Jamin Wilcox

Jamin Wilcox is a contemporary musician who might not be sure in what direction his music is heading, but he’s always known when to make a change to get closer to it. As a writer, drummer and vocalist with the bands Audiovent and Under the Influence of Giants, Jamin has consistently been a key contributor to any situation in which he has been a participant – with keen instincts for catchy hooks and mind bending sounds. Time has come today for Jamin to sculpt his own vibrant spin on pop. With ears as open as the ozone and a mind to match, Jamin has synthesized an irresistible blending of styles - from a largely inherited and encyclopedic base of musical influences - into a funky, danceable spin on music with mad appeal for the masses.

Since parting ways with Under the Influence of Giants last year, Jamin has started and or completed dozens of songs. “I think I have ADD when it comes to writing,” he says sheepishly. “The genesis of a song is always fun but a chore to complete. When you do all the arranging and producing yourself, it’s a bittersweet thing. I hate when it becomes mathematical. It’s all about capturing the feel – the vibe you felt when you first created it.” No matter how disparate his singles may become, the connective tissue for Jamin will be his voice – an urgent and soulful instrument that he often wields in the falsetto of his range on danceable grooves such as “Heart Attack” and “I Know What You’re Doing.” “Whatever my sound becomes recognizable as,” Jamin assures, “it’s going to happen organically.”
Jamin Wilcox had the poetic good fortune to be born in Woodstock, New York, spent his formative years in Connecticut and Florida and eventually grew up in the Southern California suburbs of the San Fernando Valley and Calabasas. “I was on tour before I was on tour,” he laughs. His father is Willie Wilcox, a drummer, vocalist and songwriter best known for his work with Todd Rundgren’s band Utopia. His mother is also a veteran of the record business and both parents had excellent taste in music, so Jamin grew up soaking in the best of the best. “They gave me opportunities to learn about artists most kids weren’t checking for at my age,” Jamin states. “I was listening to the funk of The Meters, jazz fusion like Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters and deep jazz like Freddie Hubbard. I also love gospel voices of Mahalia Jackson and The Soul Stirrers. The first albums that were major influences were the soundtrack to ‘Stand By Me’ (through which he reveled in the vocal sophistication of doo wop) and The Beastie Boys’ License to Ill for the raw hip hop/rock mix. I got way into Hip Hop - even Gangsta Rap. I used to walk down the street listening to N.W.A wanting someone to start some $@t with me! I didn’t live in a rough enough neighborhood, but I got so amped by things they were saying. It was like musical PCP.”
Jamin initially gravitated to the drums, but not at any urging from his beat-rockin’ father. “He wasn’t like one of those football coaches that force their kid to play,” Jamin reflects. “I had to beg my dad to get his drums out of storage. Everything that happened after that was very natural. At first all I wanted to do was be the best drummer in the world. I was studying Clyde Stubblefield, Bernard Purdie and Tony Williams. I was also taking lessons from a guy who was a wizard on the drums technically, but living in a shambles. From a survival perspective, I figured out pretty quickly that I needed to learn more. Plus I had so many musical ideas, I needed to create outlets for them otherwise I would lose my mind.” Soon, Jamin added singing, keyboards and other instruments to his skill set.
Jamin’s first major band experience came in his early teens. “I started playing with Audiovent (initially Vent) when I was 13 or 14. By the time we were in our second year of college, we signed to Atlantic Records. We worked really hard – learning our instruments while we were writing. Audiovent was a modern rock quartet that sold about 150,000 records, but we couldn’t get out of the shadow of (the band) Incubus. All of the other members were little brothers of Incubus’ members and played their same instruments, so we were, like, ‘Baby Incubus’ no matter what we did.” Audiovent was given a decent push by Atlantic and had a couple of minor hits with the singles “The Energy” and “Looking Down” from their 2002 album Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris. Jamin was a co-writer on all of the songs. “We toured the States and all over Europe, playing places with no address out in the middle of a cornfield… We even did a thing called ‘The Loca Bazooka Tour’ that was, like, a ghetto version of Ozzfest! When we started writing our second album, I wanted to try out some other music but it didn’t fit Audiovent stylistically. So I started a musical relationship on the side with a singer named Aaron Bruno.”
Jamin and Aaron ended up in another quartet called Home Town Hero that morphed into Under the Influence of Giants (so na