My wife and I received an external harddrive for xmas... Later, we plugged it in to discover that the giver had filled the drive with several thousand records (albums, whatever... mp3's). Campilongo's "American" album was one of them. The single best find on that harddrive, no doubt.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I played a few gigs with Jim in a band called "Country Breeze" his (Cousin?, Uncle?) Blue Lou played accordion in the band, Jim would drive down from the City to sit in at the Italian American Club in Menlo Park(?) If I remember correctly. The band was fairly rough sounding but made a turn for the better when Jim was there. We got a steak and pasta dinner and a few bucks for the evening. Jim I am really digging the music your making these days. Keep on keepin' on. John (the left handed drummer)
Used to go see Jim play at various places in San Francisco throughout the 90's when I lived there. The first time I saw him there were only maybe 6 people in the audience. I remember feeling it was criminal that he wasn't playing to a packed house of 4000.
1996....wandering the streets....south of Market, SF....in search of good music and misadventure...I heard the amazing sounds of Jim's tele sweetly-screeching from the upstairs window of the Paradise lounge...sweet-screeches turned to melodious-moaning.....I stumbled upstairs, and there he stood smoking that ax of the likes I'd never seen before....tho' maybe heard years before as a young-un turned onto Roy Buchanon wondering "wheres the singin"?....it took me a long time to realize the song-of-the-tele, until I purchased my own in 93'....and upon introducing myself to Jim and asking "HOW-DO-YOU-DO-THAT" He suavely pulled out his card, and kindly stated, "I can show you".....and he did! Great guy, and my favorite picker indeed!
New to this forum, another TDPRI transplant (TDPRI is starting to get a bit long in the tooth for me). I saw a review of Jim's CD with the Ten Gallon Cats in a GP issue years ago and was smitten and have been since then. His skills are off the charts and his personality comes through in all his interaction with his fans and followers, this impressed me greatly.
BTW, thanks for that Duane Eddy link, I was sitting very near where that camera was for Deke's show that night.
In 1989 or 1990 I was playing in a band in SF. We were an African rock band and had no guitar player. A member of the band knew Jim and he came to one of our rehearsals. He was playing, I believe, a Sea foam green Strat. We went through a few songs and he was going to do a gig with us but got a paying gig and couldn't make it.
I mentioned this to him once and I don't think he remembered playing with us but I did, and so did the other members of the band.
Saw his name mentioned more than often on the TDPRI boards and clicked on a video link someone had posted. I was floored. Still am. I decided then and there I had to learn how to play and went out to buy a Tele.
Around American Hips release, I heard interesting record playing in a cafe. I asked what was it and with coffee-to-go I walked to record store near by to get American Hips. And after that I quite soon ordered every other Campy records too..
I discovered Jim the way many other people have. The Fender Princeton You Tube clip. I was looking for an amp at the time so I was doing a lot of research. I thought I was going to get a Blues Jnr but I couldn't find one to try out. I tried all the amps I could find for home use but I couldn't get excited about any of them. That is until I tried a DRRI but that seemed a little too loud for my little terraced house. Fortunately on a trip to nearby Brighton(UK) I found a PRRI and my search was over. It really was everything I wanted. I've ended up buying all of Jim's CDs that I can find and a few lessons too. The lessons have been great and I really feel like they have improved me as a player. Jim's teaching method seems to suit me. A lot of good things have come from that You Tube video. Nice one Jim!
I was searching information about Princeton Reverb Reissue and I discovered the famous demo by Jim. I was amazed by the sound, the feeling, the technique... After that, I googled Jim and found several things about him. It always nice to find that great men are so generous and simple as Jim is.
