***This post was taken from Wil Christman’s blog, The Biggest of Willy’s Styles.***
https://biggwillystyles.tumblr.com/
In an age of music where pop and country are indistinguishable, there’s a notion that all hope is lost. Thankfully, if you turn off your radio and scour the depths of Spotify and/or YouTube, you can still find songs with lyrics not only about pickup trucks, chicks in cutoff jeans, and/or dirt roads. A courageous, select few still sing lonesome, heartfelt songs so sad they’ll bring a tear to your eye. Enter Jimmy Fitch.
I’m proud to say that I’ve known Jimmy for quite sometime, in fact he was the first friend I made as a freshman in high school. We both attended Benedictine High School, an all-boys, military, Catholic school in the city of Richmond, Virginia. In military school, our version of homeroom class was morning formation. The school was divided into companies and each morning we lined up to salute the flag and receive school announcements. My first day of high school was chaotic to say the least, I was scared to death and lost. An older student I knew from grade school called out to me and said “Didn’t you play a brass instrument in middle school? Go form up in band company.” Before I could explain that I quit the baritone years prior in order to be a cool kid, it was too late. Here I was, the first day of school, stuck in a company with band geeks. I stood in the back with the other freshman and the kid to my right asked me what instrument I played, “I don’t play any instrument,” I angrily replied. “Yeah I play guitar, not sure what the hell that has to do with a military band company,” Jimmy responded.
From there, the rest was history. Jimmy and I eventually escaped band company and worked diligently to get our street cred back. Over the years we certainly found some trouble. Weekend trips to Nashville during college, skipping the first classes of the semester to make the long 10-hour drive. Writing songs in strip clubs. Taking Steve Earle lyrics way too literally waking up lost at truck stops. But, as an artist, it’s essential to have experiences to write about and I’d say Jimmy and I got into enough mischief to write a country song or two. At the end of the day we were really just making art.
Jimmy has always been inspired by the stories told in vintage country songs from artists like Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe, Johnny Cash, George Jones and so on. While it’s obvious country music then and pop country music today are at opposite ends of the spectrum, people are too quick to conclude that good music is dead. Quality music is still out there, you just have to go searching for it. The search for good music lead Jimmy towards the Texas Country music scene also known as Red Dirt Country or Americana. It all started with a band from Austin, Texas, Reckless Kelly. One of our friend’s brother roomed with a native Texan in college and he brought back the beautiful sounds of Texas Country to Richmond. We had a rare opportunity to see Reckless Kelly that summer in Richmond and after one concert we were hooked.
Jimmy and I quickly went down the rabbit hole of Texas Country music discovering artists like Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Aaron Watson, Randy Rodgers, and many more. Texas Country was incredibly alluring because of its roots in storytelling, which had traditionally been the backbone of country music for generations. After the Reckless concert, Jimmy and I took every opportunity to see a Texas Country show on an East Coast tour that came anywhere near Richmond. We attended the Turnpike Troubadours’ first ever show in Virginia and waited around after the concert for a meet and greet that ended up turning into a night on the town bar hopping with the band. Another trip found us driving two hours to D.C. in order to see the infamous Stoney Larue. Little did we know, the so called concert was actually a congressional fundraiser for tornadoes that had tormented the Oklahoma region. The tickets costed well over a hundred dollars and we were the only ones not in a coat and tie, in fact, Jimmy was wearing a Turnpike Troubadours shirt that read “Shit Kickin’ Music.” The high ticket prices and mild embarrassment were quickly forgotten when we realized included with our tickets was endless Midland Texas BBQ and all you could drink Shiner Bocks.
Jimmy was inspired by Texas Country and began adding songs to his own set lists. One show at a time, Jimmy was introducing Richmond’s bar patrons to Aaron Watson, Turnpike, Cody Johnson and more. In October of 2013, Jason Boland & The Stragglers had a concert date set in Richmond and after a few emails with the band’s manager Jimmy secured a spot as an opening act. The show was a success and Jason Boland himself applauded Jimmy on his performance and original songs. In a way, it was Jimmy’s unofficial induction into the Texas Country scene.
The following summer Jimmy landed an internship in Austin, Texas to test out the Texas Country scene first handedly. During that summer, he played in some notable Austin venues like The Mean Eyed Cat, Saxon Pub, The Moontower Saloon, and The Blind Pig Pub. In between working and playing shows, Jimmy was able to record his first EP album, Promised Land EP, with some of Texas’ finest artists. The album was recorded at Ken Tondre’s studio who for ten years was a drummer and band leader for country legend Kevin Fowler. On the album was Michael Tarabay, a bass player who oddly enough went to the same high school as Jimmy and I and was once married to the the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines. Noah Jeffries, long time acoustic guitar and mandolin player for Jason Boland. Kim Deschamps who played the pedal steel in bands with Charlie Robinson and Cory Morrow and finally, David Grissom who played lead guitar for John Cougar Mellencamp and the Dixie Chicks. Needless to say, with the new album, the local gigs, and the experience playing with some country music’s most talented artists, Austin, Texas was a priceless experience for Jimmy in his budding career.
