Jim Meck

Artist Information

Biography

Born in Pennsylvania, I began playing the piano at age four. In eighth grade, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) a degenerative retinal disease that leads to total blindness.

At 14 I was hired as Assistant Organist at my home church. After high school I began to play solo gigs while I also worked with local rock and country bands.

Besides working in bands, I’ve worked many lounges (yes, Piano Man) and private parties, playing the music I love: Billy Joel, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynrd, and other music that has become “classic rock”as well as music from Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong or even "oldies". It was mostly a hobby.
In 2001, I returned to school and earned my BS in Music Education at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in spring of 2006. I am now the staff musician for Meck Music, Inc.

Highligts include:
Sat in as guest musician at the Cotton Club in NYC with the Cotton Club All-Stars twice
Berks Jazz Fest 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012
Wrote and recorded a "theme" song for XM Radio's "Hockey This Morning" show in Toronto on the NHL Home Ice channel.
Writing a regular column "Meck's Music Mix" for the Kutztown (PA) Patriot
Jim Meck Trio appeared on the Phil Stahl radio and TV shows.
Many gigs throughout the Lehigh, Berks, and Schuylkill Counties and beyond.

Venues have included:
Topton House/White Palm Tavern, Golden Oaks Golf Club, Inn at Reading, Reading Country Club, Hotel Bethlehem, Lehigh Country Club, Schuylkill Country Club, Madelines, Bridge Inn, Valentino's, Kalahari Resort (Wisconsin), Holiday Inn, Fogelsville Hotel, Paddock, Panevino, Speckled Hen, Sugars, Bear Creek Mountain Resort, Great Wolf Resort, Stahleys, Chef Alan's, Relay for Life in Kutztown, Cousin's Pub, Brookside Country Club, Berkshire Country Club, Berkleigh Country Club, and many, many more.

I continue to write music and play solo gigs and occasionally I am joined by a drummer and/or sax player.

My ability to play various bass lines while chording or playing riffs and singing gives me the advantage of having a full sound with fewer people. For a high-energy party atmosphere a drummer is added and occasionally a sax player depending on the event. I usually allow my audience to guide me as I customize the performance for them on the fly. It is the live experience that just cannot be fully captured on any demo recording.

My schedule is very jammed, so there are many opportunities to catch a show. Let me know you checked out my press kit and I "hope to see you soon..."

Instrumentation

Jim plays piano and sings. For a few songs, he adds harmonica as well. A good acoustic piano is hard to find in most clubs, so a Kurzweil PC1x is used. This full 88-note keyboard allows him to add a fuller sound to the bass line and use other instruments: strings, organ, sax, etc. These are not pre-recorded, but exist on different zones of the keyboard and are played live. Though other sounds are used, the music is primarily piano using these timbres to enhance the music. On occasion he is joined by one of several live drummers available to him for an incredibly full sound you need to hear to believe.

Discography

Played piano on Duane Angstadt's cover "You Gave Me a Mountain"

Official Website

http://www.jimmeck.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Audio

• PianoMan
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• Scenes
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• TinyDancer
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• Gimme3
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• NotOverYou
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• A Toast to a Vision
  

  "[Jim] Meck, legally blind, is a Billy Joel sound-alike and an exciting keyboard artist."

Setlist

I rarely use set lists so I am free to satisfy various audiences. I play original compositions and covers. Those include Billy Joel, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Beatles, Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams (Sr. and Jr.), Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, and the Arrogant Worms. My typical three hour gig usually is two or, more rarely, three sets.

Here is a sampling of my repertoire of over 300 songs. The list is always subject to change.

ORIGINALS by Jim Meck
Lackanookie Blues
More Than Ever
Stay by My Side
This is My Katrina
Reason to Live
Livin' in a Country Song
Noteworthy
Organized Confusion
You Can Count on Me
To Whom It May Concern
Swingin’ Doors Saloon
One of These Days
Danger Zone
New Orleans
Along the Way
Lost in the Shuffle
Big Drops

BILLY JOEL
Travelin' Prayer
Piano Man
Captain Jack
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Prelude/Angry Young Man
New York State of Mind
Ballad of Billy the Kid
You’re My Home
James
Only the Good Die Young
Vienna
I’ve Loved These Days
She’s Got a Way
Just the Way You Are
Honesty
Goodnight Saigon
Baby Grand
And So It Goes
Shameless
Downeaster Alexa
Lullaby
The Entertainer
Root Beer Rag
Mexican Connection
Summer, Highland Falls
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights…)
Anthony’s Song (Movin’ Out)
Big Shot
My Life
Pressure
52nd Street
You May Be Right
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
All For Leyna
Allentown
I Go To Extremes
Josephine (never on an album)
Rosalinda's Eyes

ELTON JOHN
Bennie and the Jets
Candle in the Wind
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Rocket Man
Border Song
Your Song
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
Tiny Dancer
Crocodile Rock
Honky Cat
Saturday Night’s All Right 4 Fighting

