Flagstaff Featured Business: The River Jacks
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
The River Jacks
780-390-0316
If you live in the Flagstaff Region or nearby, chances are you’ve had the good fortune of listening – or even dancing – to the varied musical stylings of The River Jacks.
Specializing in a seemingly never-ending list of country, rock and pop hits, the five-piece cover band has long since established themselves as a go-to entertainment source for wedding dances and corporate events.
“As a local band, our repertoire is influenced by all the people we play for,” explains Tom Lichak, who plays guitar and sings.
“We’ve had so much support in this region from everybody that hires us to play – on a trailer outside, or at a wonderful wedding, or corporate show.
We get so much support. So we grow from what we get as requests from people in the audience. We’re always changing. And so the combination of us and the people in this region and the music that we all love, that’s what makes us unique. And we just want to play music that people want to hear and have some fun.”
Along with Lichak, a Daysland resident, The River Jacks is made up of Chad Szott, also of Daysland, who plays electric guitar and pedal steel guitar, Jeff Orom, of Camrose, who plays drums and sings, Garrett Richaud, of Forestburg, who plays electric bass guitar, and Myra Marshall, of New Norway, who sings and plays acoustic guitar.
The band’s beginnings date back nearly a decade ago, when Garrett, Jeff, and Chad met at the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus in Camrose.
“We were all in different years and we had got the idea to form a band,” Chad recalls. “And so, we had started jamming together.”
Around that time, Chad also met Tom through work. The two discovered that they shared an interest in music and they both played guitar.
“And Tom told me he’d played in bands his whole life,” Chad says. “Growing up with his dad’s band, Tom had played wedding dances every weekend back when the music scene was hopping and live dances were the thing.”
Chad admits he was used to outings that were deejayed and figures he hadn’t even seen a live band until he was about 15 years old. The idea of actually playing in a band that performed locally was a foreign – yet extremely enticing – concept to him.
“I’d picked up the guitar because I liked music that I was listening to and I wanted to recreate that,” Chad adds. “But the idea of playing in a band seemed so far off to me…. And so, Tom had kind of introduced the three of us to the idea that we could play locally and play at dances.”
Before long, The River Jacks ended up adding their fifth member.
“One of the things that brought us together was the Bailey Theatre in Camrose,” Tom explains. “The Bailey always has a lot of things going on and I met Myra there.”
Myra, of course, was already a well-known local musician. Her addition helped to solidify a talented group of like-minded friends.
“Each one of The River Jacks brings their own experience and talent and musical perspective to the picture,” notes Tom.
Chad is grateful for how the band’s formation worked out, acknowledging that they were fortunate.
“I don’t think the band would have been what it was today if Jeff and I hadn’t ended up meeting Garrett and then meeting Tom, and then meeting Myra.”
Myra jokes that part of the reason she joined The River Jacks is because it comes with her own bodyguard: Garrett.
“I carry all of the heavy things,” admits the physically imposing bassist, who played in a heavy metal band before helping to form The River Jacks.
Chad adds: “Garrett and Myra stand next to each other on stage and there’s always one bit where Garrett comes down to Myra’s mic to say something before the song starts and…”
“Puts his back out,” Myra finishes with a chuckle.
Joined by their obvious love of performing music, the band members also share technological know-how.
“We’re all fairly comfortable with technology,” Tom says. “We’ve got electronic drums and we’ve got guitar modeling and guitar synthesis, wireless units. All that stuff is going on onstage at the same time to just make the show run smoothly. So, that has helped us out a lot.”
However, it’s not all smooth sailing. Besides the obvious challenges associated to the pandemic, one of the band’s biggest struggles is trying to find the time to get together to practice.
“We’re all doing our own things on the side, and trying to find time to rehearse new material isn’t always easy,” notes Garrett.
“But even with that, one of the really nice things we have going on is, even though we may not be able to practice together as much as we might like, I’m never worried about it because I know that everyone here will show up ready, prepared, and good to go. And that’s pretty nice.”
Tom says: “Yeah, it’s nice to have people you can count on.”
Chad adds: “Just like a family.”
Garrett repeats: “Just like a family.”
Myra says with a smile: “My band family.”
Check out the feature in print in the September 8 edition of The Community Press – available for digital purchase anytime. Never miss an issue, become a SUBSCRIBER today!
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