I was looking to buy a new guitar from the Custom Shop and happened on the JC signature Tele. This prompted the question: who is this guy? A few YouTube clips later and I was convinced. Still haven't got the Tele though.
first, greetings from the "Eastern Block". This thing started quite a long ago - back in the '80-s a small introverted kid discovered a guitar player who had muscles and a Telecaster (well, Esquire as I learned later). But a Telecaster was impossible to get, so my first guitar was a Czech copy (quite bad so I still can't play above the 12th fret...). Anyway. In the January '97 copy of Guitar Player I saw a guy with a Telecaster (and long hair...) - somehow his name stuck in my mind. Fast forward 15 years - quit playing guitar, raise a family... then suddenly I realized I miss the fretboard and could afford a Tele now as I have a steady job and a roof over the family. A local ad accidentally - Squier Affinity tele, a toploader, which rings a bell... Quick search for "Campilongo" - and I'm here. Jim, THANKS for the inspiration for my renewed love with the guitar! Szabi Nagy, Hungary
I had heard of Jim Campilongo but to be honest I never really knew who he was. To the extent that I had seen a couple videos of him in the Little Willies and did not realize that was the same guy...That all changed a couple years ago when I went to see a few Jon Graboff Pedal Steel Band shows at Rockwood Music Hall in New York. Turns out one night (November 13, 2010) Jim Campilongo was the guitar player and I happened to attend that night. This was my favorite show of the residency, as Jim, Jon, and the rest of the band absolutely destroyed the place. Jon Graboff later told me someone recorded the show for him, but I have never heard another thing about that recording. I must say, the show is very worthy of circulation among the live music community if it is not already out there.
Since that night, I have seen Jim play with his Trio all around New York and Brooklyn. I have also seen the High Space lineup but have yet to see the Quartet play Jim's songs. I had tickets to the Little Willies shows last fall but had to skip them, unfortunately. One night at the Living Room, a mutual friend introduced me to Jim. It was quick and he had his hands full but he was very cool and seemed pretty happy cause the place was packed. Jim also plays a Duo with Adam Levy which I have yet to catch. I live an hour out of the city and work a day job during the week so I can't go out all time. But when I find myself at his shows on Monday nights (and some Wednesdays), his guitar playing always blows my mind. I saw Jim with High Space at Brooklyn Bowl a few weeks ago and it was super nasty! Tony Mason plays in Jim's band and he is my favorite drummer. cheers
What a fun and informative board! I can't remember exactly when I got into Jim's music, but I do remember that in the '90s, the more time I spent in front of computers and being inundated with technology on the radio, the more I looked for players who played live-sounding music with no effects. Now that I think about it, I also got into reading books about the '50-'70s -- Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald. Jim's music fits right in there.
Some years ago I tried to find information on the internet about Jimmy Bryant and one of the few results that showed up was Jim Campilongo's website! So I found out that he was a Tele Player too. This was before Youtube. Several years later I found Jim's Fender Princeton Reverb video and that did it for me. It was simply the most fascinating playing I had heard from a contemporary player. I instantly knew that I had to get all his albums and learn from his lessons. I even flew to New York to see his Orange CD release party. And I learned to play without any effect pedals again. Thanks for being such a great inspiration!
I am pretty sure for me it was his Guitar Player column. guessing around '99? but I could be wrong. I went right off and bought "Loose" which was his new release. been a fan ever since.
For me I heard Jim's name mentioned in fender ads, guitar mags, etc. And it was always in tandem with the mention of teles or princetons. Sooner or later I had to see what he was all about, found "Blues For Roy" on YouTube, and the rest is history. He is the first guitar-music guy whose playing I instantly identified with (big Robbie Robertson fan here, also discovered thru Campy research that Robbie was mentored by Roy Buchanan, who I found out about just before getting into JC! ) Jim, please try and come out to Vancouver or Victoria sometime! We love ya in the Canadian pacific northwest! !!
I read about Jim in one of the guitar magazines years ago. I bought everything I could get my hands on after listening to the 10 gallon cats CD. Looking forward to the new Honey Fingers recording. I got the opportunity to visit New York and made it out to one of his Living Room gigs. Orange was just released so I picked up some posters which everyone graciously signed. Jim immediately recognized me as a guitar geek because I was transfixed by the beautiful music and sat at one of the front tables. He was extremely gracious and answered all my guitar geek questions. One of the best music nights of my life!
