Jimbo Mathus
Encyclopedia
Jimbo Mathus
Birthname: James H. Mathis, Jr.
Born: August 1967 (age 43)
Birthplace: Oxford, MS
Genres: American music
Occupations: Entertainer, singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, tankerman
Instruments: Guitar, bass, drums, piano, trombone, mandolin, harmonica
Years active: 1980s - present
Labels: Merge, Mammoth Records, Hollywood, Hill Country Records, Memphis International
Associated Acts: Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, Squirrel Nut Zippers, North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, Knockdown Society, Knockdown South, Buddy Guy, Tri-State Coalition
Mathus was involved in rock-and-roll music in Corinth High School and was recorded first in 1983 at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee, in a group called The End. He also helped found Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, which was one of the first punk rock/experimental noise bands in the state of Mississippi.
He left home at age 17 to study philosophy at Mississippi State University and began writing songs and performing in the Starkville, Mississippi, area. He was recorded and records released in the mid-1980s under the name Cafe des Moines. In 1987, Mathus joined the Merchant Marines working as a deckhand and tankerman for the Canal Barge Company on the Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee Rivers. He used his shore leave to travel the country extensively, usually alone, camping and sleeping in his pickup truck. Upon a chance trip to North Carolina, he decided to move to the Chapel Hill area and began his music career in earnest.
Educating himself in the libraries of UNC-Chapel Hill, Mathus learned Latin, studied theater, poetry, First Peoples culture, literature and medieval alchemy, as well as music. It was during this time that he changed the spelling of his last name from "Mathis" to "Mathus," to reflect his respect for his and his mother's Latin studies. He was first known in this area as a drummer, and his group—Metal Flake Mother—is recognized as one of the great bands of the 1990s on the North Carolina alternative music scene.
In 1993, Mathus met and soon married Katharine Whalen. Together they formed Squirrel Nut Zippers. This group utilized Mathus' knowledge of theater, early American music and leadership and, along with Whalen's fashion and vocal style, created an almost overnight sensation. Through the 1990s, they toured extensively worldwide, were awarded gold and platinum records and appeared at many prestigious events.
In the mid-1990s, Mathus' frequent trips back to Mississippi led to his meeting Jim and Luther Dickinson, which resulted in Mathus writing and recording "(Jas. Mathus & His Knockdown Society) Play Songs for Rosetta". This was a benefit project to aid Mathus' childhood nanny, Rosetta Patton, daughter of the near mythical Mississippi musician Charley Patton. This rekindled Mathus' interest in Mississippi music and set him on a new path. During this time, Mathus also began recording and producing on his own.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers disbanded in 2000 amid disastrous lawsuits filed by ex-Zippers Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher. Left penniless by these events and after a decade of relentless work, Mathus and Whalen divorced in 2003, at which time Mathus returned to his home state of Mississippi.
Simultaneously, Mathus was gaining recognition for his blues guitar knowledge through his work with blues legend Buddy Guy. Mathus toured with Guy off and on from 2001 to 2003.
Mathus started his first studio in his mother's hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 2003. Using antique ribbon microphones and tube pre-amp, Mathus set up Delta Recording Service in the abandoned Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale and recorded hundreds of artists there, including Elvis Costello. In 2007, Mathus relocated the studio to Como, Mississippi, where it remains today.
Through the mid- to late 2000s, Mathus performed hundreds of shows in the deep South, mostly in Mississippi. He is a regular and favorite performer at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and acted as bandleader for the National Public Radio broadcast of "Toast of the Nation" on New Year's Eve in 2004.
2010 was tremendously productive for Mathus: He wrote and produced a successful historical musical revue entitled "Mosquitoville," and he led the 11-person cast in performances for communities across the state of Mississippi. He also helped form the South Memphis String Band with long-time collaborators Luther Dickinson and Alvin "G.E." Youngblood Hart and once again signing with a label. In this same year, Mathus married Jennifer White Pierce, an Arkansas actress and writer whose brother had introduced the two. Mathus and his latest group, The Tri-State Coalition, released their album "Confederate Buddha" on Memphis International Records in May 2011.
"God bless Mississippi and pass the antiseptic." ~ J. Mathus
Birthname: James H. Mathis, Jr.
