CMP:  Thumbing through your liner notes I noticed a buddy of mine, Will Hunt, produced a majority of the tracks. How was it working with Will’s gang at Spaceway Studios in Texas?

Jimmy:  I’ve got the biggest grin on my face right now. You know Will. Some of the things he says I’m just like, “What are you talking about?” [Laughs] The best part about Will and that whole crew is everything they do, they do excellently. Whether he is working on a project like mine, which is for a label, or he’s working for some band in Dallas that is never going to “make it,” he puts forth the exact same amount of effort. Everything he does he does very, very well.

CMP:  Since the last record you have gotten married.

Jimmy:  Yep. We celebrated our two-year anniversary last week.

CMP:  Congratulations. How has married life affected your career?

Jimmy:  She plays violin in the band and is also the road manager. So it’s not like I leave for tour and come home again. We’re on tour together this fall with BarlowGirl. That’s always fun because we say “Goodnight” and get in our two separate bunks. [Laughs]

I wish I could re-write my liner notes to write a dedication of this record to my wife. She was a big catalyst for me in understanding some of the ideas on this record. Where I am the truth-teller, always sharing the hard message, she is tender, kind and an encourager.

CMP:  I have watched a few episodes of "The Shimmy Show" on YouTube.

Jimmy:  I’ll pray for you. [Laughs]. [My friend Shane] and [I] have these personalities. … When we get together it is absolutely ridiculous. So one night we were playing cards, and one of our wives said, “You should throw a camera up in front of yourselves and get this stuff on video.” Shane, being the little entrepreneur that he is, went and got a camera and just started filming. Ten episodes later, we’ve gotten between 80,000 and 120,000 feeds per episode. It’s 50 percent us being absolutely ridiculous and goofy and 50 percent us getting into spiritual content, taking calls and emails and addressing real issues. It is spirituality not divorced from humor.

Visit jimmyneedham.com for more info.

 
 
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*This interview first published on October 3, 2008.