Description
The First Spring Break of the Millenium:
It’s no accident that cooking metaphors pop up so often in the aesthetically pleasing musings of and by JimJim and the FatBoys, gourmands all.
“slow simmered gumbo” comes to mind, “A spicy and original roux” is also suggested; and,
“Hey, those four guys can really put away the free food and beer.”
JimJim and the Fatboys hope you can find something to savor in this olio of original and traditional songs of the spirit. Bon Apetit!
Begun as a pick-up band at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, this quartet identifies a wide variety of musical influences including: Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger, Jim Croce, Tom Paxton, Eric Clapton, early jug bands from the 20’s & 30’s, Elton John and John McCutcheon.
JimJim and the FatBoys is composed of: Jim Pierce (St. Joseph, Missouri) Bass, Guitar, Mountain Dulcimer & Vocals; Jim Babcock (Kansas City, Missouri) Box set (percussion) National Guitar, Mountain Dulcimer & Vocals; Jeff Lilley (Honolulu, Hawaii) Guitar, Mandolin, Mountain Dulcimer & Vocals; Steve Eulberg (Fort Collins, Colorado) Guitar, Mountain & Hammered Dulcimers, Mandolin & Vocals.
Recorded over three days time at Kiva Studios in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bottle Up & Go brings together the varied musical interests of these talented musicians in an “olio of original and traditional songs of the spirit” pleasing to varied musical palates. “What the Hell (The Winfield Song)” won the New Song Showcase at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS 2001 and the group performed it on Stage III and Stage V.
Enthusiastic radio play in Europe echoes the applause of audiences and fellow jam-mates. Wherever they play live there is intoxicating music and folks who jump in and play along.
Can’t wait? Download this album today.
Listen to all the tracks here.
(if you are viewing on an iPad or iPhone, click here to listen.)
1. Bottle Up & Go (3:08)
2. Running (2:59)
3. What the Hell (The Winfield Song) (4:46) Winner in the New Songs Category at Winfield (2001)
4. Sticky, Sweaty (2:44)
5. Still Dead (4:11)
6. Greensleeves (2:53)
7. My Woman (3:27)
8. Roseville Fair (4:20)
9. Zen Song (2:45)
10. Fish Ain’t Bitin’ (3:19)
11. Chechen Christmas (3:48)
12. Ashgrove/Minuet in G (4:00)
13. Open Water (4:07)
14. The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow (5:44)
REVIEWS:
EH King, Country Western Corner
“Bottle Up and Go CD is filled with 14 hits for the “Royal Pub” Group.
JIM BABCOCK, JIM PIERCE, JEFF LILLEY join my friend STEVE EULBERG to party on! And, you are invited to join in as well. Songs like “Bottle Up and Go”, “What the Hell”, “Sticky, Sweaty”, “Still Dead” are just a few samples of the fun I know you’ll have singing along with this group. Aleady we are getting rave reviews and lots of airplay on radio overseas while listeners hollar for MORE!!!! Grab some beer, get the food, the gang and your instruments and join this party….”
“Good stuff. Expressive singing and music that stands out. ” –Rex Rideout, Colorado
Owl Mountain Music is celebrating its tenth anniversary with their debut release from JimJim & te FatBoys. It was recorded in Colorado and in it they’ve got a mixed bag of tricks. The group includes Jim Babcock, Jim Pierce, Steve Eulberg and Jeff Lilley. These boys like their music, and they like their instruments. I never heard of so many ways to make a dulcimer.
For a change, they use acoustic instruments as well as wired. They also make their own instruments. Besides Jeff building a dulcimer, the liner notes describe a box set that Jim Babcock made out of a meat-packing box. They were looking for a sound that wouldn’t overpower the unamplified acoustic instruments. They work with a selection of dulcimers, guitar, electric bass and mandolin.
There are no limits to the music they present on this CD, all of it great music. I thought it full of imagination and inspiration, much of it straight from life experiences. The whole thing feels like, “Let’s sit on the back porch boys, and sing about what happened yesterday, and if anybody knows a good song, let’s do that, too.” But they’re seriously good musicians and each cut is well crafted.
