Biography
Jaime sings. He always has. Always wanted to. Except maybe when he was in the fourth grade and Sister Mary Eymard used to traipse him and his two brothers around St. Mary's and force them to harmonize to Maguire Sisters tunes. Fortunately not too long after that he discovered what was going on up the road from the old Rhode Island homestead. And from the first act he ever saw at the Newport Folk Festival, a very young Tom Paxton, he knew what he wanted to do. That.
And damned if that's not what he wound up doing. Well, more like this and that . . . a few years of sincere sixties singer songwriting in Cambridge trying to steal some of Tom Rush's tunings and Bonnie Raitt's rasp, opening shows for Dave van Ronk, Doc Watson, John Hammond and Jesse Colin Young . . . a couple of more solo years worshipping at the alter the Saints Tim, Buckley and Hardin . . . a fondly remembered stint as bass player/guitarist for the acoustic trio Beckett, touring and opening shows for Livingston Taylor, Jonathan Edwards and Earl Scruggs. Following time spent in Vermont teamed with guitarist Ron Renninger and saxophonist Leon Future in the band Favorite Cousins, Jaime left New England in 1980 for the shores of South Carolina.
What followed was at least a lifetime and a half touring the deep South as lead singer for the Truly Dangerous Swamp Band, learning how to drive a truck while sleeping . . . actually, the tour lasted for a pretty constant 8 ½ years . . . the Swamp Band was out there rocking college campuses and clubs from Oxford, Mississippi to New York City, Princeton, NJ to Key West, opening shows for Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Poco, Roseanne Cash and Vince Gill among others . . . and all the time Jaime was gathering up the pieces of his particular musical puzzle . . .
In the mid 1990’s, things changed again when Jaime relocated to the New Mexican desert town of Santa Fe. It was here he made the transition from performing primarily other people’s material to writing his own. The voice he found is nothing short of amazing. He has since released seven well received solo albums. His finely honed songwriting skills have been praised in acoustic music publications like Sing Out! and Dirty Linen magazine as well as being singled out in songwriting competitions like the John Lennon songwriting contest and the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Contest where he is a three time finalist.
In addition to touring the US performing solo at clubs, festivals and house concerts, Jaime is signed to Club de Musique records, an indie singer/songwriter label based in Milan, Italy. He has toured Italy and England and in 2006 recorded his album once or twice upon a time at a studio near Bologna, Italy using an all Italian backup band. Jaime’s next European tour in the spring of 2010 will include stops in England, Ireland, Scotland and Italy. So far the 2009 tour has included stops in Mexico (the Lowen and Navarro fan club cruise), California, the SE US, Alaska and a mainstage appearance at the Kerrville Folk Festival where he released his 7th solo CD, crooked.
Jaime is constantly working to expand his touring to reach a wider US audience and to see as much of the rest of the world as is possible, singing the whole way. He’s beginning to suspect that he might be into this music thing for the long run.
Instrumentation
Jaime Michaels - acoustic guitar - vocals
Discography
crooked - (c) 2009
fool - (c) 2008
once or twice upon a time - (c) 2006
club de musique records (italy)
wicked dreams second chances - (c) 2003
angelus - (c) 2001
little dreams - (c) 1999
a quiet heart - (c)1994
"...romance, longing, catchy tunes, lovely melodies, rock, blues . . . and twists in perspectives, all wrapped in finely crafted stanzas. The lyrics stand alone as pure poetry..."
Dirty Linen Magazine
January 2006
Links
| http://www.jaimemichaels.com |