Jackopierce is an American alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band formed by Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce in Dallas, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 in 1988. Their style is focused around vocal harmonies and acoustic guitars.

History

Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce founded the duo in 1988 while both were attending Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

 in Dallas as theater majors. The name of the band was made up from O'Neill's first name and Pierce's last name.

Over the next ten years Jackopierce toured extensively, mainly in the USA but also other countries. Over the years they have shared the stage with artists such as Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

, Counting Crows

Counting Crows

Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...

, The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers is a rock band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Jakob Dylan. Formed in 1989 and originally known as The Apples, the ensemble has gone through numerous personnel changes with Dylan the only constant....

, Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...

, Jewel

Jewel (singer)

Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...

, Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...

 and Semisonic

Semisonic

Semisonic is an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1995. The band consisted of three members: Dan Wilson , John Munson , and Jacob Slichter...

. During that time, they sold over 400,000 records (four independent albums and two on A&M Records

A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

).

Breakup and solo work

Jackopierce ended their decade-long association in 1997 with a sold-out farewell tour and the release of Decade, a retrospective double-CD that included new and live material. The last show of the farewell tour was 31 December 1997.

After the breakup Jack O’Neill lived in New York performing as a member of the Bat Theater Company. In 1999 he released a self-titled EP with his band American Horse. Later he also released a solo CD entitled Halfway Around The World.

Cary Pierce started a solo career and continued to play across the United States. He released four solo records and created his own record label, Foreverything Records. Cary produced and co-write records for Graham Colton

Graham Colton

Graham Colton is an American singer-songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma most widely known for his hit song "Best Days", featured on the television series American Idol and Kyle XY...

, Jack Ingram

Jack Ingram

Jack Owen Ingram is an American Texas Country artist signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eight studio albums, one extended play, six live albums and eighteen singles. Although active since 1992, Ingram did not reach the U.S. country Top 40 until the late...

, Creede Williams and others.

The reunion

Jackopierce reunited for sold-out shows in Dallas, Austin and Houston in November 2002. Since then they have continued to play 15–20 shows a year.

A new studio CD, Promise of Summer, was released in September 2008. Several live albums were released in 2009 and 2010.

Members

• Jack O'Neill – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitars
  Guitarist
  A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
  
  
• Cary Pierce – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitars
  Guitarist
  A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
  
  
• Clay Pendergrass – bass
  Bassist
  A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
  
  , guitars
  Guitarist
  A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
  
   (1995–1997)
• Earl Darling – drums
  Drummer
  A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
  
  (1995–1997)

Albums

• 1990 – Jackopierce
• 1993 – Woman as Salvation
• 1994 – Live from the Americas
• 1994 – Bringing on the Weather
• 1996 – Finest Hour
• 1998 – Decade 1988-1998
• 2008 – Promise of Summer
• 2009 – Acoustic Summer
• 2009 – Live From Atlanta (live)
• 2010 – Mile High – Live from Soiled Dove in Denver (live)

Singles

• 1994 – Anderson's Luck (Promo CD Single)
• 1994 – Live (Promo CD EP)
• 1994 – Get To Know Me Better (Promo CD Single)
• 1996 – Late Shift (Promo CD Single)
• 1996 – Trials (Promo CD Single)
• 1997 – Vineyard (Promo CD Single)
• 2010 – Summer's gone