Captain Jack (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the German band. For the article about the fictional character from Doctor Who and Torchwood, see Jack Harkness

Franky Gee

Captain Jack was a musical duo, specializing in Eurodance music, originating from Germany. Its members (since 2000) were Francisco Alejandro Gutierrez (stage name: Franky Gee), and Sunny. The original female vocalist on the group's debut in 1995 was Liza Da Costa, replaced in 1999 by Maria Lucia 'Maloy' Lozanes, who was replaced by Ilka-Anna-Antonia Traue (stage name: Illi Love) in 2001.

Captain Jack's music (and Franky Gee's persona) was a stylized as a form of military training. Franky's costume consisted of a stylized military general's uniform, with a red hat based on that of the US Marines. Gutierrez chose this gimmick because of his service in the United States Army, a career he despised but was forced to follow when he was strapped for cash. After ending his time in the US Army, Gutierrez remained in Germany, where he was last stationed, and began a recording career under the name "Westside".

While recording music under that name, he proposed the idea of a dance track based on a drill routine. That idea became his style: songs about peace and love in the style of a military regime, in protest against his years in the US Army. The hat—a US Marines "barracks cover" hat, in the color scheme evoking the Soviet Red Army—further protests the idea of the military, while symbolizing the idea of national unity.

The group has earned 19 gold and platinum records throughout Europe. Fans of the Konami arcade game Dance Dance Revolution know them from the numerous songs that, through the Dancemania series of albums, have been used in the game series. The group's music was also featured in other Konami music games such as beatmania and Dance Maniax.

The future of Captain Jack suddenly came into doubt when Gutierrez suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while walking with his son in Spain on October 17, 2005. Doctors predicted that the damage was fatal, and Gutierrez died on Saturday October 22, 2005, after spending five days in a coma.

Future proceeds on the sale of Captain Jack's Greatest Hits album, which was being planned prior to Franky Gee's death, will be given to his son, fellow rapper Franky Gutierrez. Later in 2006, Franky will revive the band as Captain Jack Junior.

"CJ Jr." is the official title of Franky Gee's son. He has recently been announced on a promotional site (see links below). It states that he is coming summer 2006 and that he will be doing a tribute to his father. His first known title is called I Love Reggaeton. It is uncertain if CJ Jr. will develop his own Latino style or follow the Military-Dance sound that made his father famous.