News 2008

October 15, 2008 -  Louis Antonelli (Director of Paul Stanley's "One Live Kiss" DVD) shares his
experiences working with Jim (and Rockstar House Band)

In a new exclusive interview with Louis Antonelli, Director of the new Paul Stanley DVD, references working with Jim and the Rockstar House Band. We thought this was a really cool mention as it's featured on both the official Paul Stanley and KISS websites :)

Q: Can you tell us about the guys in the band and what they might have brought to the table?

A: Oh, they brought a whole lot to the table. I couldn’t have enjoyed working any more with a group of guys. They were so outstanding. Just characters and people. I mean, Sasha, the bass player, he was just full of jokes and great humor and just, you know, killer technique on the bass. I mean, he had the music down, the heart and the soul of the music down. It was great. Jimmy McGorman on rhythm guitar along with Paul, you know, you have a feeling of where everyone was harmonizing with each other. The vocals all coming together with the rhythm, the textures of the music. Everything was just clicking and happening, and it was because of the band. I mean, the band worked hand in hand with Paul. It wasn’t like here’s the legend we’re working with and we’re all subservient to that. It felt like the whole band, everyone was equals in that.

To read the rest of the interview, please check out Living The Dream, Interview with Louis Antonelli.


October 5, 2008 -  Jim explains how he came  to sing lead on "In Too Deep" at the end of
The  Best Damn Tour
Jim sent us a funny little note:

"...We had been playing "In Too Deep" with Deryck Whibley, because he was out here with us for a while, but now that he went home, Avril decided to keep it in the set and I have been singing the lead part that Deryck normally sings - Avril sings it too, but only on the choruses and bridge.  I sang it in LiJang, Shanghai and will most likely sing it tomorrow in Beijing. It has been really fun, even though I didn't find out I was singing it in LiJang until 40 minutes before the show - and if you find a video, you will see that I wrote out the lyrics on a little piece of paper and taped it to my shirt -  so I could remember them. I did better the second night, but still fumbled them a bit - but I doubt anyone knew because of the language barrier. There are surprisingly a lot of words in that song!!!!"

Here is a video clip of the Shanghai performance.

October 1, 2008 -  See Jim on DVD w/Paul Stanley! "One Live KISS" is now available for pre-order!

Paul Stanley's concert DVD "One Live KISS" from his "Live To Win" tour (2006) is now available for pre-order via Amazon.com!  You can see Jim performing on stage with Paul and his Rockstar house bandmates as they rock out to 20 classic KISS and Paul Stanley tracks. What is even more cool is according to the One Live KISS Theatrical Premiere Announcement the DVD is scheduled to included an interview with Jim as well, which is really awesome!

"Live To Dream!" features interviews with Paul Stanley, Louis Antonelli, KISS manager Doc McGhee, band members Jimmy McGorman, Rafael Moreira and Nate Morton, as well as a dozen fans from the Chicago show.

Head on over to Amazon.com and pre-order your copy. Two official music DVDs in one year for Jim - that is truly exciting for Jim and his fans!

September 25, 2008 -  Jim to perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 8th
 w/Marc Broussard and more!
Jim will be playing organ with Marc Broussard October 8th on The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno!  The title track from Marc's new record is one of the songs Jim co-wrote with him. Don't forget to pick up Marc's record as well!  Updates have been posted on Jim's Myspace page so head on over to check them out including this news from Jim regarding Kate Voegele:

Kate Voegele - ’It’s Only Life’ co-write

Hey Everyone.

Just wanted to let you know about a song I co-wrote with Kate Voegele called 'It's Only Life'.... it is getting a great response! It was picked up for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Trailer - so it can be heard on tv's and in theatres across the nation! Kate is a very talented artist and she can also be seen on One Tree Hill - check out her website at www.katevoegele.com!

Oh..... and go buy the song on Itunes!!!

Link for the Trailer for SOTTP2....


 September 24, 2008 -  Another cool collaboration of Jim!

Check out Corey Elliott, a songwriter and lyricist from LA and his record called "The Corey Elliott Song Collection". Jim collaborated with Elliott on this record.

