JIMI FALLS

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=248011

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Brandon James, vocalist and rhythm guitarist for local modern rockers Jimi Falls, calls songwriting a release.

"When I play or write my own music, it's therapeutic," relates James, a 25-year-old Elk Grove Village native. "Not just in the way of pain or sorrow, but it can be very uplifting. When you write something that you're proud of and happens to talk about really positive things, it's great. It makes you look inside yourself. You had this creation pent-up and stored inside of you. You were able to bring it out and make it into something tangible that somebody can actually hear and feel. I think that's the greatest gift, to be able to do that."

With the recent release of Jimi Falls' debut CD, "The One," James has had the chance to share his gift with more people than ever. The band won every round of WIIL 95.1-FM's annual "Bandemonium" tournament, which concluded last month, and the disc's title track was played on the station.

The quartet has already reaped the benefits of increased exposure. Jimi Falls scored a live slot alongside headliners Shinedown, P.O.D. and Filter at Grayslake's AutumnFest. On Saturday, Nov. 22, they'll be at Elk Grove Village's Hattendorf Center, preceding independent wrestling entertainment federation POWW's "WrestleRage VI" event. They'll also perform their song "I'm Not Falling" as live entrance music for one of the wrestlers.

Furthermore, James estimates the band has sold more than 500 copies of "The One" in less than three months. It's a case of compensation for the expense and effort of a professional-looking and -sounding product, especially heartening at a time when many independent bands are simply giving their hand-wrought recordings away as free downloads.

Despite the deeply personal nature of his music, and despite its apparent connection with his own surname, James says the name Jimi Falls was inspired by a former singer. James formed the band in high school as a drummer, and he wrote all the material on "The One." Aside from bassist and fellow Elk Grove Village resident Nick LaCapra, James says the current lineup (with Palatine-based lead guitarist Bill Bakopoulos and drummer Alan Manicek of Des Plaines) has been together less than a year.

That's fairly shocking, considering the professional sheen and clarity of ideas put forth on the debut. With one foot in melodic, textured rock anthems and the other in the physical crunch of contemporary hard rock, Jimi Falls emerges with its personality fully formed. There's an unforced toughness in the instruments that, combined with the genuine yearning in James' straightforward vocals, should resonate with listeners from many walks of life.

There seems to be a theme of fractured relationships throughout "The One," with its frequent lyrical references to leaving, being left and never being fooled or let down again. Musicians who delve into emotion (as opposed to "emo," the marketing term) typically either have an insular focus on their subject or generalize to give the words maximum crowd appeal. James does a little of both.

"For me, this album was mainly written out of broken relationships," says the singer. "Not just past romantic relationships, but also the effect time can have on friendships and people in your life that you thought would always be there. To me, it meant a coming to grips with those hardships and trying to come into a better state of mind, a sense that these things happen for a reason. They help shape you into the individual you'll become. Then, hopefully, when you reach that, you can start writing about something different.

"The new stuff I've been working on tends to be not as sad, a little more uplifting. It's reflecting the times right now, more relationship stability. More upbeat happiness, you could say. Not that we're some kind of depressing band, but I wrote heavily about that time in my life, and that's what came out."

In fact, by the end of "The One," the short album's journey toward emotional maturity is apparent. On the final track, "North Star," James sings "I have done my wrongs and learned to live with them/I have hurt you but you won't wear the scars again." He's not writing a relationship off, but hoping to keep it going, even owning up to personal faults.

"That's a powerful song," says James, "and we often get feedback about it. It's an introspective look inside yourself. We're not perfect human beings, nobody is. But my whole objective in a song, no matter what it is, is that I always want to end on a positive note. So the situation may be what it is, but there is a better time to come, this isn't the end of the world.

"I never want to leave a listener hopeless. I want them to see that though there are struggles and hardships and even good times, all of that has a season that ends, and you can always take something from it."
- Jeff Pizek