Popular Band TFJ Feels Just Right

Think Fast JAK
Think Fast JAK is a funk-heavy rock band based around the powerful vocal talents of lead singer Jessica Sands. Theyve earned a reputation as one of the best live bands to emerge from the clubs of Washington, DC, with an energetic, all-killer no-filler stage act packed with Sands original cuts like Be My Muse and fierce, danceable interpretations of rhythm and blues classics like Rolling and Tumbling
TFJ is currently recording their first studio album and Sands is producing videos with her brother and bandmate Anton Kozikowski, who keeps Sands on her toes by infusing a healthy dose of sibling rivalry into their concerts.
Sands soulful, booming voice has drawn comparisons to pop sensations such as Sheryl Crow and Aretha Franklin. And the stage presence of this tall, blonde, bold diva with a sense of humor captivates audiences like few female lead singers can.
We are very rhythm-centric and I have the tendency to do things rhythmically with my vocals, Sands says. Most of what were doing now is trying to explore that and enhance it. With boomerang vocal range that can draw you in with a hush and then bowl you over with soul from the gut, Sands was discovered by the popular fellow D.C. band Thievery Corporation. Thieverys Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, icons of international electronic music, have mentored TFJ as theyve honed their sound and their live sets.
They come to most of our shows and they are tough critics, Sands laughs. Think Fast recently opened for Thievery at the Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado.
Sands says shes not boxing the bands sound into any set categories, instead developing their songs organically and through the live shows.
I dont think stylistically were saying, We want to be more like Kings of Leon than the Black Keys or somebody, she explains. We sit down with the lyrics Ive written, and melodies in mind. Then as we play more shows we get in touch with what we want to sound like.
Through the live shows, Sands and TFJ have honed their high-energy pop funk tunes and their growing audience has molded them into a band that rocks. Its really important for us to play live to get a sense of what we can do out there, and how people respond to it.
Sands has been writing songs and singing in choirs since childhood, and her first loves in music were the folk classics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. While Think Fast JAK has taken on a more upbeat tempo, the bands success has resulted from the same visceral emotional connection to listeners that all music does.
When we were starting out I kept expecting somebody to slap me upside the head and say, What are you doing starting a band? Sands remembers. But people just keep coming up to me and saying, Whoa, you guys talented and these shows are fun.