My buddy Tony Pepitone sent me a DVD of a Little Willies show he taped along with a solo show of Jim at The Living Room. Jim's playing is right up my alley. Unique, quirky at times, moving from playing the perfect thing to going outside of the box. I loved the songs and the refreshing organic tone. It wasn't strictly one style but a mashup of so many things I like. Thank goodness for Jim's music and playing to inspire others.
I can't believe I never contributed to this thread
My introduction to Jim was like many.... The Fender Princeton Reissue video. Those first 40 seconds where Jim played what I now recognize as "Wishful Thinking" was flat out life altering. I spent quite a bit of time hunting down what I could. Unfortunately I misunderstood Jim when he said in the video he played with Nora Jones. I assumed he was in her band. Being a fan of Nora's I looked through all her CDs trying to find the one Jim played on.
Anyways.. It was quite a path that led me there. After playing guitar for 20 years my wife bought me the guitar of my dreams for my 40th birthday. An Olympic white Stratocaster. I was totally self taught and a bit of a hack. The thought of owning that guitar inspired me to hunker down and become more proficient. That led to a lot of web surfing and reading of the forums. Back when Fender reissued the Princeton there was a lot of buzz on The Gear Page which led me to check out the video on Youtube. Seconds in I knew I'd found something special. Jim didn't play the worn out pentatonic licks. There was something really refreshing in his music. Since then I have bought every one of Jim's CDs, many lessons, and my own Princeton. Still a Strat player though. :-)
Someday I'll make it New York to see Jim live in person.
Through a Guitar Player Lesson. I really connected with those lessons in GP because Jim had a knack for not only teaching a cool lick, but sharing some aspect of music/guitar "truth" that was lacking in other lessons. And they were always right to the point. After that I bought the first 10 Gallon Cats CD and realized I had stumbled on a true original. That doesn't happen to me much in the here and now, and it inspired me to find out who the heck I was musically. I'm still on that path and enjoying it more than ever.
Being from and living in Maryland for almost 50 years and the fact that there is still a great Tele scene here. We are always looking for hot "tele pickers" so it didn't take long for Jim to show up on the radar so to speak. Wish Jim came here to play ...hint hint I am sure lots of people would come out and see Jim and there are plenty of the old players from DG's and RB's old line ups that would love to meet Jim too.
I read the Guitar Player review of "Jim Campilongo and the Ten Gallon Cats" I guess right after it came out. Bought the album then and have been sold ever since.
In my lifelong journey as a student of the guitar I had somehow lost my way over the last half dozen years. Attached to a Joe Bonamassa email was a video of this white haired guy in his apartment talking about his '59 Tele and a Fender Princeton amp. That Fender Fender tone and his technique was an epiphany for me. I purchased a used standard Tele and plugged it into my Vox Valvetronix. I was now part way to Nirvana but something was amiss. After some deep thought I realized I only had half of the equation. I sold my beloved PRS and bought a PRRI. Now I was on my way. Fender Fender tone and refocused on technique. After all it's a marathon not a sprint. Thank you Jim!
Hi, My real name is Thom. I am not a guitar player, but briefly tried, taking lessons with Joe Gore in San Francisco in 1988. When Joe quit teaching to go write for Guitar Player, he referred me to Jim. I used to take lessons in his room near a park in SF, then share coffee with him afterwards. I was in graduate school at the time, and my time with Jim was a great diversion from that. While I was taking lessons with him, Jim formed Po Go Bo, and they put on some great shows, including opening for Screamin’ Jay Hawkins at Slims. Over the next few years I also saw Jim solo a number of times, then with the 10 Gallon Cats. Then I left for Austin, and of course Jim left for New York. We saw him with the Little Willies at SXSW a few years ago and I have seen a couple of the recent Yoshi’s shows. Have not yet made it to NYC to see him, but I hope to.
