoic to talk about Jackknife Stiletto, Gibson guitars and being a woman in a man’s world.

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Matt Warnock: How’d you come up with the name Jackknife Stiletto?

Annie Stoic: At first we were a four-piece under the name Violet Vier, but after we axed a fourth member we decided to change our name. We all went out one night to a rockabilly concert in Brooklyn. We had a few drinks at the show, went to a diner after and by the time 3 am rolled around Jackknife Stiletto was conceived.

Matt: The band mixes a bunch of different influences in your music, who were some of your early influences on the guitar and how does your sound meld with what EsotErica and Mel Funk bring to the songwriting process?

Annie: My biggest early influence definitely has to be Tim Armstrong from Rancid. If I never heard their music, I never would’ve picked up a guitar. When I was younger I also went to a lot of local shows in Staten Island, NY, and that’s when I was inspired to start a band.

I think our sound melds because, even between all of the different influences we may have, rock n roll is the basis of our music. Some of our songs may have different genres that they sound like, because we all have very different tastes in music, and we’re always looking to write different types of songs and experiment with other styles of music. But when it comes down to it rock is the core of what we’re doing.

Matt: What was the inspiration behind the lyrics to “Dear Jane?” It sounds like the song came from personal experience.

Annie: Yeah it was from personal experience. It was actually a collaboration of three different stories. Most of the lyrics in the verses are things guys have said to us, whether it was left in a voicemail or said to us personally.

You can also check in the beginning of our song “Fight Fair,” there is a voicemail re-enactment of a guy that left me that exact message. The stalkers keep on comin’ so we always have some new material to write music from.

Matt: Being an all-woman rock band do you ever get comparisons to the Runaways and if so are you tired of being asked that question……?

Annie: We had one review before that described us as a “Long Island, NY version of The Runaways.” We actually don’t get it too often and I wouldn’t get tired of being asked that.

I listen to The Runaways a lot and I still don’t think people realize that they were all great musicians in their teens, and how much of an impact their music had on the scene. So being compared to them is actually really awesome.

Matt: Do you ever get flack for being a woman who plays guitar, like you can’t hang with the guys, or have we finally gotten over that in the music business by now?

Annie: The world still has not gotten over that barrier. There are women that have helped break down that barrier a bit, but I don’t think it’s over. There still aren’t a lot of female vocalists on the radio, especially on rock stations. You rarely will hear two female bands on one after another.

We have to be ten times better than the regular guy band going on stage after us. The second people start to see us set up they still say “Oh they’re girls, I wonder if they can play their instruments?” After we play, we always have people coming up enthusiastically to us saying they were surprised at how good we were, and they never see all-female rock bands.

Matt: As well as playing in the band you also work at a record company and a theater, do you like having this variety in your daily life, or would you be happier if you were just playing music all the time?

Annie: I do love all aspects of the music industry and like to be a part of it in some way. I’m really lucky to have a job at a record company and a theatre doing lighting so I can keep being involved in the industry.

I love being on the road and touring, whether it’s for my band or working for someone else. But I can’t compare being on stage with my band to being behind the scenes. There is a very different, amazing feeling when you are on stage playing your band’s own music, knowing people are having a good time.

Matt: What guitars are you using these days and are you a one guitar gal or do you like to have a bunch of guitars lying around to choose from when you go into the studio or on the road?

Annie: I guess you can say I’m a one-guitar gal. When I started playing, I used a guitar from the 80’s that had a bunch of skulls and dragons on it called a Rockster for about 4 years. I started saving up money and finally bought my all-black Gibson SG, which I always play on stage now. I’m also thinking of getting another Gibson soon.

Matt: What amps and effects do you use on stage and does your live rig differ from your studio set up?

Annie: Live, I always play through my Marshall half stack and my head is a Valvestate 2000 Avt150. That amp has a bunch of built in effects that I use sometimes but I really don’t have a million pedals and even though we may experiment with some effects in the music.

I really like that Marshall’s tone and sound on its own. As for the studio, I used a Peavey 5150 for mostly the entire album besides a few clean tracks.

Matt: With the band’s first album out and a bunch of gigs on the books, where do you go from here?

Annie: Well we’re still booking more gigs, looking around for some touring opportunities and making a few more music videos.

We also may be looking into some management this year, but we’ll see where the year takes us, and we are still writing new music so eventually another album will be in the works!

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