Jim James | |
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![]() James performing in 2007 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | James Edward Olliges Jr. |
Also known as | Yim Yames |
Born | April 27, 1978 |
Origin | Louisville, Kentucky, US |
Genres | Psychedelic rock, indie rock, jam rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, guitarist |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, omnichord, drums, percussion, harmonica, banjo |
Years active | 1992—present |
Labels | |
Member of | My Morning Jacket |
Formerly of |
James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, [1] [2] is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums.
James grew up in the Highlands–Douglass neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. He attended St. Martha grade school and graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1996. [3] James briefly attended the University of Kentucky.
Prior to forming My Morning Jacket, James was the vocalist and guitarist of Month of Sundays, currently known as Mont de Sundua. [4]
As the vocalist, frontman, producer, and lead songwriter for My Morning Jacket, James has been instrumental in defining the sound of the band. [5] He was given an "Esky" for best songwriter in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue.
James typically plays rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, and occasional lead guitar on My Morning Jacket songs. He played the role of the band leader in the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There , singing the song "Going to Acapulco", with Calexico as his backing band, which was featured on the soundtrack of the film. Rolling Stone listed James among their "20 New Guitar Gods" along with fellow My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel. In 2008, James, along with former My Morning Jacket guitarist and cousin Johnny Quaid, formed Removador Recordings and Solutions record label. The label, as described on its website, functions "on the simple principal of yielding the highest annual percentage of aural joy back into the hearts and minds of investors and shareholders with ease and convenience". [6]
In 2009, he contributed vocals on The Decemberists' album The Hazards of Love . [7] On April 4 that year, James performed at the Radio City Music Hall, New York City, in the "Change Begins Within" concert benefitting the David Lynch Foundation. [8] On July 7, James released Tribute To , an EP covering George Harrison songs. A portion of the proceeds from the album were donated to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. The EP was available on yimyames.com as both a digital download and a physical CD/LP. [9] That same year, James and the rest of My Morning Jacket played themselves in "My Morning Straitjacket", an episode of the animated television series American Dad! James also participated along with Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis in the supergroup, Monsters of Folk, which released a self-titled album in 2009. [10]
In 2012, Rounder Records released the Woody Guthrie tribute album New Multitudes which features songs covered by a variety of musicians including James (as Yim Yames) and Jay Farrar. James wrote an article on My Morning Jacket, [11] discussing how the band got its name and growing up in Louisville, for the July 2012 issue of Louisville magazine. Bandmates Patrick Hallahan and Tom Blankenship also wrote articles for the issue.
James released his debut solo full-length album, Regions of Light and Sound of God , on ATO Records on February 5, 2013.
In early 2014, James recorded for Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes alongside Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith and Rhiannon Giddens. The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and is a compilation of partial songs written by Bob Dylan that were never released.
On November 5, 2015, the David Lynch Foundation organized another benefit concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall named "Change Begins Within" to promote transcendental meditation for stress control. Jim James participated with Katy Perry, Sting, Jerry Seinfeld, Angelique Kidjo, and classical guitarist Sharon Isbin. And since each of the performers actively practices transcendental meditation, they also spoke to its power. [12]
In 2016, James played himself and sings in two episodes of the Showtime series Roadies . [13] In November 2016, he released his second solo album Eternally Even . [14]
James and Teddy Abrams co-wrote a suite of songs that were performed with the Louisville Orchestra on April 6 and 7, 2018 at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. [15] On April 17, 2018, James announced the June 29 release of his third solo album of original material, Uniform Distortion . Along with the announcement was the release of a single and music video for the album's opening track "Just A Fool". Also, included with the announcement was a letter James wrote to photographer Duane Michals requesting use of his photograph "The Illuminated Man" for the album's cover art. James discovered the photo in the 1971 publication The Last Whole Earth Catalog , which he stated was a primary inspiration for the new album. [16]
James was raised Catholic and attended St. Martha School for grade school and St. Xavier for high school. [17] He has been practicing Transcendental Meditation since 2009. [17] He previously dated one of the singers in his solo touring band. [18]
In 2008, he fell off the stage during a concert in Iowa, which inspired the recording of his first solo album. [2] He has cited Richard Shannon Hoon, Roy Orbison, and Marvin Gaye as influences on his vocal style. [19]
Sean Taro Ono Lennon is an American-British musician, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and his parents' group Plastic Ono Band. He has released two solo albums: Into the Sun (1998) and Friendly Fire (2006). He has produced numerous albums for various artists, including Black Lips and the Plastic Ono Band.
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, and Better Oblivion Community Center. Oberst was named the Best Songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
Thomas Eugene Stinson is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stinson formed Bash & Pop, acting as lead vocalist, guitarist and frontman. In the mid-1990s he was the singer and guitarist for the rock band Perfect, and eventually joined the hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1998.
My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The band's sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances.