Thom - Thank you for your post ... We really go back, don't we? It's great to see your post and it was nice to see you at Yoshi's. Any word from Joe Gore?
I play in a local (Milwaukee) classic-rock cover band and sometimes we do shows as an Allman Brothers Tribute act. Our local guitar-meister (and overal-great guy!) Greg Koch was our guest guitar player at one these shows a few years ago. He showed me the ultra-cool sounding "Chet chord" he was playing before the gig and mentioned I should check out Jim Campilongo...but I never followed-up! After reading Jim's columns for Guitar Player over the past year, I realized how knowledgable he was.. and then when I saw a mention on FB for a Chet Atkins lesson ("LIttle Bit of The Blues") from Jim's website...I bought it! Talk about money well-spent! His tablature style is WAY easier to follow for me. I can read music...but have always struggled with standard guitar-tab...don't know why. He's a gifted teacher/communicator. He has really good penmanship too!
Anyway...you all know what I heard when I "discovered" his recorded output. His abilities as a Tele-wrangler are one thing...but his melodies and arranging...especially on the pretty stuff...oh man! Seriously...if something like "Pepper" was the theme song for some major Hollywood movie...it would be nominated for an Oscar...it's prettier than any Randy Neuman melody..in my humble opinion.
We were lucky to be sitting about 6 ft. in front of The Jim Campilongo Trio..(and Jim's Deluxe on 10..sounded great!) this week at The Green Mill in Chicago. Their ensemble playing blew me away...they're now my favorite band! Plus they were all gracious, polite people when we met them. But...the big revelation/inspiration to me was Jim just plain old plugging right into that (probably rented) Deluxe Reverb...with the Peterson Strobotuner as his only pedal....and sounding like....Jim Campilongo! The new live CD is also outstanding in a way I didn't expect: I'm not a big fan of "jamming" per-se..but the Trio can JAM...especially on the cuts with Nels Cline...pull-over if you're listening while driving! I'm even hearing a hint of "Live At Leeds" on this CD!
Danny- Thank you for your kind post and for going to the Green Mill show- I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know we did.
During and after the JC & Honeyfingers "Last Night, This Morning" record - I was playing and developing the music on "Live at Rockwood" and thought it would be a good follow up. I really hope you like it and thank you for buying my music.
Comments
John
(the left handed drummer)
I saw a review of Jim's CD with the Ten Gallon Cats in a GP issue years ago and was smitten and have been since then. His skills are off the charts and his personality comes through in all his interaction with his fans and followers, this impressed me greatly.
BTW, thanks for that Duane Eddy link, I was sitting very near where that camera was for Deke's show that night.
John S.
I mentioned this to him once and I don't think he remembered playing with us but I did, and so did the other members of the band.
I was looking for an amp at the time so I was doing a lot of research. I thought I was going to get a Blues Jnr but I couldn't find one to try out. I tried all the amps I could find for home use but I couldn't get excited about any of them. That is until I tried a DRRI but that seemed a little too loud for my little terraced house. Fortunately on a trip to nearby Brighton(UK) I found a PRRI and my search was over. It really was everything I wanted.
I've ended up buying all of Jim's CDs that I can find and a few lessons too. The lessons have been great and I really feel like they have improved me as a player. Jim's teaching method seems to suit me.
A lot of good things have come from that You Tube video.
Nice one Jim!
