San Clemente City Magazine Summer/Fall 2015 | Page 17

GARY ROACH: Jumping Jack Flash/New Years Eve

I

keep a People I Would Like to Lunch With list and the Rolling
Stones are on it! I know that’s not likely, but I did have breakfast
with San Clemente’s own Gary Roach of Jumping Jack Flash,
and that is close. Really close.

Gary is a founding member of Jumping Jack Flash, recognized as one of
the best Rolling Stones performance
bands in the world. Do not confuse
this group of worthy musicians with
the cover bands that are popular
today. Roach explains, “These are
theatrical shows designed as faithful
recreations of the Stones’ concert
tours from 1964 to 1972. We use the
same make of guitars and drums,
have costumes made to copy, and
study video of the original performances to get everything right.”

school bands and orchestras. As the
only musically inclined member of
his family, he says, “I was the dorky
middle child who found that music
was what I could do that no one else
could.”

All the Rolling Stones are there:
Mick Jagger: Joey Jagger
Keith Richards: Young Hutchinson
Brian Jones/Ron Wood:
Pat Henneessy
Bill Wyman: John Loog-BurtonHogg-Lord-on-Thames
Charlie Watts: Gary Roach
Voice of the Gods: Jill Hennessy

By Junior High, Gary was done
with trombones and wanted the
guitars and base of a teenage band.
Like many 60’s teens in Southern
California, he and his friends were
influenced by surf music and the
English invasion. Unlike many of
these garage bands, he and his
bandmates were already seasoned
musicians. They knew how music
was formatted and understood music theory. Popular sheet music was
expensive and hard to come by then
so they learned songs by listening
to them, each player perfecting their
part then practicing to put a performance together. Gary is still a friend
of the guys he played with in Jr. High
and sometimes performs with them
in their bands.

Gary, aka Charlie Watts, has been
making music since the 5th grade in

Jumping Jack Flash came to life here
in San Clemente about 13 years ago.

They always played a lot of Rolling
Stones but when Roach read in a
trade magazine that tribute bands
were signing lucrative performance
recreation deals, he knew what he
wanted. He did research and leg
work, found the right partners, and
got Jumping Jack Flash going. They
have gone from being a popular local
band to playing major venues nationally and internationally. Last year they
played Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.
If spending New Year’s with this
show band sounds like fun, you are
in luck. Thanks to The San Clemente
Rotary Club, you can give a rocking
welcome to 2016 with JJF at the
beautiful San Clemente Casino. For
tickets go to: www.eventbrite.com/e/
new-years-eve-gala-with-jumpingjack-flash-tickets-17719607824.
This will be a very special evening
because it will be the last time you
can see Jumping Jack Flash in it’s
current formation. The band will have
the same accomplished players but,
as Gary Roach says about many
things, “it just keeps getting better.”

SouthCoast Magazine / 949.498.0705

Summer/Fall 2015 | 15