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jimparker123
Jim Parker (US)
NEWS
Hi! Sorry I missed you, but if you'd like to leave a message, chances are I'll get it sooner, if you leave it here: Jim Parker message board Ditto for any mailing list sign-ups: Jim Parker mailing list sign-up
Talk with you soon!
Talk with you soon!
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I've been called a lot of things since I first climbed onto a stage with a guitar in my hands and butterflies in my stomach, but the one word that seems to fit best (and miss the mark least) is this one: songwriter.
In fact, that's the one I use to describe myself as a performer, too -- especially after I hit a sour note in a vocal or blow a guitar lick, or otherwise need to extricate my ego from my performance in front of an audience. Whenever that happens, I just shrug it off as best I can, and remind anyone who needs reminding of the truest musical fact about me that I know: "I'm not a musician. I'm a songwriter."
In fact, that's the one I use to describe myself as a performer, too -- especially after I hit a sour note in a vocal or blow a guitar lick, or otherwise need to extricate my ego from my performance in front of an audience. Whenever that happens, I just shrug it off as best I can, and remind anyone who needs reminding of the truest musical fact about me that I know: "I'm not a musician. I'm a songwriter."
Why this name?
"Jim Parker" or "Jim Parker (US)"? I was born with one; the other must have just seemed a good idea at the time. (Either that, or I musta forgot that I'd already registered on SoundClick.) The other me (whom I believe to be the real and ONLY me, incidentally) can be found at Jim Parker.
The songs on this page are either a) early ruff cuts, and/or b) throwaway tracks, or c) works in progress. You decide.
The songs on this page are either a) early ruff cuts, and/or b) throwaway tracks, or c) works in progress. You decide.
Do you play live?
Every chance I get! Why do you ask?
How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
Well, among other things, it brought the price of CD's down...
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
Definitely, but only if they let me keep the pen.*
*And only if it's a Parker.
*And only if it's a Parker.
Band History:
I've been into rock 'n' roll since God was just a boy -- and since I started playing drums at 13. I played in several unremarkable cover bands in Decatur, Illinois as a drummer, then took up guitar and started writing (and rolling) my own. I MUST have done more rolling than writing, though, because I eventually took up drug addiction as my main "axe" and preferred avocation -- until 1978, at least, when I got straight and switched my creative focus from songwriting to nonfiction.
Well, guess what, people: I'm back!
And I've got the world right where I wanted it, all along: surrounded in sound.
Well, guess what, people: I'm back!
And I've got the world right where I wanted it, all along: surrounded in sound.
Your influences?
Too many to count, because a list of my influences would have to include every song that's ever given me goosebumps. And a LOT of songs have done that. But everybody loves lists, so I'll put Leonard Cohen, Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, and Bob Dylan at the top of mine, right alongside Willie Dixon. Hank Williams, and John Lee Hooker. Still, it's a close call. If it were a horse race, it'd be a photo-finish -- and God only knows who's influenced me most.*
*And He's not talking. Still, the last time I checked in with Him, He told me that the top five finishers were separated by "less than a pussy hair." And you can quote Him on that.
*And He's not talking. Still, the last time I checked in with Him, He told me that the top five finishers were separated by "less than a pussy hair." And you can quote Him on that.
Favorite spot?
Tempe, Phoenix, San Diego, LA, Chicago, Champaign, IL, New Orleans
Equipment used:
Ovation, Fender, and Sigma guitars, Hohner harmonicas, Ludwig drums, M-Audio Radium-49 and Yamaha keyboards, Power Mac G5, Apple Garage Band