Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine: Jim Page: a life built on song

Jim Page takes the stage in a casual manner, everyday pants with the shirt often hanging out, graying curly hair left to its own devices (often hidden under a knit cap when outdoors) and begins a friendly patter based on the physical/social environment of the moment plus whatever's running through his mind. A steady staccato rhythm begins to emanate from his guitar, grabbing the audience's attention while he continues to rap in a humorous, let's-get-to-know-each-other style. The first song may be fast and funny, or slow and contemplative ... but the sharp, incisive voice matches the guitar for immediacy and by the song's end the crowd is fully drawn in and on the way to a uniquely enjoyable, informative and uplifting performance of music.

As the stories and songs continue through scenes of raucous satire ("Gays in the Military"; verrrrrrrry scaaaaary), stark tragedy ("Gypsy"; an activist who died defending old growth while the big logging company continues to profit from it), meaningful love ("I Wonder lf I'm Loving You Right") and pure wonderment over the human condition ("Whose World Is This") listeners who are new to Jim's music become aware that they're seeing the genuine article: a vital, caring and creative folk artist whose life is pictured in the music he plays and whose joy comes from sharing it with others. They've just joined the ever-increasing club of Jim Page believers who invariably feel better and have a larger vision of themselves and their possibilities for effective living by the end of a performance.

Jim has been affecting audiences in this manner for over thirty years and has long since established himself as a "'live'" performer; a fairly exclusive group of artists from various cultures (Pete Seeger. Pharoah Sanders. The Grateful Dead, etc.) whose performances go so far above and beyond their studio recordings (and Jim has put together a quality collection over a quarter century) that they can only be fully appreciated when on stage. In Jim's case, attitude is at least as important as craft. He freely admits that being a singer-songwriter/performer long since stopped being what he does and became what he is, and that simply presenting good songs is not sufficient. "I want people to know what a song can do: that a song is a vocabulary tool that we would die without: that it's been taken from us and sold back and that we need to re-claim it: that we've been trained to believe that the greater part of our experience is not to be sung about and I disagree with that." When Jim sings it's impossible not to notice that he has priorities that reach beyond the music.

Jim's live performances are imbued with his total identification with, understanding of and respect for all people and situations that cross his path. He's lived many of the dysfunctions, street life situations and injustices that affect large portions of society and has developed a compassion and ability to see the potential for change and constructive action in everyone. With this in mind, he tries to use music to instill courage and a sense of unity in his audiences so we can channel our anger and frustration for personal and social change rather than letting it destroy us from inside. One thing for sure: He doesn't think we're ignorant or being led astray. "My theory is that everybody knows, but they play dumb when it serves their best interests, when they know they'll be punished for not playing dumb, and when they can't deal with the feeling of knowing they should do something but feeling there's nothing they can do." That last area is where Jim goes to work, and when people walk up to him after a gig and thank him for assuring them that they're not alone he knows he's succeeded.

As to performance style, the quality that sets Jim apart from many other fine players is his unique ability to bring forth spontaneous rhyme that's fresh, biting, funny, topical and totally in sync with the place he's in, the people he's around, and the issues of the day. Listeners are always amazed on first hearing him in the immediate moment. I'm sure it's one of the reasons so many people return to see him and crowd around his stages at festivals.

I once asked Jim how many hours he'd spent locked in his room developing the knack for off-the-cuff music and was surprised when the answer was none. That's because you can't know what to say all-of-a-sudden when you don't have the moment in front of you. Jim developed this skill as a busker over several thousand street sings in hundreds of geographical locations over thirty plus years. It's this most traditional musical and entertainment forum, along with open mics and playing breaks between bands in taverns, that served as the building block of Jim's performance style and his ability to deal with any audience, anywhere, anytime. The busker has but a few seconds to attract the passer-by or they're gone forever. Jim learned by doing ... keeping a rhythmic chord pattern going and making up verses about people's clothes ... and some of them would stop. Adding contemporary topics of interest and humorous uses of the common English language, soon he'd have a crowd receiving some unexpected sunshine and returning it by filling up his guitar case or hat with green energy. Many veteran performers who have steady work have lost interest in busking, but Jim continues to enjoy and participate in the most democratic of artistic venues.

Even though Jim's music, like his busking, is steeped in the ongoing American folk tradition, he isn't one to harp on the subject. He honors his history and such influences as Woody Guthrie and Lightnin' Hopkins, and like many of us, has included melodic, lyrical and picking style from those forefathers in his presentation. At the same time, all of the above have been molded into this unique blend of personality, voice and playing style that makes him a one-of-a-kind artist who takes his place in the historical lineage of folksinger/writers who've made a difference. He understands that tradition is not an artifact but a living entity that must be ever-evolving in order to remain vibrant and hold meaning for contemporary audiences. By eschewing conformity and exhibiting respect, Jim brings the experience of old and new together in a single moment. Examples of this combination are his oft-sung and recorded "Anna Mae" (which recounts the story of the assassination of an American Indian Movement activist), borrowing the tune of the traditional "Two Sisters" and a new version of "This Land Is Your Land" mixed in with complete originals like "Hiroshima-Nagasaki Russian Roulette" (nuclear war as a political game among nations), "Valdez" (the disastrous Exxon oil spill), "Didn't We" (protesters shutting down the WTO meeting in Seattle) and "Over My Dead Body" (vowing to continue the struggle against oppression on all fronts).

