Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Mike M, who you know sounds so political ... let's say who you've played with.  Ours is a word-of-mouth business and the more people you get to play with the more likely other interesting opportunities will present themselves.  You never know what odd playing situation might lead to a great musical experience.
 
I don't know what town you're in but Allan, Chad and I do a Texas run every once in a while.  Denton, Austin and Houston are regular stops.
 
Gabriele, good question but I have no favorite songs as such.  I'm happy to play Cm7 for several hours with these guys - or the opposite, something like Texas (how's that for tying my post together?) which is one of Allan's longest chord sequences.
 
Jimmy J

[mikedm]

Gotcha, I'm usually the last person in the room to get into political discussions.
 
I'll keep an eye out for a Denton show, that's relatively close as far as Texas highways go, I'm located just north of Dallas.

[jakebass]

Hey Guys, just a quick heads up to the uk Alembic brethren here, I saw Jimmy at Ronnie Scotts with Allan Holdsworth last night, the band was great and some of Allans compositions really shone. For me the ensemble playing is second to none, really great dynamically and filled with superb examples of Jimmy's masterful control of the entire range of his fab sounding Alembic. The music is not for the faint hearted, it's challenging and exciting at times but also very heartfelt, for me live is definitely the place to encounter Allans music.
I had a lovely chat with Jimmy afterwards he's a true gent, and for such a great player very humble.
I urge anyone to see this tour Allan is a special voice and Jimmy and Gary (Husband) clearly love to be up on stage with him  
Jake

[jacko]

I'm seeing them in Glasgow this coming friday. It looks like the last night of the tour so hopefully they'll be pulling out all the stops.
 
Graeme

[jacko]

I'm seeing them in Glasgow this coming friday. It looks like the last night of the tour so hopefully they'll be pulling out all the stops.
 
Graeme

[jos]

HI Graeme! Next time Jimmy comes to Glasgow I try to come over?never been in Glasgow and there can never bee too much of Jimmy?s bass playing!
 
Jan-Olof

[jos]

HI Graeme! Next time Jimmy comes to Glasgow I try to come over?never been in Glasgow and there can never bee too much of Jimmy?s bass playing!
 
Jan-Olof

[jacko]

Hi Jan-Olof. Anytime you want to come over let me know. I'm sure we can find space for you to stay.
 
Graeme

[jakebass]

In a nice twist of fate I ended up seeing another show last night as Allan was in Cardiff (my hometown) and I was there too visiting my brother, so I had another treat. This time, despite a tough acoustic the guys played just as well but this time the crowd was more with the show which made for some really electrifying moments. I really enjoyed seeing the show for a second time as loads of it made more sense upon second  hearing as there was more familiarity.
Thanks again to Jimmy :0)
Jake

[JimmyJ]

Jake, thanks for making the scene, twice!  I'm glad we had a chance to meet and hang for a minute.  Nice to connect with a few of the Alembic extended family!
 
Looking forward to seeing Graeme up North too.  I hope we have some stops left to pull out as several nights of this in a row takes its toll on us old guys!  Ha!  But something musically interesting is bound to happen.
 
Jan-Olof, it would be nice if Allan could get to Finland someday but there are no plans to do so...  Hope you can hear it live sometime, it's pretty interesting music.
 
Hey, is there an echo echo in here?
 
Jimmy J

[jacko]

Well what can I say? Friday's gig was astounding. Allan seemed very relaxed and his playing echo'd that - lots of ethereal, swirly stuff going on amongst the soloing - 'beautiful' was how mike put it and I have to agree. There were times when i lost myself just listening and judging by the expressions on Allan, Gary and Jimmy's faces I wasn't the only one. I've only ever seen Gary playing with level 42 (although I've heard plenty on record) so watching him on friday was an eye opener. He really is a monster on drums, his soloing in particular going off on tangents that seemed unexpected to his bandmates yet always coming back at the right time. And as for Jimmy Johnson, he made the most complicated playing seem effortless, locked in with the drums seamlessly and played the most amazing solos. In fact, he was so 'into' the music he had his eyes closed most of the night!  
We got the chance for quite a lengthy conversation on a whole raft of different subjects and I was amazed at how humble all three musicians were - after the gig they all came out to chat with the fans - none of that 'I'm the big star' behaviour. All in all, a brilliant night and I can't wait for them to come back (big hint ;-)
We also bumped into John 'whitecloud' hughes at the gig. He's stopped posting here as he no longer has his persuader but he's fit and well and still playing (although they're on a break as his guitarist has injured his hand).
Most of my gig pictures are blurry as they'd banned flash photography but here's a nice one of Jimmy enjoying himself....
 

 
Graeme

[JimmyJ]

Thanks for the kind words Graeme.  
 
It was great to see jacko, mpisanek, white_cloud, colbassman, and jakebass on this trip - nice to put faces to these forum member names.  I'm glad you were all able to come and hear the band, it's one of the funnest things I get to do (as you can see by my silly grin) and I think it's important to hear Allan's unique musical voice in person while he's still actively touring.  As I always say, the music is not for everybody but this guy is a one-off and plays and writes like nobody else.  Worth a listen at least.
 
Thanks again to all for the support.
Jimmy J

[David Houck]

Great review Graeme!  And congrats Jimmy on what reports suggest has been a great tour!

[jazzyvee]

Hi Jimmy, I know you don't use cabs or anything for your live sound  but do you have any tips for getting the right sound in the studio?
 
I have my first studio session on Friday with a new band I've recently joined,  and just wondered what is the best way of getting a good sound on to a recorded track?
 
At rehearsals and live I get most of my sound from my fingers and bass as I keep my rig settings close to flat.  In the studio should I get the sound I like from my bass first and give that to the engineer or should I have the filters and volume fully open?
 
Any suggestions would be great. It's only a short 2 hour session to record and mix and so I will only be taking one bass.  I'm more likely to be using my Elan which has the Europa electronics package as that's what I've been using at rehearsals. But I also have a SC Deluxe if you feel that is a better option.
 
Thanks Jimmy,
 
Jazzyvee

[JimmyJ]

Hey Jazzy Vee,
 
The only way to go is to bring YOUR sound.  It's the job of the engineer to capture it as YOU hear it.  Most likely you will plug the bass straight into a DI box and then pass through to your amp.  The engineer may also mic your amp and blend the two sounds together.  Standard procedure for recording is to isolate things so your amp (and you) may end up in a closet and you will hear the rest of the band through headphones - although some guys do it like a live band setup...  In any case, the sound can sometimes be a bit odd while playing but concentrate on what the whole band sounds like when they play it back through the speakers and then trust it.
 
As they're getting the bass sound you can ask them to record a few notes and go in and listen to it.  Then YOU can decide if there is too much amp in the mix, if you want to open up the filters, etc...
 
Have fun man!!!
 
Jimmy J