I was amazed by the sound, the feeling, the technique... After that, I googled Jim and found several things about him. It always nice to find that great men are so generous and simple as Jim is.
first, greetings from the "Eastern Block". This thing started quite a long ago - back in the '80-s a small introverted kid discovered a guitar player who had muscles and a Telecaster (well, Esquire as I learned later). But a Telecaster was impossible to get, so my first guitar was a Czech copy (quite bad so I still can't play above the 12th fret...). Anyway. In the January '97 copy of Guitar Player I saw a guy with a Telecaster (and long hair...) - somehow his name stuck in my mind. Fast forward 15 years - quit playing guitar, raise a family... then suddenly I realized I miss the fretboard and could afford a Tele now as I have a steady job and a roof over the family. A local ad accidentally - Squier Affinity tele, a toploader, which rings a bell... Quick search for "Campilongo" - and I'm here. Jim, THANKS for the inspiration for my renewed love with the guitar!
Szabi Nagy, Hungary
Since that night, I have seen Jim play with his Trio all around New York and Brooklyn. I have also seen the High Space lineup but have yet to see the Quartet play Jim's songs. I had tickets to the Little Willies shows last fall but had to skip them, unfortunately. One night at the Living Room, a mutual friend introduced me to Jim. It was quick and he had his hands full but he was very cool and seemed pretty happy cause the place was packed. Jim also plays a Duo with Adam Levy which I have yet to catch. I live an hour out of the city and work a day job during the week so I can't go out all time. But when I find myself at his shows on Monday nights (and some Wednesdays), his guitar playing always blows my mind. I saw Jim with High Space at Brooklyn Bowl a few weeks ago and it was super nasty! Tony Mason plays in Jim's band and he is my favorite drummer. cheers
I am pretty sure for me it was his Guitar Player column. guessing around '99? but I could be wrong. I went right off and bought "Loose" which was his new release. been a fan ever since.
My introduction to Jim was like many.... The Fender Princeton Reissue video. Those first 40 seconds where Jim played what I now recognize as "Wishful Thinking" was flat out life altering. I spent quite a bit of time hunting down what I could. Unfortunately I misunderstood Jim when he said in the video he played with Nora Jones. I assumed he was in her band. Being a fan of Nora's I looked through all her CDs trying to find the one Jim played on.
Anyways.. It was quite a path that led me there. After playing guitar for 20 years my wife bought me the guitar of my dreams for my 40th birthday. An Olympic white Stratocaster. I was totally self taught and a bit of a hack. The thought of owning that guitar inspired me to hunker down and become more proficient. That led to a lot of web surfing and reading of the forums. Back when Fender reissued the Princeton there was a lot of buzz on The Gear Page which led me to check out the video on Youtube. Seconds in I knew I'd found something special. Jim didn't play the worn out pentatonic licks. There was something really refreshing in his music. Since then I have bought every one of Jim's CDs, many lessons, and my own Princeton. Still a Strat player though. :-)
Someday I'll make it New York to see Jim live in person.
Cheers
Warren
Regards
Jeff (forum newbie)
Nick
Bill
Anyway...you all know what I heard when I "discovered" his recorded output. His abilities as a Tele-wrangler are one thing...but his melodies and arranging...especially on the pretty stuff...oh man! Seriously...if something like "Pepper" was the theme song for some major Hollywood movie...it would be nominated for an Oscar...it's prettier than any Randy Neuman melody..in my humble opinion.
We were lucky to be sitting about 6 ft. in front of The Jim Campilongo Trio..(and Jim's Deluxe on 10..sounded great!) this week at The Green Mill in Chicago. Their ensemble playing blew me away...they're now my favorite band! Plus they were all gracious, polite people when we met them. But...the big revelation/inspiration to me was Jim just plain old plugging right into that (probably rented) Deluxe Reverb...with the Peterson Strobotuner as his only pedal....and sounding like....Jim Campilongo! The new live CD is also outstanding in a way I didn't expect: I'm not a big fan of "jamming" per-se..but the Trio can JAM...especially on the cuts with Nels Cline...pull-over if you're listening while driving! I'm even hearing a hint of "Live At Leeds" on this CD!
During and after the JC & Honeyfingers "Last Night, This Morning" record - I was playing and developing the music on "Live at Rockwood" and thought it would be a good follow up. I really hope you like it and thank you for buying my music.
Have a great day- Jim