Born: August 1967 (age 43)
Birthplace: Oxford, MS
Genres: American music
Occupations: Entertainer, singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, tankerman
Instruments: Guitar, bass, drums, piano, trombone, mandolin, harmonica
Years active: 1980s - present
Labels: Merge, Mammoth Records, Hollywood, Hill Country Records, Memphis International
Associated Acts: Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, Squirrel Nut Zippers, North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, Knockdown Society, Knockdown South, Buddy Guy, Tri-State Coalition
About Jimbo Mathus
Jimbo Mathus was born James H. Mathis, Jr., in Oxford, Mississippi, to Jimmy Mathis and Jeanella (Malvezzi) Mathis. His genealogy is of Scottish and Italian origin. His early life was filled with music, as his father and relatives were skilled instrumentalists and singers. He began joining the family musical circle at an early age and by age 8 was proficient at mandolin. By 15, Jimbo had been taught the rudiments of guitar, piano and harmony singing. The family's repertoire consisted of hundreds of folk, bluegrass, country blues and pre-recorded songs passed down through the Maths and Byrd families. His father was an avid outdoorsman, traveler and also raised hunting dogs and horses. Thus, Mathus' early life consisted of much hunting and fishing in the Corinth, Mississippi, area.Mathus was involved in rock-and-roll music in Corinth High School and was recorded first in 1983 at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee, in a group called The End. He also helped found Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, which was one of the first punk rock/experimental noise bands in the state of Mississippi.
He left home at age 17 to study philosophy at Mississippi State University and began writing songs and performing in the Starkville, Mississippi, area. He was recorded and records released in the mid-1980s under the name Cafe des Moines. In 1987, Mathus joined the Merchant Marines working as a deckhand and tankerman for the Canal Barge Company on the Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee Rivers. He used his shore leave to travel the country extensively, usually alone, camping and sleeping in his pickup truck. Upon a chance trip to North Carolina, he decided to move to the Chapel Hill area and began his music career in earnest.
Educating himself in the libraries of UNC-Chapel Hill, Mathus learned Latin, studied theater, poetry, First Peoples culture, literature and medieval alchemy, as well as music. It was during this time that he changed the spelling of his last name from "Mathis" to "Mathus," to reflect his respect for his and his mother's Latin studies. He was first known in this area as a drummer, and his group—Metal Flake Mother—is recognized as one of the great bands of the 1990s on the North Carolina alternative music scene.
In 1993, Mathus met and soon married Katharine Whalen. Together they formed Squirrel Nut Zippers. This group utilized Mathus' knowledge of theater, early American music and leadership and, along with Whalen's fashion and vocal style, created an almost overnight sensation. Through the 1990s, they toured extensively worldwide, were awarded gold and platinum records and appeared at many prestigious events.
In the mid-1990s, Mathus' frequent trips back to Mississippi led to his meeting Jim and Luther Dickinson, which resulted in Mathus writing and recording "(Jas. Mathus & His Knockdown Society) Play Songs for Rosetta". This was a benefit project to aid Mathus' childhood nanny, Rosetta Patton, daughter of the near mythical Mississippi musician Charley Patton. This rekindled Mathus' interest in Mississippi music and set him on a new path. During this time, Mathus also began recording and producing on his own.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers disbanded in 2000 amid disastrous lawsuits filed by ex-Zippers Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher. Left penniless by these events and after a decade of relentless work, Mathus and Whalen divorced in 2003, at which time Mathus returned to his home state of Mississippi.
Simultaneously, Mathus was gaining recognition for his blues guitar knowledge through his work with blues legend Buddy Guy. Mathus toured with Guy off and on from 2001 to 2003.
Mathus started his first studio in his mother's hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 2003. Using antique ribbon microphones and tube pre-amp, Mathus set up Delta Recording Service in the abandoned Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale and recorded hundreds of artists there, including Elvis Costello. In 2007, Mathus relocated the studio to Como, Mississippi, where it remains today.
Through the mid- to late 2000s, Mathus performed hundreds of shows in the deep South, mostly in Mississippi. He is a regular and favorite performer at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and acted as bandleader for the National Public Radio broadcast of "Toast of the Nation" on New Year's Eve in 2004.
2010 was tremendously productive for Mathus: He wrote and produced a successful historical musical revue entitled "Mosquitoville," and he led the 11-person cast in performances for communities across the state of Mississippi. He also helped form the South Memphis String Band with long-time collaborators Luther Dickinson and Alvin "G.E." Youngblood Hart and once again signing with a label. In this same year, Mathus married Jennifer White Pierce, an Arkansas actress and writer whose brother had introduced the two. Mathus and his latest group, The Tri-State Coalition, released their album "Confederate Buddha" on Memphis International Records in May 2011.
"God bless Mississippi and pass the antiseptic." ~ J. Mathus