Jim Six: Press

June 7, 2008

-- Jim Six at Mugs in Swedesboro, N.J.

Jim Six writes about love. And vultures. Same thing, really. I've seen Jim perform in a variety of settings and band arrangements, and he does a fine job of molding his material to fit his circumstances. On this particular Saturday, Jim was all by himself in a coffeeshop, playing his acoustic guitar and singing in his storyteller's voice that intermittenly sounds almost Country, but without a southern accent. The setting offered Jim a chance to tell some stories in between the tunes. This isn't "filler," but rather is part of Jim's personality and skill set and, ultimately, part of his total show in these smaller, quieter, more intimate venues. Jim used to be a full-time musician before stopping entirely for 20 years, during which time he became a newspaper reporter and eventually a columnist. Now, he's back doing music, and seems to enjoy the chance to bring his reporter's observational mind and columnist's flair for narrative into his shows. Jim can tell a story about a broken toilet on the international space station and then play a song about roadkill. Reading about it doesn't do it justice; it makes sense if you're in the audience.

Jim plays simple rhythm guitar, but with the brief walking melody fills customary of country and folk songs. He's fond of three-quarter time and dominant-seventh chords, though they're not mandatory. All of these elements are appropriate for a balladeer, and Jim seems comfortable with the basic presentation. He's not fancy, but also not sloppy, and allows the narrative in his lyrics to take the lead. He'll often tell the audience when he's playing a song from his former go-round as a musician in the 1970s or when the selection is more recent, but the style of his writing is essentially similar (at least it's true for the old songs that he keeps in rotation with his newer material). My favorite songs of his are "Shame the Moon" and "Someone I Used to Know." And "Roadkill Cafe." Really, it all makes sense if you're there.

Jim Six has played sparingly in the past two decades. Once a musician for a living who fronted a band aptly named Jim Six and City Limits, Six, "like the number" as he often says, literally put down the guitar almost for good. He was tricked back into playing again a few years ago, according to a story he relayed during his performance for a Homeless Veterans Benefit concert at a little place called Emjays in the Mullica Hill Historic District of Harrison Township ...

Watching Jim play his country-tinged folk songs ordinarily would have taken me back a few years to before I was born, but his music sounded fresh out of the oven ... Playing through some of his own songs and some popular cover tunes like Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground", Six played well to the crowd of colleagues, friends and frequent newspaper sources. His gruff exterior, police-line guitar strap and commanding delivery behind the microphone demands attention and respect, but also the occasional chuckle because at the end of the day, as the flier advertised, he's "that Jim Six", the joker who wears Hawaiian shirts to work and has his own action figure for crying out loud. No doubt, he's from a different era of music and music biz, but his charm as a performer is clearly timeless ...

Jim Six "is a cross between John Prine and Burl Ives — and I like 'em both."

"One of the five best singer/writers in country music."

"He has no need to resort to the sophisticated trappings so popular with rock performers. His unpretentiously witty patter between songs, not at all a front, sets you to feeling perfectly at ease, and his songs, delivered with a sometimes frightening intensity, often do just the opposite...

"Anyone who hears Jim Six comes away knowing him well; well enough to want to know him better. And suddenly knowing someone strong, and deep, and honest, isn't an experience that most of us have access to that often, or that easily. It's something we should take advantage of."

"Mr. Six's delivery is often reminiscent of John Prine with a touch of Tom Waits, but the influence of those two better known performers is not overpowering and, as a singer, he is largely his own man."

Jim is "soon to be big ... his folk abilities are far superior to anything going down in the area."

"The show was opened by one of the few Philly performers talented enough to open for Asleep At The Wheel."

"Jim Six specializes in sardonic lyrics, gutsy vocalizing and witty, relaxing stage patter..."

"Jim's poignant tunes and incredible deliveries make you smile and tap your toes like no other performer..."

"Jim Six is destined to make it big. He makes manifest a songwriting ability that's right up there with Willie Nelson and John Prine."