JIM PERRY

biography

BEGINNINGS:
When Jim Perry was 5 years old, his mom bought him a couple of piano lessons. The youngest of three boys, Jim was the last try for his music loving mother. The two older boys just did not catch on. But this time, Mae Perry got lucky. She knew right away that it was worth pursuing, and immediately got a piano for the house and kept Jim going. There was no stopping him.

After a few years of piano, his parents bought a Hammond Organ for the home, and on that, Jim took 8 years worth of lessons. Around 1964, while Jim was still learning tunes from Broadway Musicals, rock'n'roll started taking over the airwaves. Well, that was enough for Jim. As soon as he heard his first George Harrison solo on a Beatle record, he wanted a guitar. From that point on, at age 10, Jim spent equal time on both instruments, and there was no turning back.

PARTNERS:
While still a young teenager, Jim started forming bands in his neighborhood, getting a feel for playing with others. Whenever a song needed to be learned, all the band members turned to Jim's fine tuned hearing. Right from the start, he just 'knew' what was going on. Throughout this same time period, Jim met and worked with two people who became an integral part of his creative output.

First, there was Ken Jason, who was an aspiring poet who worshipped Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as Edgar Allan Poe and Dylan Thomas. Ken immediately started feeding Jim song lyrics at a prolific rate, and to this day, they still collaborate. The second person to enter Jim's life at this time was Sherrye Weinstein, who was an artist extraordinaire that dabbled in poetry and songwriting. Her sensitive insights and unusual inspirations drove Jim into a more creative direction. The combination of Ken and Sherrye pushed the envelope regarding Jim's songwriting.

ALBATROSS:
But Jim was still a rock'n'roller at heart. Finally, at age 17, Jim met up with the right people to start the band of his dreams. Called Albatross , Jim spent the next 8 years as a member, while they crisscrossed New England and recorded a popular regional single (Including Jim's own I Believe In the USA), all the while garnering interest from major labels. Their popularity in the region was unsurpassed throughout the 70's. Jim and singer Mike Lynch created a stage energy that drove the band's live performances. Finally after many attempts at stardom, the band, like so many others of that time, decided to call it quits.

THE EIGHTIES
Although the band dissolved, Jim's musical ambitions only increased. He had the bug. As the 80's began, Jim got married, and continued to write songs with Ken Jason. Still only in his mid-twenties, Jim's songs showed a real maturity, and Ken's lyrics were always topical and interesting. Still, it didn't take long for Jim to yearn to try the 'band' thing again. So in 1981, when he received a phone call to join forces with a band out of Boston, he did not hesitate. Called The Reflectors, the band was fronted by Steve Cataldo, the leader of the former legendary Boston punk band, 'Nervous Eaters'. With world class sax man Deric Dyer in tow (Tina Turner, Joe Cocker), the band's sound was an eclectic mix of punk and pop, with a touch of funk, all from the creative mind of Cataldo. The band developed a solid reputation and recorded an extremely well received single featuring Cataldo's Raining Steel, backed by a cover of Bobby Fuller's Let Her Dance. Both songs got heavy airplay on WBCN.FM. After almost three years, in spite of the high quality of the music, Jim left the band due to other conflicts.

Meanwhile, Jim had struck up a friendship with John Riley, former drummer for Joe Cocker. Riley was playing in a local R&B horn band, but was yearning to rock. He and Perry formed The Heartbeats in 1984. The Heartbeats was Jim's band from the start. Jim, along with fellow guitarist Doug Hartwell, and bassist Bob Palermo (who was an Albatross member), all wrote tunes that really fit the 80's rock sound. What resulted was a powerful five song EP, titled Shake It Down. After 4 years of trying to establish a footing in the music industry, The Heartbeats also called it quits.

The final years of the eighties found Jim drifting a bit, although he continued to write songs and recorded some of them. Jim teamed up with local singer/songwriter Ken Baxter in 1988 to co-write and record a musical comedy, titled The Bewilderness. After a few local performances, Jim and Ken went their separate ways. Meanwhile, starting that same year, Jim joined the No. 1 Top 40 band of Central New England, Down East. This gave Jim the opportunity to make music for a living, and also refine his musical 'ear'. The relationship with Down East was long and fruitful.