I can’t compare it to anything else I’ve heard in a long time. I checked out their lyrics on the website before I listened to several of the songs.
Some of the lyrics without the music can look pretty dull, but add the right notes and there’s something worth listening to. The music in the selections they play is not simple. They choose to play folk music in so many ways: classic Spanish guitar tunes, traditional English tunes, a pop tune, Delta blues sounds and a tinge of gospel.
Their voices are rough and folksy and take a bit of getting used to, but it’s part of the real sound. They share a lot of fun and frustrations in their original pieces which fit somewhere in the blues tradition.
Their music is really good and I’d really like to hear them live. Here I go trying to compare them again. They’re like the Irish Rovers, but without the Irish–true folk music with great musicianship. Give it a whirl if you’ve got a yen for a breath of fresh mountain air mixed in with beer and wives and camping stories, and hope.” –Veema Kysac, Rambles.net: a cultural arts magazine
” Our whole family laughed so hard we cried when Jim [Pierce] sang “What the Hell” from Bottle Up and Go at my retirement party. That song could have been written about Larry when he takes off for Sturgis on his motorcycle and leaves me at home. I’ve been playing the CD in the car all week. It’s great” –Joan, St. Joseph, Missouri
“My 4 year old grand-daughter wants to listen to “Fish Ain’t Bitin'” every time she comes over. She knows all the words and sings along.” –Ed, St. Joseph, Missouri
“My special thanx for sending the terrific JJ & the FatBoys CD. I love so much the sound of dulcimer. Our special favorites are: Bottle Up; The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow; Still Dead; Chechen Christmas; Greensleeves and Ashgrove. Beautiful music, great picking and fantastic arrangements. –Miroslaw Desperak, Institute of Technology Radio, Czestochowa, Poland.
“A well-engineered CD with great variety in the music selected. Good songs, well delivered.” –Susan, Robinson, Kansas
“Do you guys really play all those instruments? I especially like the hammered dulcimer on “Roseville Fair.” –Bill
“I can’t wait to get back to Minnesota and share this one with my friends.” –Stacy, Minnesota, at Walnut Valley Festival 2001
“Awesome. You guys can sing me to sleep any time!” –Tracy, Texas, camping neighbor at the Walnut Valley Festival.
“You’ve got to sing “What the Hell” for us one more time before we go home, and, you’ve got to write the next chapter for next year. This time the freezer broke as soon as Gary left for Winfield!” –The real Gary and Liz about whom the song was written!
“Goofiness is the order of the day on a brand new Owl Mountain release by JimJim and the Fatboys, Bottle Up & Go. Unlike other artists whose vocals pale in comparison to their music; in this case, I say, go ahead and sing…knock yourselves out. JimJim and the Fatboys are a band of Midwesterners that hooked up with Steve Eulberg (the album’s producer) at the annual Winfield, Kansas festival they all attend. Here, the work is mostly vocal, spinning yarns and admitting attitudes with the turn of the phrase in mind. You don’t mind so much that the vocals are kind of rough, because the songs are homegrown and aiming towards the light side. Tunes like What the Hell (Winfield Song) and Fish Ain’t Bitin’ are designed for the chuckle and the tapping foot, not the pensive moment. On Bottle Up & Go, the material that seems out of place is the more serious stuff. The group takes tongue out of cheek for a precious few tracks–espeically on an instrumental reading of Greensleeves and on a reverently religious vocal piece titled Chechen Christmas. This, however, serves to shift the listener’s attention away from the good times it has already stoked up. That’s like dropping a scene of Shakespeare into the middle of a Monty Python movie. Well, maybe not that bizarre, but something like that. I think JimJim and the Fatboys have a serious-side album in them, but this production begs to keep it light and keep it friendly. So okay, a couple of introspective songs get thrown in, but for the most part, this is an album full of character, humor and the joy of rhyme.” –Tim Van Schmidt, Riff Magazine
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