Born in Brooklyn, schooled in Boston and currently based in Los Angeles, independent singer, songwriter and Producer Jim Bianco has been waiting a long time to come to Australia. And earlier tonight he played his first ever show on Australian shores – supporting good friend Joshua Radin at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. Ahead of his performance, I sat down with Jim backstage, as he drank some red wine and talked about everything that led up to this moment.
Still riding off his jetlag from his recent European tour, Jim couldn’t hold in his excitement about being in Australia: “You know, it sort of gets to a point where you stop giving a shit going to a different country. But coming to Australia has been something I’ve been wanting to do for such a long time… and I’m fucking here man. This has been one of the bigger journeys of my life. When I landed in Sydney, I was legitimately excited. It’s a huge accomplishment in my head… I’ve only been here for four days now, but the jetlag is totally worth it.”
Arriving on Saturday, he’s had a few days to acclimatise: “I feel very at home here, it’s kind of like being in America but without all the bullshit… and the shitty food – everything here tastes so good! And then there are the Cockatoos. I had one land on my shoulder in the Botanic Gardens – that just doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
As for the concerts themselves, “The drunker the crowd the better. But Aussies seem to be drunk all the time. And that has nothing to do with alcohol – they just seem to be really happy, excited people, looking to have fun”. Let’s hope we didn’t disappoint when he took to the stage at the Enmore later that night. But he couldn’t give me any hints as to what we could expect from his shows “…you know, I don’t ever have a plan. I find that boring. But something fun should happen. It’s an early show, so we’ll see what they’re up for.” A performer known for bringing burlesque dancers on stage, playing sold out and energetic sets, we would certainly expect no less.
A lot of this stems from his relationship with the internationally known venue Hotel Café in Los Angeles. Alongside venue management and musicians Gary Jules and Cary Brother, Jim has worked hard over the last decade to help bring the venue to how we know it today. This dedication paid off beyond this, however, as it seems to have afforded Jim a myriad of opportunities both in America and abroad – on this notion, Jim agrees: “Definitely… living in LA for as long as I have, it became the epicenter for performing for five solid years… it’s where I met Joshua Radin, most of my friends and it’s ultimately how I’ve ended up down here!”
On the back of his residencies and involvement with Hotel Café, he released his Sing on the Hotel Café Records Label (the first release for the label, the second for Jim), participated in the Hotel Café international tours, and indeed met many of the performers he would end up touring the world with – from Imogen Heap, to Joshua Radin and even Mandy Moore and Katy Perry. It seems that the Hotel Café tour series has provided opportunities many up-and-coming musicians over the years. Earlier this year, a documentary was made on the series, which was aptly titled “Sing” – solidifying Jim’s recognition for helping give the venue its name and reputation. Speaking on the documentary, “I watch it and it’s like a family memory reel!”
Some ten years after Jim first started performing, his first Australian tour is on the back of a new record, Loudmouth – his first since 2008’s Sing. The album made headlines for being partly funded by his fans, through the well known Kickstarter website. He may as well have been a posterboy for how successful a musician could be utilising their fans for funding through Kickstarter. “It was amazing how that all came together, the hardcore fans really came through, and were genuinely excited about the rewards I was offering. It wasn’t a favour to me – that’s a misconception about those campaigns. You offer rewards so people will do it (provide you with money).”
“I worked hard to make rewards that I thought would be cool… things that wouldn’t cost me much or take up too much of my time. I ended up doing a few house concerts, and I’m going to write a book and a new record out of it. 350 people fully got in line and I raised over 30 grand…. I’m so grateful to all my fans.”
Out of the back of that, he was able to do a radio push, hire a publicist, get the new album out to publishing companies and magazines (it had already been recorded at this point), and tour around the world. “It got me here (to Australia)… we got some great write ups on Paste Magazine and Huffington Post… it was good news! Without the publicist I don’t think any of that would have happened.”
As he began his career at a time when Twitter and Facebook were still years away, Jim has had to progressively navigate the online social worlds he now inhabits. “When you come from a pre-Facebook/Twitter mentality you keep it (a new album, for instance) and let people buy it from you”. This of course is no longer the case, but between Facebook and Kickstarter, it all seems to be going well for this creative artist.
Showing just how much he’s embraced the digital age, you can listen to his new album in full on his website, “…it’s right there for you to listen to. It was a pointed decision to do that. With the internet, there’s so much shit out there that people don’t need your shit. You can go on someone else’s website and listen to their record. So you’re competing with that, which is certainly a tough thing to manage. But it’s there, you can listen to it. If you like it you can come to my show, or buy it so you don’t have to sit by your computer to listen to it!”
He also embraces the importance of being unique in the online world, using it as “another platform for me to be funnny, or to say something interesting. I think a lot of people just use Twitter and Facebook to promote shows and their shit – but I think that’s boring and narcissistic and ineffective. It’s really important to have a personality and a presence online. Make a bit of a splash.”
So after he finishes up his tour with Joshua Radin, will we see Jim again anytime soon? “I love it here. I’ll definitely be coming back… Maybe even for a good six months. I see more value in staying down here than playing the same venue and the same shows in a city like Boston… plus, this country is just so beautiful.” Pity about the weather, though, I thought as I rushed out of the Enmore into a blistering cold wind.
Head to http://www.jimbianco.com/ to listen to his new album in full, or purchase it through his local reps at Native Tongues when it’s released officially in Australia later this year. You can also catch Jim as the Joshua Radin tour continues around the country. On the 22nd at The Gov in Adelaide (I’ve been told this show may be postponed due to the ash cloud… stay turned for more details!), the 23rd at The Forum in Melbourne and 25th at The Zoo in Brisbane.
