Jack Daley Sings on New TRIPI Single, “Life Without You”

Jack Daley is familiar with the responsibility of supporting someone else’s performance. As a bassist, producer, and longtime touring musician, he has worked with Lenny Kravitz, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, the Spin Doctors, and others. On TRIPI’s new recording of “Life Without You,” however, Daley moves to the front of the arrangement.

The transition was unplanned. Tony Tripi had attempted to sing the Stevie Ray Vaughan song while recording material for Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I. The song had been selected by Tripi’s son-in-law, and its history as a memorial to one of Vaughan’s friends made it a natural fit for an album concerned with loss.

Still, Tripi could not make the vocal work. He later described feeling blocked from the rhythm and melody, eventually concluding that he was not supposed to be the singer. Daley offered to try the part.

The timing gave that offer considerable emotional weight. Daley’s older brother, Frank, had recently died. He went back to the studio alone and recorded the vocal at night, dedicating the performance to his brother while also acknowledging Roman, Tripi, and the other lives connected to the album.

Daley sings with the discipline of a musician accustomed to serving the song. He does not use the opportunity to make an obvious bid for attention. His phrasing is measured, and the vocal’s rougher edges are allowed to remain, bringing an appropriate vulnerability to Vaughan’s words.

The band track was recorded live with Daley on bass, Aaron Comess, Rob Clores, and Andrew Carillo. Marc Ribler’s guitar solo was added later and provides a striking contrast to Daley’s controlled delivery. Where the vocal holds its emotion close, the guitar gives some of that pressure a way out.

“Life Without You” will appear on Close to Fire when the album arrives on October 30th. TRIPI will mark the release with a benefit concert at The Cutting Room in New York City, featuring artists involved in the project and supporting dialogue around infant loss and grief. For Daley, the single represents an uncommon lead-vocal appearance. For the album, it demonstrates how collaboration can make room for stories its creator could not have anticipated when the work began.