After graduating from Virginia Tech, Jimmy decided to chase the dream a little further and enrolled into a Bluegrass Old Time and Country Music program at Eastern Tennessee State University. He is currently entering into his second year of the program where he regularly plays with the programs band, Tennessee Fire, in the tri-cities area of Tennessee know primarily as the birthplace of Bluegrass music. Jimmy continues to explore the roots of country music through his studies which in turn has been reflected in his lyrics and on-stage performance.
The sky’s the limit for Jimmy’s career as an artist in my opinion because of his authenticity and loyalty to country music’s roots. I’m excited to see where the road takes him. I’ve always admired Jimmy’s passion for music and his desire to grow as a musician. If you haven’t heard Jimmy’s music, his EP album Promised Land EPis on Spotify and ITunes. He also regularly plays in the Richmond area and in Eastern Tennessee with Tennessee Fire.
When was the first time you picked up a guitar/how long have you been playing music?
“I guess I was around 13 years old when I first started taking lessons on the electric guitar. I got my first acoustic guitar a couple years later and took a guitar class for three years in high school where I learned basic music theory and got more interested in bluegrass music. I didn’t start singing until my freshman year in college (spring 2011). Before that I didn’t even know If I could sing or not, I just started doing it.”
Do you have a pre-show routine/ritual?
“I don’t have a routine necessarily, but I do have kind of a weird “ritual,” if you can call it that. I wear the same pair of pig boxers at every show I play and one of two pairs of these awesome Johnny Cash socks I bought after a few too many beers one night. One pair is his mug shot and the other pair looks like an old hatch show print. My boxers are starting to fall apart though, so I may have to find another ritual soon.”
Musical role models?
“When I was growing up, my main memories are listening to music on the radio and going to concerts. I was listening to a lot of the 90s country music, or neo-traditional country music as some folks call it. Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Randy Travis, Mark Chesnutt, and all the other just classic 90s sounds back then. I think Brooks & Dunn was actually my first ever concert. On the other hand, I was also listening to classic rock and southern rock. Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band were always some of my favorites and still are to this day. My all-time favorite musician and artist, however, I would have to say is Merle Haggard. I was lucky enough to be able to see him in concert twice before he passed away last year. If there’s a country song written and recorded before I was born, chances are I’m a fan of it!”
Favorite original song?
“Of the 4 songs on Promised Land EP, I would have to say that my favorites are “Drinkin’ for Two” and the title cut, “Promised Land.” “Drinkin’ for Two” is just a fun song I wrote that has turn into a fan favorite and definitely a wild one to play live with the audience singing along. “Promised Land” is another favorite of mine because I think it my best song lyrically. It talks about a drifter, trains, whiskey, guns and heartbreak: the ingredients to any great country and western song!”
Ever have an “ah ha” moment or experience where you realized that music was something you wanted to chase?
“I’ve worked 40 plus hours a week, fabricating rebar in a hot factory, and I’ve shoveled feces out of crawl spaces. But I’ve also sang for hours to a packed bar and got paid to do it. The moment I realized it was possible or at least somewhat attainable for me to pursue music for a living would be my “ah ha” moment.”
Do you ever get nervous going on stage?
“I get more antsy than nervous. I always have a lot of fun playing for people and I just want to get up there and do it, so the waiting around before each show is what I can’t stand.”
Favorite gig you’ve played?
“I played my album release show at the Cellar in Blacksburg, VA on a Wednesday night going on three years ago now. I knew that I had a pretty big following in Blacksburg and this wasn’t the biggest venue in the world so I was going to attract a good crowd, a rowdy crowd at that. I warned the bartenders and waitresses to be ready but they kind of shrugged off my advice. Come show time, the place was absolutely packed and over the course of the night, they sold out of every single bottle of domestic beer. Every. Single. Bottle. Guys were trying to get up and dance on tables and everything. That was probably one of the most fun times I’ve had playing thanks to my good friends in Blacksburg, VA. I’ve had several shows like this since then but this one will always stand out in my mind.”
Favorite Austin, Texas story?
“I somehow met and got to talking with Dale Watson after one of his shows one night. I think he was playing the Broken Spoke. We got to talking and I told him that I just moved here for the summer, I was a big fan and I was a country musician also. He then proceeded to try and hook me up with the girls behind me by saying “Hey ladies have you met Jimmy? Look at this tall handsome man!” A few nights later Dale and his band played at the Continental Club and during the show he saw me off the to the side of the stage and invited me to come up and play a song. I then started coming to see dale every Monday night when he played at the Continental and he always brought me onstage. It was the coolest thing ever!”
Proudest highlight or accomplishment in your musical career?
“I’m very proud of my first ever EP that I recorded in Austin but I’m also just proud of all the strides I’ve made in general. I’ve played shows in at least 8 different states, gained fans across the country and even a few overseas, and just grown as a musician. It’s been a fun ride that I hope is just getting started.”
By: Wil Christman