Matthew Thomas Skiba is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio, and served as the co-lead vocalist and guitarist of Blink-182 from 2015 to 2022. Skiba's lyrical content commonly involves dark romantic themes.
It Still Moves is the third album by the rock band My Morning Jacket. The album garnered positive reviews and is often considered the band's best work alongside Z. The song "Run Thru" is included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitar Songs". The album also marks the first appearance of drummer Patrick Hallahan, as well as the final appearances of guitarist Johnny Quaid and keyboardist Danny Cash.
Z is the fourth studio album by psychedelic rock band My Morning Jacket. This collection features a much spacier and more polished sound than previous releases, making heavy use of synthesizers throughout and incorporating reggae and dub influences. The heavy reverb that was a defining characteristic of the band's prior recordings is largely absent. The songs on the album are more focused and shorter compared to the band's previous albums.
At Dawn is the second studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. Produced by group frontman Jim James, the album was released on April 6, 2001 by Darla Records. The Kentucky-based group had begun several years prior when James needed an outlet for folky, acoustic songs. Its first album for independent label Darla, 1999's The Tennessee Fire, attracted a devoted following in the Netherlands, prompting the young band to tour heavily.
Clint Edward Lowery is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist in the rock band Sevendust. He has also played in Dark New Day and Still Rain, and served as the touring guitarist for Korn and Seether through most of 2007 and 2017, respectively. In 2008, he decided to work on new music as a solo artist, and the name of the project was titled Hello Demons Meet Skeletons. Lowery wrote and recorded a six-song EP while off the road with Sevendust, just for a week. He played every instrument on the CD, which was produced by his brother Corey Lowery. The EP, Chills, was released in October, followed by a tour at the same month. He would also later release two more EPs with HDMS. Also his fourth and last EP, Choices, was released in 2013.
James Louis McCartney is an English-American musician and songwriter. He is the son of singer, songwriter, and former Beatle, Paul McCartney. He has contributed to solo albums by his parents, including Flaming Pie (1997) and Driving Rain (2001) by Paul McCartney, and Wide Prairie (1998) by Linda McCartney. He has released two EPs and two albums. His most recent, The Blackberry Train, was released on 6 May 2016.
Josh Garza is an American musician and drummer for the New York City–based rock band The Secret Machines, as well as the Los Angeles–based rock band EFG. Originally from the Dallas, Texas area, Garza formed the Secret Machines with brothers Ben and Brandon Curtis, and EFG with guitarist and vocalist, Imaad Wasif, later joined by bassist and engineer, Tom Biller.[1] He was part of the original lineup for the noise pop band COMET, and in the late 1990s, Captain Audio.[2]
Chocolate and Ice is an EP from Louisville, Kentucky indie rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released on March 26, 2002, by Badman Recording Co. All the songs on the EP were written and performed by band leader Jim James, and no other band members appear on the album, with the exception of the track "It's Been a Great 3 Or 4 Years", a voicemail from his cousin, guitarist John McQuade. The inside packaging indicates the album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Only "Sooner" and "Cobra" have become live favorites, with "Sweetheart" having only been performed in concert once, in 2006. As of 2021, "Can You See the Hard Helmet on My Head?" and "Holy" have never been performed live.
Carl Broemel is an American rock musician. He currently plays guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone and sings back-up vocals for the Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket. He played guitar in the pop/rock band Old Pike and in the alternative pop/rock band Silvercrush.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band is the name taken by Conor Oberst and his backing band. The band is composed of Nik Freitas (guitar), Taylor Hollingsworth (guitar), Macey Taylor (bass), Nate Walcott (keyboards/organ) and Jason Boesel (drums). The band was formed to back Oberst on his 2008 solo album but soon evolved into a band of its own with all members singing and providing songs for 2009's Outer South.
The discography of American indie rock band My Morning Jacket consists of nine studio albums, 12 extended plays, 22 singles, five music videos, three compilation albums, eleven live albums, and one video album. The band signed with independent Darla Records in 1998 before moving to ATO in 2003.
Circuital is the sixth studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released on May 31, 2011.
Sweatbees is a compilation album by Louisville, Kentucky rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released as a five-track EP in the UK on the Wichita label in 2002 and a nine-track compilation in Australia on the Spunk label in 2003. On both versions it comprised tracks from the band's second album At Dawn and two EPs.
The Waterfall is the seventh studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. Produced by Tucker Martine and group frontman Jim James, the album was released on May 4, 2015 by ATO Records and Capitol Records. After touring 2011’s Circuital (2011), for two years the band took a break before regrouping in late 2013 to begin work on The Waterfall, a process which took eighteen months.
Edward "Teddy" Paul Maxwell Abrams is an American conductor, pianist, clarinetist, and composer. He is currently Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival Orchestra.
The Waterfall II is the eighth studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket, released on July 10, 2020. Made up of recordings made in 2013 that also produced the 2015 release The Waterfall, this psychedelic pop work has received positive reviews from critics.