When they meet Jim for the first time, many people are surprised at the depth of his knowledge, the fullness of his ideas, and the intelligence with which he expresses them. He doesn't look or act like what most of society thinks of as an intellectual, and indeed Jim is almost entirely self-educated. He learned about street people by being one and dealing with the conditions of poverty and homelessness. He was accepted by and lived among American Indian Movement members which allowed him the inside information for several pieces including the memorable "Song for Leonard Peltier" which speaks of the Indian wars as an on-going affair. His interest in the Irish struggle for independence led him to spend three years in the early 1980s across the pond where, as usual, he was embraced by the locals. This led to songs like "The Great Gritty City By the Riverside" and an Irish-oriented version of the traditional "Green Rocky Road." At home in Seattle, Jim continues to get his information first-hand.

It's this level of dedication that has provided the foundation for Jim's work and the muscle in his songs. It's also helped make fans of Bonnie Raitt, Utah Phillips, native American poet/activist John Trudell and blues legend Sunnyland Slim ... as well as gaining him the support of respected sidemen Orville Johnson, Dale Fanning, Erin Corday, and Artis the Spoonman, and winning the adoration of many young singer/writers to whom Jim is the standard bearer. He, in turn believes in the future of healthy, meaningful songwriting and has been pleased to share time and stages with young talent, making new friends and passing on the knowledge and experience of a lifetime.

But Jim's political awareness and humor hasn't made him a one-dimensional artist. Quite the contrary. Jim's repertoire encompasses the scope of life, and in his words, nothing is too insignificant to be worthy of a song. "Sometimes a song is a weapon, sometimes it's a flower, sometimes it's a person you live with and sometimes it's a place you got to. There are songs to wake up with, songs to go to sleep with, songs to die with, songs to be born with and songs to get married to. You've got all the sounds of nature, you put them together, you start hearing patterns and that's music." This holistic universal view has brought forth gorgeous love songs ("Gasworks Park"), songs of courage and commitment ("Butterfly Wings"), nonsensical hysteria ("The Poodle Song") and tributes to nature ("Let It Rain") ... and so many more that tell stories, ask questions and open hearts and minds. In Jim's first original, "Fireside" (written in 1967), one of the chorus lines states, "All these songs, taste like lilac wine, I must taste them all sometime." He's spent the intervening years pursuing this goal ... and sharing the wine along the way.

At this point in time, Jim is happy in his work, with his lady Katy, in his modest but comfortable dwelling in Seattle and with his latest CD projects: Collateral Damage (a collection of songs written in response to 9/11) and Human Interesting (a career retrospective). He's also excited about two near future releases; a collection of Seattle songs going back several decades and a Nashville recording with some of Music City's most respected sidemen. Healthy, creative and still growing at 54, Jim remains eager to tour and bring his music to wherever there are interested audiences who want to hear what he has to sing. As he explains it, his enthusiasm is merely a mature version of the feeling that got him started. "I want people to know that song is valuable enough for someone to put their life into. I want people to know that I'm out here doing this, have been for most of my life and have accumulated a large body of work." It appears that lots of folks in many locations will be getting to know these things in days to come.

DISCOGRAPHY

Collateral Damage, 2002, Whid-Isle Music

Human Interesting--A Temporary Retrospective, 2002, Whid-Isle Music

Music from Big Red, 2001, Whid-Isle Music

Getting' Squeezed, 1999, Whirl-Isle Music

Heroes and Survivors, 1997, Whid-Isle Music

Whose World Is This, 1997, Whid-Isle Music/Liquid City #32591

More than Anything Else in the World, 1993, Whid-Isle Music (o-o-p)

In the Mean Time, 1991, Whid-Isle Music (o-o-p)

On the Sidewalk Again, 1991, Grin and Bear It (o-o-p)

Visions in My View, 1986, Flying Fish #367 (o-o-p)

This Movie Is for Real, 1982, Nacksving (Sweden), WEA (Ireland) (o-o-p)

In the Act, 1980, Nacksving (Sweden) / Music is Medicine (USA) (o-o-p)

Hot Times, 1979, Whid-Isle Music (o-o-p)

On the Street Again, 1977, Whid-Isle Music (o-o-p)

A Shot of the Usual, 1976, Whid-Isle Music (o-o-p)

CONTACTS

For bookings or other info, you can reach Jim Page at Greenwood, P.O. Box 30198, Seattle, WA 98103: 206-525-3713; E-mail: <folkpunch@aol.com>, or on the web at: <www.jimpage.net>.

Percy Hilo is a folksinger/ songwriter/poet and old fashioned peacenik who lives in Seattle. Reach him at: <philo@scn.org>.