Don’t worry. No one will look askance if you read this headline and say, “The who’s?”
The No Joke Jimmy’s are a new special project band in Nashville, formed by a couple of former touring pros and a handful of current touring artists who are up for some extra good times. The band, and their new single, are the brainchild of Jamie Johnson, ex-Grascals singer and guitarist, and their current fiddler, Adam Haynes.
Jamie got the idea to pull together some of his bluegrass buddies in Nashville, and a few from outside of Music City, when an offer came in. So he reached out to banjo picker Ron Stewart with Seldom Scene; fellow former Grascal Terry Eldredge; Brandon Rickman, recently late of Lonesome River Band; Dennis Parker, harmony vocalist with Ricky Skaggs; Darrin Nicholson from Balsam Range; and bassist Kyle Perkins with Kenny & Amanda Smith.
“I was asked to do a show for Sam Karr from Sam Jam, and also Vic Adams from Rudy Fest and Cam Fest. I put together my favorite guys for the show and they happened to be off the weekend they booked the show.
Well, it was a lot of fun, and we felt like it sounded pretty good, so we booked one more show several months later and decided to have fun and record some tunes.”
And there you have it. The No Joke Jimmy’s.
The guys have been in the studio when their schedules align, and have five tracks finished for a new independent project that should be available by the end of this summer.
Johnson said that they have no plans to try and be a “real band,” just have some laughs and enjoy playing good music with friends using an unusual band name.
“We do not intend to tour, instead just play shows that fit all our schedules, and with this many moving parts it won’t allow time for many.
The name comes from a statement Adam said to his brother Jimmy one day as I was on the phone with him and after the question Adam responded ’cause I ain’t no joke, Jimmy,’ and I said ‘there’s our name. The No Joke Jimmy’s’ (spelled with incorrect grammar and all).
We plan to have a great time, no pressure just have fun, play a show here and there, and hopefully provide an album that folks will enjoy and add to their collection.”
A first single debuted yesterday on Bluegrass Junction (SiriusXM), a Dave Evans classic called Be Proud of the Gray in Your Hair, which Jamie says fits these guys a bit too comfortably.
“Most of us in the band are in the early years of gray hairs, and we’ve earned em.
This song was my dad’s favorite, and I’ve always been a huge fan of Dave Evans. We only planned to do it live but the energy was there, so thought we would see if the energy worked in the studio as well.
It feels like it works. Thanks to Dave Evans for writing such a great song.”
Check it out…
Be Proud of the Gray in Your Hair from the No Joke Jimmy’s is available now from popular download and streaming sites online, and to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.
A select number of live appearances are scheduled this summer, including shows at the Milan Bluegrass Festival, Rudy Fest, the MACC Fest, Cam Fest, Pickin’ in Parsons, and Sam Jam.
