Jimmyjohn McCabe
Binghamton NY's Jimmyjohn McCabe spent the bulk of two decades creating uniquely affecting music through a combination of rock and folk flourishes, personal and political sentiments and a voice that channels both the falsetto highs of Chris Cornell and the wavering raspy low tones of Tom Waits. The critically acclaimed musician first appeared in the early '90s, armed with the highly aggresive "jam band" YoLK. McCabe's deep baritone voice blended in perfectly with the tenor saxophone style of Adam Ash and the bass playing of Jim Lomonaco. After tens of thousands of albums sold and countless eastern US tours and shows with bands such as: moe., Fishbone, The Tragically Hip, and The Violent Femmes, YoLK disbanded. The Albany times once said of YoLK at a "Rock The Vote" tour stop in Albany (w/moe, Moon Boot Lover and Ominous Seapods), "Frank Zappa is an obvious influence on the entire scene but YoLK is the only act that can ape the man and his entire band in their prime."
Over the next 10 years following YoLK's retirement, McCabe remained remarkably productive, but mostly left the public music circuit. He would almost immediately write a solo album (Baby to Baby), recorded 6 months after first picking up a guitar for the 1st time. He toured briefly in support of Baby To Baby. Then the side projects The Pots, Cells, and F1. All projects featured McCabe as songwriter, producer and lead vocalist. Then came Whiskey Bones a multi insrumental bluegrass/country/rock group which graced the city of Binghamton with a weekly show for 3 years. In addition to these bands he also wrote and arranged albums for other artists with producer Jeff Dabella at Mansion Audio.
During those 10 years when Jimmyjohn disappeared from the public eye he was rarely seen performing outside of his hometown. An absence of new solo material was disheartening, but despite his somewhat reclusive status, a growing Internet fan base kept hope alive and waited patiently to hear anything at all. A few mysterious rumblings began in early 2009, and by the middle of the year it was announced that Jimmyjohn was at work in his home studio at Mansion Audio working on some type of new recording. 25 handmade copies of "Stir", Jimmyjohn's 2nd full-length album, surfaced at the beginning of Winter -- and based on the instant buzz, a second limited-edition run of 1,000 have been created and will be available 12/25/09 on Old Boy Records for a Boston/New England residency in 2010. Despite his long absence, the shows expect to be well-received with some sold out affairs. With such positive feedback welcoming him back to the music scene, Jimmyjohn has also been working on a Rat Pack theme show and is currently auditioning pianists. He performed at Boston's renowned Lucky's Lounge on Sinatra Night and was welcomed back as a guest performer the following week.
Jimmyjohn McCabe has already left a lasting influence on the Northeast music scene and is currently splitting his time between Boston MA, and Binghamton NY. "Stir" Jimmyjohn McCabe's second album will be available for direct download from CD Baby and Itunes as well as through mail-order directly from the artist on X-Mas day.
AustinMillbarge writes:Unique Voice think Rat Pack/Tom Waits/Chris Cornell. Finally a singer/somgwriter I've found here where I want to buy his music. Unique voice, broad spectrum of ...