Says Elliot:

"I met Jim McGorman through Nathaniel Morton, the drummer on “Rock Star”(who also lent his drum talents to my project.)  I felt it was important to have a male voice on a few songs to convey that both male and female artists can sing my songs. When creating melodies, I often have a male voice in my head.  Therefore, I felt it was important to have a male voice translate my melodies as well.  Jim is very talented.  He’s an excellent pianist, guitarist, and producer.  He has worked on many of my tracks."

Jim sings lead on the following tracks:

 Once Again
 The Road In My Barefeet
 I'm Sorry
 Shaking In My Shoes
 A Part Of Me
 Castle In The Sky

 September 23, 2008 -  Update from Jim on the Don Kirkpatrick Benefit Show with photos :)

Last November, Jim attended the Don Kirkpatrick Benefit Show at the Key Club in Los Angeles.  In an update from Jim, he shares his experiences at the concert and we have included some great photos as well!  Thanks so much Jim!

Says Jim:

It was a special night. I have known Don K for over ten years and I was happy to help in any way that I could. I had a blast playing with Animotion and made some good friends there. I was a HUGE Richard Marx fan in the 80's early 90's. He was actually influential to my song writing when I first started. he writes great songs and I always loved his voice. A few of my friends have played with him - so it was cool to see him backstage and take a few pics. 

Jim with Richard Marx and Fee Waybill (The Tubes)

Jim with Bill Wadhams (Animotion) and friends

Jim with Bill Wadmans (Animotion) and friends #2 

 September 11, 2008 -  Update from Jim! Thanks Jim!
Says Jim:

In addition to all of the Avril stuff  going, there are a few cool things on the horizon.

First, the video for my song Fallen performed by Bret Michaels (which I wrote, produced and played)  is currently on the VH1 top 20  countdown. Though the video is a bit low budget, it is still a thrill  for me - since I grew up listening to Poison.

There are also a few records coming out that I played on.
I played keyboards on all of them.

All of the artists records above were produced by a friend of mine named Marshall Altman (MySpace , photo w/ Jim). He is one of my great friends and has become "the unofficial producer for up and coming indie artists". I am very  happy to be working with him so much - and am very proud of all the work we have done. These records were made over the last 18 months and they are all coming out now - which is very cool. They are all good, but I particularly like the Matt Duke record. I have been listening to it recently, and there are a few tracks that I can't get out of my head. Check out The Father, the Son...... and 30 Some Days. He is from Philly (no coincidence that I like him) and I think he has  some great lyrics.

Through Marshall, I met Marc Broussard, (MySpace) and although Marshall did not produce Marc's latest CD, I got the opportunity to write with Marc a while back - and amazing he ended up recording a bunch of the songs -  and 3 of them made it on his new Atlantic release (out Sep 16th)  - including the title track - Keep Coming Back. Also, Evil Things and Why Should She Wait are co-writes of mine.

So, August/September are pretty big months for me. I am part of 4 records being released. So, if you feel like checking out some new music that I was a part of  (and is good) - check em' out!

I have also recently built a recording studio room in my house. It came out amazing. I am going to partner with a few friends on a production co. and we will start to make records form there. After being on the road for so long, I am looking forward to trying to work from Los Angeles.

Obviously, my first order of business will be to write and record my new record, but I will also be taking on other production projects and getting back into writing.  So........ there is a lot to be 
excited about!

I have a little less than a month left out here with Avril. Things are going well. It has been a pretty good trip so far. We have  another 2 weeks in Japan, then 10-12 days in China. After that, we 
just have one more corporate show with Avril right after we get back  - and that is it!.

 September 4, 2008 -  The Best Damn Tour - Live in Toronto is out!
Catch Jim doing his thing in the official release of Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Tour DVD! Starting this week the DVD is now made available for purchase in records stores, so check with your local music retailer on when it might be available in your area.   This is something cool to have, and to see Jim rockin' out with Avril and his bandmates is really awesome!  :)

 July 5th, 2008 -  Jim sent us a li'l note from the road
Jim says that they have been working really hard travelling and doing lots of shows. He saw a few cities that he had never seen before. He especially loved Luxembourg and he said that was one of the nicest places he has ever been. He is looking forward to visiting Prague in a few days, something that he always wanted to do. He also said, "We don't always have much time to check stuff out in certain places, but I am trying to get some sights in. Been taking some good pics."
Thanks Jim!

