Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[jacko]

Found some cool footage of Jimmy playing with terry bozzio at the baked potato in january this year while I was looking for info about the place. I'm amazed Terry got his drums on stage.
 
graeme
 
(Message edited by jacko on September 05, 2012)

[JimmyJ]

Well, I'm not actually on the stage but standing in the aisle and need to move to let the waitress by.  And that's Terry's small kit.  The guy makes some music on it though!
 
Once a month Jon Daversa brings his big band into this club.  That's like half the room's capacity right there.  Good fun.
 
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on September 06, 2012)

[jacko]

Just back from seeing Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. What a great show. HOWEVER, the night before we met up with Jimmy at the Baked potato and heard him play some fantastic Jazz with the Mike Miller allstars. Now THAT was a show!
It was really good to meet up with you again Jimmy. You have a standing invitation to join us in Scotland anytime you want.
 
Graeme.
p.s. Jane Fonda was at the greek and took a dog... they wouldn't even allow US to take a small camera in :-(

[David Houck]

Well, as long as the dog wasn't taking pictures.

[JimmyJ]

It was great to see Graeme and his Mrs. again.  They got themselves a full dose of Hollywood: Ms. Fonda and her dog, Darth Vader on his coffee break, stuck in 8 lanes of traffic in an American made muscle car with the top down, and many notes played fast and loud at the Baked Potato.  You experienced just about all we have to offer in Southern Cal!  
I look forward to your Bay Area report.
Jimmy J

[cozmik_cowboy]

Bonnie and Mavis??  I can only imagine!
 
Peter

[jazzyvee]

Here are a few video's of Jimmy doing some funky disco grooves with Michael Ruff and friends. I've just been watching some and it's interesting the tone I'm hearing between the B- string and the others has a nice natural balance unlike some basses I've heard where moving to the low B string is almost like the string is alien to the rest of them.  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs67ZHXj2vg&feature=relmfu
 
Nice grooving Jimmy. :-) I'm saving these for reference tones for me to get on my SII.
 
Jazzyvee

[edwin]

I know what you mean about a B string that seems like it's from another bass. When I got my Modulus Q6 all together (a long story, it was built from parts), I went through almost every string manufacturer I could find to get a good balance across the whole instrument. The two brands that worked for me were Fodera and DR. The Foderas sounded and felt great, but within 4 sets of music I had broken two of them. The DR Sunbeams sounded just as good and feel better to me and they last forever. It feels and sounds like the same bass from the lowest B to the highest C.

[rustyg61]

+1 on Jimmy's tone! It is also my reference tone every time I set my amp up!

[JimmyJ]

Wow, ancient pre-cell-phone-camera video.  16mm?  Obviously not from my silent film era.  Ha!  That was a fun semi-organized jam band and I always thought Ruff was a talented guy who deserved a shot but just never quite caught it...
 
Thanks for the comments on the bass tone.  I know what you mean, on some basses the B-string sounds extreme and unrelated to the rest of the instrument.  And it must depend on all the usual factors because my live bass has a stronger B than my studio bass even though they are almost identical.  Same strings, same electronics, same general body and neck...  Differences in the exact mass, the wood grain, and stiffness must be the factors.
 
That said, I also think you learn and adjust to the string balance of your own instrument.  If you have to start a run up high on the E string for instance, you know that note is going to leap out because the string has more mass over the pickup...  I think you also learn the dynamics of the different strings and play accordingly  just as you learn to avoid any dead spots on the neck.
 
Experimenting with string types and gauges is always a good start.  You want to begin by making it as even as possible and then let your ears control your fingers for the fine adjustments.
 
Cheers to all,
Jimmy J

[bigredbass]

And a bit of tweaking can help:  Just looking at the sizes of the strings, it's obvious that the B and E have lots more metal in them than the D and G, so you may want to run your pickups lower in the body on the bass side and higher on the high side.  This doesn't always help as it's string dependent to a certain extent, but it may be a strategy to try for some of you.
 
Do this with NEW strings:  Those you put on last Summer for the Keg Race gig are not 'honest' by now, you won't get a clean representation with those.
 
And remember your Alembic height adjustment drill for all non-Activator (Series, FatBoys, AXY, MXY) shell shapes.  Loosen the screw you can see FIRST, then reach through the hole and loosen the 'buried screw'.  And when you tighten them, snug is enough.  DON'T tighten them like an auto part, you may break the 'ears' of the shell !
 
J o e y

[gbulfon]

Hi JJ,
Back to the Allan's chart you posted last july of Lanyard Loop solo section.
I finally had time to go on transcribing, going through the solo section...........amazing!!!  
The long solo introduction makes you think it will be the base harmony sequence of the solo......but.....once the solo starts, you end up with a modified version!! Grrrrrr!!! But hopefully it then continues with the initial exposition....
A good exercise for memory!!
 
But. To the point.
 
I really can't find any link between the chart you posted and the transcribed solo section........nothing!!
Please.....please.....help......
The solo intro starts in Eb, while the chart starts with Cx/Fx......
Please..........there must be a way of reading!!
 
 
Gabriele.

[JimmyJ]

Hi Gabriele,
 
Well you've certainly chosen a complicated ear training exercise.  One of the crazier solo sections, with the metric modulation and all...
 
If you've figured out the long solo intro you already have most of it.  On the second time through the sequence there are alternate chords.  I think of the main section as 22 bars in two sets of 11.  Actually, 7+4 and 7+4 again.  Once the solo starts (which is the second time through the sequence) the chord in bar 3 & 4 is different, a different bass note in bar 13, different chord in 14 & 15.  Bar 21 & 22 are a 1st or 2nd ending with a different chord the 2nd time going on to the time change link.
 
So it's like this: Allan plays the chords the 1st time through and then starts soloing on the 2nd time (with the alternate changes above).  We do the time change link and we're back to the 1st time through - the chords you already have.  1st ending at bar 22 and back for more solo over the sequence with the alternate chords again.  Then Allan switches out of soloing and back to playing chords at the time change and we take the coda which links us back to the head.
 
Now regarding the symbols I've posted above, as I said Allan's notation refers to the scale and not the chord which the rest of us would normally write.  So although I think of the first chord of the sequence as a B-flat over E-flat (which may not really be correct) Allan writes Cx over Fx.  That should give you a clue.  My E-flat somehow equals his Fx...  I don't understand why but that's his way.  I don't think his charts account for how long we stay on a scale, but I'm not sure.  The 2x likely refers to the alternate chord on the 2nd time through ... but I'm only guessing.
 
Working on taking down the tune is one thing but don't try to work out Allan's charts too or your head will explode!
 
Jimmy J

[jzstephan]

Does Alan tune down a whole step?

[JimmyJ]

John,
Allan uses standard tuning but he did have a couple baritone instruments at one time.  One of those may have been tuned in 5ths.  And one was named Boris.  Ha!
Jimmy J