Jimmy George (band)
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band, who blended Celtic folk with rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
influences in a manner similar to Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...
and Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
.
Formed in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
in 1991, the original lineup consisted of Mike "Spike" Lawson electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Joel Carlson mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, Steve Barry (vocals), Duncan Gillis (acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
/penny whistle), Rob Porter (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s), Michael Eady (fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
) and Colin Burns (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
). Various members came and left over the subsequent years. The band at the end of their 9-year run as house band at the Duke of Somerset pub consisted of vocalist and guitarist J. Todd, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
ist Steve Donnelly, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
George Jennings, Joel Carlson on mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, Jeff Kerr on banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, Mickey Vallee on accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, and Tom Werbowetski on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s.
Other members at various times included Eric Altman (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, played drums live and on all Jimmy George recordings), Christine Chesser (fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, vocals - Chickpea
Chickpea
The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
), and Vitas Paukstitis (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
).
In 1993, after establishing a reputation for a dynamic live show, the band was asked to open for Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...
in Peterborough and Ottawa. At the Peterborough show, the band arrived and the sound man asked "which one of you is Jimmy?" The band was told they couldn't use any of Spirit of the West's equipment and that they would have to pare down the band for the show as there wasn't enough space, time or channels on the board for an 8-member band as the opener. The band was ready to leave when Spirit of the West singer John Mann intervened and said the band was welcome to use any of their equipment if it made things easier. The show went off without a hitch. The next night in Ottawa, the band again opened for SOTW in front of a capacity crowd at Carleton University's Porter Hall. At this show Bill Stunt, producer of CBC Radio's All In A Day program, was in the crowd and approached the band after the show. Stunt offered to record the band's material using funding from the CBC development budget. Over the next few months the songs were honed and recorded at Ottawa's Sound of One Hand studio, and A Month of Sundays was released on Montreal's (now-defunct) Cargo Records later that year with national distribution by MCA Records. Two years later the band released their follow-up record Hotel Motel, produced by Marty Jones and the band and also recorded at Sound of One Hand and Raven Street Studios. In 2001 on the occasion of another reunion show at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa, the band released the CD "Same Sh!t Different Day", a collection of their favourite songs from their previous releases, plus a few songs recorded live including the previously unreleased song "Where You Bleed".
The band toured Canada from coast to coast twice and also played occasional shows in the US including Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
in Hamilton, NY and a private function in Detroit, MI. Most of the band also visited England and Ireland for a month, busking in the streets of London and Dublin and seeing the sights.
Venues of note include the Town Pump (Vancouver), Amigo's (Saskatoon), The Rivoli, Horseshoe, and Ultrasound (Toronto), Sidetrack Cafe (Edmonton), Town House (Sudbury), Barrymore's Music Hall and Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ottawa) and countless more.
The band played for many years as the house band at the tiny Duke of Somerset pub (now closed) in downtown Ottawa every Sunday night and one weekend a month, regaling the crowd with their music and antics. The band played over 500 shows at the Duke of Somerset over a 9-year period including several St. Patrick's Days and New Year's Eves. Often touring bands would stop by "The Duke" to join the band for a few songs or borrow their instruments and play a few tunes and have a pint. Great Big Sea made several such appearances at the Duke on Sunday nights, as did some members of Leahy who also played The Duke on a regular basis.
The band have ceased recording and playing as a unit for the most part, playing a "final" show in 1997. They played regular "reunion" shows in Ottawa to celebrate St. Patrick's Day or over the Christmas holidays for several years. In April, 2002 the band headlined Ottawa's Tulip Festival Concert Series and played a headlining show at Ottawa's Barrymore's Music Hall, flying in accordion player Mickey Vallee for the occasion from his new home of Edmonton, Alberta.
October 7, 2007, the former owners and staff of the Duke of Somerset pub organized a reunion event at local pub The Heart and Crown. Jimmy George played two sets with the line-up of J (vocals/acoustic guitar), Jeff (banjo), Mike (electric guitar), Joel (mandolin/bass), Rob (drums), Steve (bass/mandolin/accordion) and guest appearances by Angela McFall (Fairytale of New York) and Madeleine Giguere (Rock and Roll Thing) on vocals and Colin Burns on bass for a few songs.
March 17, 2008, the band played a St. Patrick's Day show at Zaphod Beeblebrox in Ottawa. The lineup for this show consisted of J Todd (vocals, acoustic guitar), Joel Carlson (mandolin), Rob Porter (drums), Steve Donnelly (bass, electric guitar, accordion) and Colin Burns (bass on a few songs). This show was likely the smallest version of Jimmy George to ever perform live.
The members continue to perform locally in several bands including:
Dude Ranch (now defunct - Spike, Steve, Joel, Rob, Jeff)
Bible All-Stars (Joel)
You're My Groupie I'm Your Rock Star (Spike)
The Kingmakers, Ninety Pounds of Ugly (Steve)
40-Watt Monkey (Rob)
Mike McDonald Broadband (Mickey)
Several of the band's songs have been performed by other bands, most notably Breakfast With St. Swithin which appeared on Vancouver band The Town Pants' CD. Other bands have performed the band's Token Celtic Drinking Song despite the fact that the song has no official lyrics and many of the words are improvised and undiscernable even on the recorded version.
TV appearances
The Tom Green Show
Lunch TV (CITY TV Toronto)
The New Music (Muchmusic)
Tiny Hearts Telethon for CHEO (CTV)
Various other Telethons and interviews
Festivals
Northern Lights (Sudbury)Ottawa Folk Festival (Ottawa)
Tulip Festival (Ottawa)
Mariposa (Toronto)
Music West (Vancouver)
North By Northeast (NXNE) (Toronto)
Canadian Music Week (Toronto)
Riverfest (Deep River)
Discography
- A Month of Sundays (1993)
- Hotel Motel (1995)
- Same #$%! Different Day (2001)
External links
- Jimmy George info and CDs for sale at TuneVault.com
- Their "last concert"