Check out all the places that Jim is visiting on our Jim Tour Map page 

 June 28th, 2008 -  ButchWalker review of the Mannheim, Germany concert
We have noticed the great rapport and musical camaraderie between Jim and Avril on this tour.  SO have Avril fans as well, so here is what ButchWalker said in their review from Mannheim:

One of the cutest moments of the show was, when there was a little technical problem at the beginning of the acoustic set. The way Avril smiled at Jim was just... THE CUTEST SMILE IN THE WORLD. HONESTLY!!!

The only thing that didn’t work out was the intro of "He Wasn’t" . Like on the other shows before, she wanted the crowd to get crazy, then calm down and so on. But they didn’t understand. Avril was looking at Jim. He raised his hand, like, "Forget it Avril" and they started to do the song.
 
 June 25th, 2008 -  The Best Damn Tour DVD coming soon!
elease dates are being announced for the upcoming release of The Best Damn Tour DVD. For United States and Canada August 5th, and August 11th for Australia. These dates are tentative and may be subject to change. In the meantime, you can go ahead and pre-order your copy through Amazon.com! Let's hope for many Jim moments to appear during the DVD!

May 12th, 2008 -  Another update from Jim! Thanks Jim.

Jim told us that; since he has a few weeks on his own before heading to Europe for the next leg of "The Best Damn Tour";  he is trying to relax. However he is also working on writing for his new record. He has already started recording. Because of his commitments with Avril Lavigne, Jim doesn't think he will finish it before late 2008/early 2009. It will be released for a recording label (in other words, Jim has been signed) and it will be a Jim McGorman solo record.

 

We will keep you posted!  

 
 April 22nd, 2008 -  A review of Avril's concert in Palm Beach

If you read the reviews of The Best Damn Tour  concerts, you must have noticed that the critics haven't been kind to Avril. And Av deserves a lot better than that. Honestly. We are both avid concert goers and we can safely say that she and the band put on a really good, energetic and fun show. She is awesome live. And that's a rare trait today.

 

Anyway - here is one (sort of) positive review. It's from PalmBeachPost.com and it says some nice things about the band as well. Such as: "... the energy of the band and their sweetly sneering singer perked up appreciatively every time the dancers went away". Read the whole review here

 

By the way, the dancers are not bad. Seriously.  


 April 16th, 2008 -  We just got a little update from DA MAN!

Among other things,  Jim told us that Avril and the band have a Leno performance scheduled for May 1st. He also told us that will be his 10th appearance on that show!!! Talk about a milestone!


Jim told us another very cool thing. While recently touring North East of the US, Jim went to Berklee College of Music (his alma mater) and gave a seminar to the students. He went there with the two other Steve's in the  band (Fekete, lead guitar and Ferlazzo, keys). Jim said that the students asked them many questions and that the whole seminar was video-taped and hopefully we will get to see it. 


 April 10th, 2008 -  MSN Control Room EP Digital Release Available on April 15th!

In October, Jim performed with Avril live at The Roxy in LA all part of the MSN Control Room Concert Series.  Announced today, the Control Room performance will be released on April 15th via your favorite digital retailer! The track listing includes:

 

Sk8er Boi
Girlfriend
Innocence
Hot
Losing My Grip
Adia (Sarah McLachlan Cover)

 

Without question, Jim is heard throughout and one of our favorites to date is the rendition of Adia during this amazing performance.  So don't forget to check out the audio version on April 15th.  
 
 March 12th, 2008 -  Victoria, Vancouver and Kelowna Shows!

We just have returned from the first three dates of "The Best Damn Tour"!  It was an incredible week for both of us. First off, having the opportunity to reconnect in person after eight years, in addition to seeing Jimmy perform live!
 
During our time in British Columbia we had the outstanding pleasure of meeting up with Jim, which was absolutely great :)  It's going to be a very fun and active year for Jim with the Avril tour, in addition to many other exciting things to come!
 
Stay tuned to our site over the days and weeks ahead as we will be posting a lot of cool videos and photos all taken from front row!

 

Enjoy!