Jerry Scag
It might be a really old saying, but Jerry Scag is the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.
On the outside, he looks like an extra from the 1983 classic movie "The Outsiders" starring Patrick Swayze and Matt Dillon. Jerry's long dark hair and his propensity for wearing black make him look like every teenage girls' parent's nightmare - the brooding, rock-n-roll bad boy, and nothing could be further from the truth.
"I'm actually a very shy and kind person," he says. "I don't always look it or sound it, but I'm the sensitive type with a hard outer shell."
Born and raised in New Jersey - the stomping grounds of Bruce Springsteen, one of his all-time musical heroes - Jerry says he was born into a musical family, but it was an iconic 70s band that really turned him on to music.
"I was a real KISS freak which really motivated me to start a band so I could be a chick magnet," he says laughing.
Other major bands and artists of the 1970s filled Jerry's head and heart with inspiration... David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Queen, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath posters lined his walls and filled his ears with some of the sweetest rock music ever recorded.
As Jerry grew from a teenager to a young man, his musical tastes grew to include more mature singer/songwriters like John Cougar Mellencamp and Tom Petty.
Even with his earliest attempts at writing two-chord songs, Jerry says the creative process was amazing to experience.
"The feeling of creating something from nothing was incredible, and it still is today," he says. "Letting my brain hear something in my head and then trying to get it down - it's a tough but rewarding process."
Jerry joined various bands and played clubs both well-known and obscure from New York to New Jersey, until his mid 20s, when he says he "got away from music for a while to the point where I didn't even open my guitar case."
He took the break to pursue acting, another of his creative loves. Jerry says the break from music stemmed from his disgust with band members "not showing up or quitting for some lame reason." After several years, he says the lure of writing and playing his own music grew too strong to ignore, but instead of depending on half-committed band members, Jerry plays and records everything himself.
On Jerry's tracks, he runs the gamut from blues crooner to rock troubadour to heart-on-his-sleeve ballad singer, in a style that nestles comfortably somewhere between the coolness of John Lennon, the Jersey Boy swagger of Springsteen and the retro every-man stylings of Lenny Kravitz, with just the right amount of alternative country twang and indie-rock DIY ethics.
"When I finish a new song, it's almost like giving birth," he says. "It's such a good feeling. After it's all said and done, I love my music, and I hate my music. One day I like it and the next I don't. One day I like my voice and the next I don't. But it is what it is, and in the end, it's me expressing myself, which ain't always pretty."
Pretty or not, Jerry sums up his music in a few terse, tough words.
"I find my music hard to describe. You know, I write them like I feel them and don't try to fit songs into a certain label or box."
Whether he's rockin' out on heavier songs or pouring his heart out in a softer song, Jerry gives it his all, or as he says, "I try like hell."
About Jerry Scag
Jerry Scag has been writing and playing music most of his life. This Jersey Boy is a self-taught musician and an innate songwriter. He penned his first tunes in his early teens when his peers were learning songs by their favorite bands. "I never was excited about playing another artist's music -I figured they already did it - now what can I do?" Jerry went on to play the NYC/NJ club scene with a few original bands before finally branching out on his own. His current work can be both hard hitting and profound, yet shows true vulnerability. His demanding, raw vocals and guitar work are matched to perfection with a sound that is both classic and new. It's sometimes difficult to compare him to other artists for he seems to stand out on his own. "I never really try to sound a particular way - I just put it out there as it comes to me, for better or worse - hopefully better - but I have to be true to myself otherwise what's the point?"