Premier Guitar, Oct '06:
Artist Profile - Jim McGorman
Backstage at Rockstar: Supernova - Part 3
The second season of the Rockstar reality series has come to
a close and Rockstar: Supernova has crowned Canadian Lukas Rossi the
new lead singer of the super group. Jim McGorman of the Rockstar house
band provides us with a recap of this year's show and informs us of
where the members of the band go from here. As Jim celebrates the
release of the new Jamestown CD, he also provides us with an update of
where his solo career is heading and what the show's incredible success
has meant to him as an artist, in our third and final chapter of
"Backstage at Rockstar: Supernova." Hi everyone, I'm back! In case you didn't catch last
month's article, my name is Jim McGorman and I'm part of the Rockstar
house band. The past two seasons have featured contrasting
styles of music; from a house band perspective did you find one more
challenging then the other? Not really. Although this year was more rock music, I still
feel diversity within the season.We still went from Peter Gabriel to
Billy Idol. From Aerosmith to The Killers. It's always challenging to
play multiple styles within the same set. The house band is going to open the premiere
dates for Supernova New Years Eve in Las Vegas. What can we expect from
this show? Well, first let me set the record straight, because there
seems to be a lot of confusion about this. The house band is not
playing in Las Vegas. It is the only town we are not playing. Not
really sure why, but we start the tour January 16th. The show will
start with the house band playing with Dilana, Tobay, Magni and Storm.
Then the Panis Channel - then Supernova. As a solo artist, your band, Jamestown, has just
released its premiere album, The World is Falling Down. Tell us about
the band, the music and your contribution to the project?
Well, Jamestown is my baby. I've been working on music my
entire life, and this is my first full-length record. I wrote - or
co-wrote - all the songs, produced the record, and obviously
played guitar, keys and sang. I've been working with a lot of the same
musicians over the years in L.A.; the drummer (Dave Allen), bass player
(Jon Button), and I have been working on original stuff for almost
seven years. The three of us played for Michelle Branch when I was her
Musical Director from 2001 to 2002. Emerson Swinford (guitar) and I
have been writing and playing together for longer than that, and David
Levita (guitar) has been a great contribution to the recording process.
Though we are all pro players and are generally really busy working on
other projects (to pay the bills), this is something we have done for
ourselves. I am incredibly proud of the record and how we all worked
together to make it happen.We'll see where it goes from here. It has had to have been an insane few months
doing the Rockstar gig and finishing up an album. How did you juggle
all this? You must have had many late night trips to Starbucks.
I'm not going to lie to you; it's not easy. I just took a
two-day break (the first I've had in 5 months) to go see the
Philadelphia Eagles play in San Francisco. I'm a huge football fan. But
now, I'm right back to learning songs again. It's fun, but it can be
very tiring. The important thing for me is to live in the moment; you
can get so caught up in the hype of the show, or the possibilities of
things, but you have to remember to have fun with it. I am very
fortunate that people pay me to "play" for a living. It's easy to take
it for granted, but I am constantly reminding myself of how lucky I am.
As the show has grown to incredible proportions
and the house band members have truly become rockstars, how do you feel
this entire experience has impacted your career, and what have you
learned from it all? Well, that's kind of an odd question for me to answer,
especially because I don't consider myself a "rockstar." I always tell
people, "I'm not a rockstar, I just play one on TV." The show has
definitely helped my profile as a musician for hire, and it has put me
in front of an unbelievable amount of people - which helps me get
my music out there. So, it has been a nice shot in the arm for my
career. As far as what I've learned from this, there would not be
enough space and time for me to tell. Plus, if I told you, then you'd
tell someone, then they'd tell someone and I wouldn't have anything for
myself. Just kidding, but really, I am the kind of person that loves
learning, loves observing and evaluating. During the last few seasons
on Rockstar, I have seen a lot of things that I will take with me and
use in all aspects of my life. It would be great if we could keep it
going for a while, but if not, I had a great time and will take the
memories with me. |