Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Keith,
 
Thanks for the good story and the explanation of your state of mind at that moment!  Ha!  I have met many friendly and inspiring musicians over the years so I know how important that direct contact can be.  And there's nothing secret about what I'm doing so I don't mind talking shop...    
 
Cheers,
Jimmy J

[gbulfon]

J, thanks for the insights you could dig out of your mind about the Forty Reasons session, and sorry for answering just now...very busy with my job lately...
Yes, the improvised sessions contained in that album are something very noticeable, the way they sound, as short snapshots of instant compositions.
Actually I remember they influenced me a lot, and with the band I had at that times we enjoyed a lot doing that sort of stuff: meeting on Sunday morning, play some stuff until lunch time, go and have a nice Italian lunch + wine, get back to the instrument, choose a random ironic title, press rec on the multitrack, play as if we all knew what we were going to do...
We ended up with a lot of albums just for ourselves, with a lot of random situations!
Luckily, we also ended up with a composition of mine, a lot Wackerman-oriented, with this strange title Another Sunday

[jakebass]

Hey Jimmy, are you with Holdsworth in the uk in June? I have a gig in London on the 4th so I might make it to the late show, would be great to say hi if you're there.
Jake

[JimmyJ]

Hey Jake,
Yes, Gary Husband and I should be making noise with Allan at Ronnie's on the 4th and 5th.  Looks like the 2nd set is late too so come on by if you're around.
Jimmy J

[souza_lima]

Has anybody ever invited you to come to Brazil?

[JimmyJ]

Mario,
 
Thanks for the question.  Allan's music has a limited audience - of mostly musicians - so touring with the band is a bit of a financial trick...  (We do our best not to LOOSE money!)  At one time the band could work its way across the US from town to town but now the clubs can't pay enough to support that kind of touring with this kind of music.  He can do an east coast piece, or a west coast piece, or Japan, the EU, or the UK.  But without the work of some dedicated music fans, including his manager and local jazz promoters, very little would happen.
 
I know there are Holdsworth fans everywhere and I really wish everybody could see the guy play live, at least once.  I'm sure he has had offers from South America but so far the planets have not aligned correctly for it to come together.  Hopefully someday soon.
 
Jimmy J

[jacko]

I'm really looking forward to seeing y'all in Glasgow next month. It's a pretty small venue but the vibe is aways there.
 
Graeme

[djbass]

Hi Jimmy,
When you were learning to play, who were your favorite bassists? What was it about their styles that you dug?
 
Best,
Doc

[JimmyJ]

Hey Doc,
The usual suspects for influences.  My formative years were (a-hem) the late 60's - early 70's so it was a combo platter of McCartney, Stanley Clarke (his upright playing with RTF killed me), Chris Squire, then Jaco (killed me again), Anthony Jackson, etc... That was when jazz and rock were first fusing together so it was a pretty exciting and creative time.  I feel fortunate to have see Weather Report live a few times as well as RTF and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.  Yummy!
 
Graeme, hope you're still free that night and can make the scene.  That'd be great!
Jimmy J

[to_81_0190]

Hi Jimmy,
I found you will come to Japan in July. I reserved a ticket at Tokyo on 17th. Now I'm very exciting as UK guys.
 
Toshiaki

[jacko]

I'll definitely be there Jimmy. I've told the band not to book any replacement gigs that night. I'll probably be with Mike again (the tall american one). Give me a wave ;-)
 
Graeme

[mikedm]

Hi Jimmy,
 
Thanks for participating in the forum, it's a rare treat.
 
Could you tell how it was that you hooked up with Allan? Did he seek you out after Jeff's departure? Was he familiar with Flim and the BBs?
 
Thanks in advance,
Mike

[JimmyJ]

Toshiaki, that's great, see you at STB 139.
 
Mike M, happy to be here.  I had played with Chad in other musical situations so he was kind enough to put my name in when Allan was looking.  I did my best to learn a couple tunes from the IOU album and went and played an afternoon at the Charvel guitar factory (if I remember correctly).  I don't think Allan knew anything about my musical history, which was fine with me...
 
Jimmy J

[mikedm]

As in most things, it's who you know.  I guess we should all thank Chad for that.
Thanks for the reply.
 
Alas, no tour dates for my part of the USA.
 
Mike

[gbulfon]

Jimmy, just for the curious...what are the Allan/Chad songs you're more fond of? Which ones you like to play the most?