In 1979, when his father traded his uncle two 35-pound dumbbells and a bench press for an old piano in Brooklyn, no one could have foreseen the lasting effect this would have on young Jim Bianco. One EP and two albums into his career, including 2004’s highly praised Handsome Devil, Bianco has made quite a name for himself, with LA Weekly glowing, “Bianco has catapulted himself into a level of eclectic songcraft on par with Elvis Costello and Tom Waits.”
Likewise, when Bianco accidentally walked in on a “Songwriter Sunday” show-and-tell at Hotel Café, no one foresaw the lasting impact he would make on the venue. “I played a few songs, had a few drinks with the fellas who were loitering in the back of the room, and went home,” he says. “Two days later I get a call from Gary Jules asking to open his next show for him. I did that, and a thousand shows there since.”
Bianco was also apart of The Hotel Café Tour in 2005 and 2006, as well as its UK tour. And what has Jim thought of the experience? “The road is beautiful and cruel,” he says. “It’s like making love on a hardwood floor — it feels so good, so magical, but it can definitely hurt from time to time. I’ve had some of the best times of my life on these tours. Wild, good-hearted people instigating madness in other wild, good-hearted people. It’s a good recipe.” Expect Bianco’s next fulllength release later this summer.
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Photo by Laura Crosta - Text by Bruce Scott