ROCK/POP
Not Over You - Gavin DeGraw
Who Says - John Mayer
Banana Pancakes, Upside Down - Jack Johnson
The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
Rosie - Jackson Browne
The Load Out - Jackson Browne
At This Moment - Billy Vera
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
My, My, Hey, Hey - Neil Young
Baby I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton
Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones
Imagine - John Lennon
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Beatles
I Know a Little - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
Fins - Jimmy Buffet
Dixie Chicken - Little Feat
I Feel Fine - Beatles
Sgt. Peppers/ With a Little Help - Beatles
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
Brown-eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Ice Cream Man - Van Halen
Travelin’ Band - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Hotel California - Eagles
Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Truckin’ - Grateful Dead
Love Her Madly - Doors
Touch Me - Doors
Beth - Kiss
That's All - Genesis
Angel Eyes - Jeff Healey Band
No Matter What - Badfinger/Def Leppard
The Road - Jackson Browne
Take It to the Limit - Eagles
Desperado - Eagles
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
We’ve Got Tonight - Bob Seger
Layla - unplugged version - Eric Clapton
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
Old Man - Neil Young
Keep On Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young
No One is to Blame - Howard Jones
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
Cat’s in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago
Come Monday - Jimmy Buffet
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Follow Me - Uncle Kracker
Take My Time - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Call Me the Breeze - Lynyrd Skynyrd
T For Texas - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Gimme Three Steps - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Cheeseburger in Paradise - Jimmy Buffet
Volcano - Jimmy Buffet
Coconut Telegraph - Jimmy Buffet
Pencil Thin Moustache - Jimmy Buffet
When I’m Sixty-four - Beatles
Back in the U.S.S.R. - Beatles
Hard Day’s Night - Beatles
Rocky Raccoon - Beatles
Obla Di, Obla Da - Beatles
I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles
Happy Birthday - Beatles
Before You Accuse Me - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughn
The House is a’Rockin - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Smooth - Santana
I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
Homeward Bound - Paul Simon
Tore Down - Eric Clapton
I Shot the Sheriff - Bob Marley
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley
Take It Easy - Eagles
Sloop John B - Beach Boys
Scarlet Begonias - Grateful Dead
South’s Gonna Do It Again - Charlie Daniels' Band
Hit the Road Jack - Ray Charles
Joy to the World - Three Dog Night

OLDIES
Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
Ain’t That a Shame - Fats Domino
Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
Sea of Love - Phil Phillips/Honeydrippers
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye - Casinos
I’m a Believer - Monkees/Smashmouth
The Wanderer - Dion
Under the Boardwalk - Drifters
Memphis - George Thorogood
Peppermint Twist - Chubby Checker
Let’s Twist Again - Chubby Checker
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley
Hello, Josephine - Fats Domino
Whole Lotta Shakin’ - Jerry Lee Lewis
Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
All Shook Up - Elvis Presley
Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
Your Mama Don’t Dance - Loggins and Messina
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
American Pie - Don MacLean
I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday - Fats Domino
Tutti Frutti - Little Richard

COUNTRY
It’s Five O’clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson
I Ain't as Good as I Once Was - Toby Keith
Life Turned Her That Way - Ricky Van Shelton
Crazy - Patsy Kline/Willie Nelson
Thanks Again - Ricky Skaggs
I Always Get Lucky - George Jones
Shameless - Garth Brooks (Billy Joel)
Old Habits - Hank Williams, Jr.
Are the Good Times Really Over? - Merle Haggard
Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time? - Mickey Gilley
Whiskey Bent - Hank Williams, Jr.
Mind Your Own Business - Hank Williams, Sr. (and Jr.)
Family Tradition - Hank Williams, Jr.
Two of a Kind - Garth Brooks
Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
Perfect Country Song - David Alan Coe
Hey, Good Lookin’ - Hank Williams, Sr.
Jambalaya - Hank Williams, Sr.
All My Rowdy Friends - Hank Williams, Jr.
Two Pina Coladas - Garth Brooks
All My Exes - George Strait
Remember Me (When the Candlelight is Gleaming) - Willie Nelson
Roll Me Up and Smoke Me (When I Die) - Willie Nelson

STANDARDS
Moonlight in Vermont
Body and Soul
The Way You Look Tonight
Makin’ Whoopee
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
New York, New York
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Night Train
Unforgettable
Basin Street Blues
Georgia on My Mind
I Love Paris (in the Springtime)
I’ll Be Seeing You (In All the Old Familiar Places)
Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar
Fly Me to the Moon
Always
Desifinado
That’s What I Like About the South
I’m a Pennsylvania Dutchman
It Had to Be You
I Could Write a Book
Busted
Do You Know What It Means (to Miss New Orleans)
Ain’t Nobody’s Business
Rock That Boogie
Route 66
How High the Moon

OTHER
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Rover
Jesus’ Brother Bob
Mounted Animal Nature Trail
Canada’s Really Big
I Am Cow
Hot Dog Song
Scotsman


PLUS INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Such as:
As Time Goes By
Sentimental Journey
Misty
Moonglow
Stardust
I Can’t Get Started
The Nearness of You
Summertime
These Foolish Things
‘Round Midnight
Blue Moon
Music Box Dancer
All of Me
Sweet Georgia Brown
(Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey
Chicken Dance
Beer Barrel Polka
And many, many more…

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