Biography of Jim Byrne
The Cherokee Indian and an Irish booth boxer
It would have been hard to predict Jim's current acoustic based sound given his upbringing and early musical influences. He was brought up in the working class town of Clydebank, left school in the middle of the recession of the late 70s early 80s, played in punk bands throughout the 70s and then as the guitarist in the psychedelic rock band the Primevals.
So where did the Americana/Blues/Folk thing come from? Well perhaps it's in his blood; there's a story is that his mother's side of the family are descended from the union between a Cherokee Indian and an Irish booth boxer; both of whom were participants in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows at the turn of the 19th century.
So it could be the mix of Celtic and native American blood that's responsible for the spiritual and laid back feel of much of Jim's current acoustic music.
Or maybe it's simpler than that; one of the punk bands he played in was actually a punk country band called Dexter Slim and the Pickups; so the interest in country music is nothing new.
And the very first band he put together had Iain Copeland on drums; Iain currently plays with the celtic fusion band The Peatbog Faeries. That first band also contained John Honeyman on bass - who later became the bass player with the Primevals.
Buy the debut CD
...a truly inspirational collection of memorable melodies, 'the handles broken on my cup' being the most difficult to shake off, when other things require your attention!
Michael Hart
Buy the debut CD, On these dark nights - great songs!
It can be purchase from CDBaby, iTunes or via Paypal.
There's a bit of americana, folk and country blues in there
Jim Byrne is a singer and songwriter from Glasgow influenced by americana, folk, country and blues music (with pop and punk thrown in for good measure).
He began his musical career in Dexter Slim and the Pickups - a popular live group in Glasgow during the 1980s. They were a punk country band; perhaps the only punk country band to come out of Glasgow (or anywhere else). They were great fun - regularly whipping their audience into a mess of drunken pogo energy; it's fair to say that Dexter Slim were a good accompaniment to a drink. They had many members over the years - former Pickups are scattered across more than one country. Early members include Derek McPherson (vocals), John Hardy (Bass) and Bruce Ferguson (Drums).
The usual stories relating to young bands were played out while playing with Dexter Slim and the Pickups, i.e. fights on and off the stage (and particularly in the van), band members over-indulging, camping out in promoters premises when the failed to pay, and failing to find venues they were booked to play; none of the band members having any sense of direction.
Dexter Slim and Pickups evolved into the Hemingways - a 90s bluesy guitar pop band. There is a Hemingways compilation to be found on Lastfm;. The Hemingways played more musically sophisticated songs. Briefly the Hemingsways became Hyperstar - releasing one CD of songs; songs that were a bit more awkward and angular than the Hemingways previous output.
Despite the comings and goings of different band members over the years, the mainstays of many of these musical lineups included the drummer Bruce Ferguson, bass player Peter Byrne and guitarist David Rogers.
After Hyperstar came Loris - indie rock music - and a return to being a great live band. Loris combined the talents of Jim, his brother Peter on bass and Bruce Ferguson on Drums - and played and recorded for five years. Plenty of good songs came out of the collaboration and plenty of great gigs.
When not playing in his own bands he occasionally worked as a guitar for hire - most notably in the Primevals - a 'rockmungous!' swamp rock band from Glasgow - who toured with the Cramps and put out numerous great albums; none of which coincide with Jim's time in the band - his contribution is confined to a few recorded songs and a single.
Which brings us up to date; Jim is now a solo artist which ironically means he collaborates with lots of different people as well as playing solo gigs. As a solo artist Jim has found his voice - and his stride as a songwriter and live performer. Jim's acoustic music is influenced by a huge variety of artists and eras - including pre-war blues players, contemporary folk, modern Americana and old-style country music.
Buy the debut CD
Buy the debut CD, On these dark nights.
...a truly inspirational collection of memorable melodies, 'the handles broken on my cup' being the most difficult to shake off, when other things require your attention!
Michael Hart
Digressions of note
In the early 90s Jim set up the Kazoo club in Glasgow with the aim of giving young bands an opportunity to play their first gigs - a back-line of drums and amps was provided; this was a time in Glasgow with very little opportunities for local bands.
The Kazoo club was a friendly and supportive environment - and a number of successful Glasgow bands got helped on their way by being given an opportunity to play live at the club.
Jim did not hang around long enough to see it reach the cult status that it late assumed; he handed the reins to Alex Kapranos (of the band Franz Ferdinand) - who by dint of their later success - bestowed the club with it's retrospective status as legendary Glasgow music club.
Apart from being the founder and setting the tone, i.e., friendly and with a community feel to it - his main claim to fame with the club is that he gave Alex his first gig.
Another activity of note that Jim was involved in was the '1000 guitars' arts event - which was a kind of orchestral piece for guitars performed live at the Kings Theatre in glasgow during Mayfest (some year in the distant past). It is of note as the guitar music had to be learned from a musical score - just like real music :-)
Recordings
One of Jim's earliest recordings can be found on a 'Clydebank bands promotion' compilation tape released probably in the early 80s. The song was called 'God knows' and the band was called 'Avenue of Pleasure'.
Dexter Slim released a single with the song, 'I'm at one with the weatherman'.
More to come.....
"a heady and exotic mix. " Q Magazine.
"..full of cinematic turns of phrase, dressed up in alluring melodies delivered by some of the most respected players on the modern-day Celtic Folk scene." UNCUT