THE NINTIES
In the final decade of the 20th century, Jim entered an entirely new phase of his musical career. For the first half of the nineties, Jim spent a lot of time with his two children, and continued to play in Down East. While with Down East, Jim and drummer Don Sadowski branched off to form Time Machine, a classic rock/pop band, featuring strong harmonies, and a strong set list. The band was a perfect outlet for Jim to play the tunes he loved and to revisit the music he grew up with.Of course, he continued to write songs with Ken Jason, as well as some with Sherrye (more on her later). Toward the second half of the nineties, two major things happened. One, Jim met up with drummer Ron Ouimette, who became his musical right hand man for years to come. Secondly, Jim discovered a love for the blues, which has colored his music ever since. That bluesy style has transformed Jim into one of the most creative blues guitarists around. After playing in a Top 40 band with Ron for a few years, they formed an original band with bassist Glenn Ditomasso. Jim's songwriting became bluesier as well, so the band, named Hothouse, evolved toward that direction. Hothouse continues to perform occasionally to this day, having added a second guitar and harmonica.

A fresh new creative endeavor was also begun in the late 90's. Sherrye Weinstein, Ken Jason and Jim all began work on Jim's new concept, a stage musical, titled Anytown USA. An ambitious work, it started to be put together in bits and pieces, and the three writers met at least once a month for a couple of years to hash out ideas and dialogue, as well as songs. The project runs hot and cold in Jim's life, and as of 2011, it is more than half done. It is considered a lifelong project, and hopefully will see the light of day sometime soon.

A NEW CENTURY
Rolling into the 21st century, Jim had a new energy surge, finally having his own high quality band to float his songs by. Hothouse became very tight, and in 2001, they entered the studio, and recorded the CD, Melting Pot, featuring all Perry originals. Ken Jason wrote the lyrics for a little more than half of the songs, which were plucked from many different phases of their collaboration. The result was a masterful recording which still sounds fresh to this day. It includes the song Nobody's Perfect, which is slowly becoming a classic.

Hothouse began to play live gigs, but had a problem marketing themselves. It was hard to categorize them. It was not quite blues, not quite pop, not quite funk. After a few years of frustrations, Jim took a break from live music, and devoted his energies to teaching music lessons. Meanwhile, his songwriting was flourishing. The success of the Hothouse recording gave Jim the urge to record the solo CD he had been dreaming of for years. Finally, in 2003, he went back to the same studio, and recorded Moment of Truth, a collection of Perry originals with some lyrics by Jason. Roger Lavalee, the engineer of the recording, called it 'a masterpiece'. It features such great songs as the title tune, Prayer, and Tavern Town.

In 2005, Jim started recording again, this time on newly purchased home recording equipment. The songs were inspired by Jim's frustration with politics. The CD, titled Blueprints of Ruins, became a fierce commentary on the conditions of the world after 9/11. With songs like Dear Mr. President and King George Has Spoken, Blueprints was released to positive reviews.

Calling on another group of veteran players, Jim became part of Central Massachusetts best Classic Rock ensemble, Doc Robert.

At the same time that this was all happening, Jim discovered another way in which to express himself musically that fit his skills perfectly. Blues jams. Yes, with Jim's ability to instantly create an arrangement for a song, and with his vast library of classic tunes, he soon discovered that he was the perfect person to host blues jams. To this day, every Sunday, Jim has hosted a blues jam. First, it was in E Brookfield MA at Franks Pub. Then it was switched over to Greendale's Pub in Worcester MA. As this was all developing, Jim found himself in a side project which featured Albatross lead singer Mike Lynch. After a couple of decades of going their own ways, Mike and Jim came full circle with The Silverbacks, a tight unit of seasoned professionals (also including drummer Bill Macgillvray, guitarist Cliff Goodwin, and saxophonist Deric Dyer, among others) who continue to pack local live music venues to this day. As Cliff put it, it�s like �going back to the well� playing with these guys.

While still working the blues up in Massachusetts, Jim recorded another CD, this one much bluesier than past efforts. Recorded in 2007, it was titled 12 Bars Tonight. Jim has posted all of his CD's on CDBABY.com, and 12 Bars Tonight has become a best seler. People from all over the world are purchasing it. It seems as though Jim has finally found his sound. After nearly 40 years in the business, the future still looks bright.

As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, Jim has decided to revise two of his beloved projects, Hothouse and Time Machine. Of course, each one is different from the original incarnations, but the spirit remains the same. The new Hothouse will feature original drummer Ron Ouimette, plus a new cast of characters, and the sound will be a little bit more soulful and lean towards rhythm and blues. Time Machine, on the other hand, captures the same spirit as the original lineup. Harmonies rule the day, and the song list is a compilation of �wow� songs from the early days of pop and rock.