Inspirations
Many photos and images may be found in the gallery.
The image at the top right is of a painting by Jack's wife Valentina, entitled, "The Blue Muse". The painting was the inspiration for many of the songs on "You're Not Broken".
Regarding the Diablo mask at right, El Diablo plays an important role throughout the region of Bolivia where Jack, his wife, and two sons live. There is an extinguished volcana in La Paz, Bolivia called Muela del Diablo (the Devil’s molar). This hole or mine is located at the base of the mountain. It has claimed many lives over the years and is said to be enchanted. It "draws in dogs and young men who are swallowed by its darkness and never seen again". El Diablo plays a prominently in local carnival dance. Five ritual offerings are performed at the floor at the top of the mountain in the month of August, and special amulets are made for to protect those who dare to enter the mine. Being a child of the Appalachian mountains where coal mining has been a central feature of southerners' lives and livelihoods, Jack has lived long enough to discover a new horror in the present day. El Diablo has come to scar the mountains, stripping them of all life and choking the rivers and streams with debris in the pursuit of the black rock, coal; black as some men's hearts. Listen to "Beneath the Killing Floor".
Many of the ideas, people, and music that inspired Jack may be discovered in the biography and in other essays written by him and others below.
Written by Jack
Expressed by others
