Pensacola based rockers FateJacket have accumulated a few names in the three years since they started. Warriors of the Working Class… Suck City’s Finest… The 850’s Post Nu-Metal Heroes… Whatever you might want to call them, it’s catching on.
I caught these guys live for the first time recently when we shared a bill in Long Beach at Trax Bar and Grill and quickly saw why they’ve been winning over rock fans here and across the region. Chaotic, comedic, heavy and pure fun all at once, FateJacket has one of the most engaging live rock shows you’ll find on the coast.
They kicked off their set clad in matching aprons as if the band had just rushed to the gig from their restaurant jobs and thanked the audience for showing up for the night shift, because day shift “didn’t do s**t,” just before launching into their high powered hard rock mix with the hype factor of a pro wrestling promo. They didn’t let up until the end as the band stayed in a constant state of motion, combining tight original work with improv and just a little goofing around as singer Mike aka Mic Jacket kept the audience on their feet with high volume wit and personality.
“It’s not about trying to be the best that noone ever was,” Mike said about the band’s motivation. “It’s first and foremost trying to have fun. I think a lot of bands nowadays have forgotten that that’s where good music kind of comes from. It comes from a place where you know 4, 5, 3, 6, 9 personalities can mesh together and create something that’s better than the sum of their parts. That’s first and foremost in our minds. If we’re not having fun, we don’t want to do it.”
That’s really what kicked the band off in 2022, when guitarist Richard asked Mike to lay down vocals on a song so they could try out some new gear. There was no particular goal in mind other than to make a little music for fun, but that resulting track clicked with both of them and they realized they had something going on.
The other key part of the band’s identity developed as the lineup came together and they began to write, and that’s that they won’t follow any particular formula with their music.
“We like variety and surprises when we go to shows… That’s the second principle in the band is ‘don’t write the same song twice.'”
Some inspiration came from bands like Papa Roach, Bullet for my Valentine, Hed P.E. or The Prodigy, but the idea for what makes a FateJacket song can come from anywhere. To date, they’ve dropped an EP and a couple of singles that showcase the sound and attitude of FateJacket, and more is on the way.
A leading track from the If It Hurts It’ll Get Worse EP, “Future Blind” serves as a solid hard rock jam with some catchy riffs and melodies as well as some more abrasive edge and often serves as a good intro for new FateJacket listeners. “Suckafish” kicks up the tempo with some driving, headbanging energy, raw screams and nasty lead guitar parts. “Psychopacetic” walks on the wild side, and the standalone single “Kitties” is about… well, kitties.
The band are currently recording their next release, which will be a full length album entitled “Popularity Contest.” Like the previous releases, the new album is being recorded in-house and engineered by Richard, in a studio that had to be replaced and rebuilt after a significant amount of gear was unfortunately lost to burglary. It’s a testament to the band’s perseverance, and they look to drop the album in the first months of 2026.
In the meantime, new show dates are on the way- Mississippi included. FateJacket will be continuing their mission of bringing a high quality show to people they feel deserve a good time without a lot of hassle, and to advocate for togetherness and positivity through music.
“We want everyone to be a part of this,” Mike said, explaining that much of his favorite experience with the band so far was just enjoying people… Watching the bands interact, share gear and work together… Watching the audience have a good time or help each other out in small ways. “…Just everybody being people all in one spot. Points of random niceness- that isn’t for clout, it’s not for any sort of personal gain, it’s niceness for the sake of being nice. The past three years has really increased my faith in humanity as much as the world tries to beat it down. Those are my favorite moments, the random acts of kindness that may or may not be seen by others.”
“There is no reason for you as yourself to not contribute to positive outcomes…that might be a little too philosophical for people but… we should always be trying to add positivity to the environment, it is way too easy to follow the path of the ‘dark side’ and go into hatred. It’s easy to s**t on bands that you don’t know where they came from and it’s easy to s**t on music that you’re removed from, but, I really think if all of us were to get together in a room, bang our heads together, maybe we’d swing our arms wildly and dance around like idiots… maybe if there was more of that in the world where we were looking at each other in the face, where we were touching each other, reminding each other that we’re real people, and getting our frustrations out in a healthy way, that *maybe* we wouldn’t be so distrustful in this world, and that’s what I hope we can do with FateJacket… is to bring more positivity to people in person and on the airwaves.”
~Enjoy Local Music~
@ScottiRedd
scott@coastobserver.com
FateJacket is:
Richard Dunlavy – Guitars
Mic Jacket – Vocals
Darryl Oehmsen- Bass
Robert Franklin – Drums
Caleb Hart – Drums
Facebook @FateJacketBand
IG, TikTok @fatejacket
Streaming on major platforms
Promos from FateJacket – Live Photos by Will Rain Photography
