February 9th, 2020 7pm Stage 2
Celebrating Rockwood Music Hall’s 15-Year Anniversary!
Jim Keller & The Usual Mess feat. Tony Scherr, Yuval Lion, Ben Zwerin, Rich Hinman, Chris Bruce, Jon Cowherd, Shawn Pelton, Dan Mintseris and whomever walks in off the street…
Jim Keller & The Usual Mess
With an impressive resume that includes co-founding Tommy Tutone and co-writing the ubiquitous '80s pop sensation "867-5309/Jenny," Keller began recording solo in 2010. This album marks Keller's third collaboration with producer Hector Castillo (Beck, David Bowie, Brazilian Girls), who shared co-producing duties with Byron Isaacs (Levon Helm) this time around. But in some key respects, Heaven Can Wait is a departure from Jim's previous releases.
"For years, I had a consistent band," he explains. "I recorded and performed behind my last two CDs with them. Then Byron Isaacs got too busy with Levon Helm; Chris Masterson went off with Steve Earle and Glenn Patscha lit out with Sheryl Crow. "So for the next two years I gigged with some of the best players in town, stringing together a different combination of musicians for every show. In the process I've worked with some of the most wonderful players in New York, using my weekly jam sessions in a studio in the back of a quilting factory as a home base." The jam sessions have affectionately become known as Jim Keller's Revolving Door.
"There are so many brilliant players in this town and I am blessed whenever I am in the room with them," Jim enthuses. "They all bring something original and new to the mix. It's like a pickup basketball game: you got a three-point shooter, you hit him at the three-point line; you got a guy who can pass, you give him the ball. There is nothing more insane than five guys doing their thing in a way that works as a whole."