He’s Still Hypnotic: Jim Jones Revue

Former Thee Hypnotic/Black Moses frontman returns with another hotwired combo; prepping to bum-rush SXSW. Check out the video, below.

By Fred Mills

A few years ago I was in Austin at SXSW taking a leak in the men's room of one of the rock dives, and as I zipped up and started to turn to leave I vaguely recognized the gentleman standing at the pisser next to me. Sonofabitch - it's Jim Jones, it dawned on me, with whom I'd shared a very drunken evening back in the late ‘80s when he brought his band at the time, Thee Hypnotics, to town.

He remembered me and greeted me like a proper mate, which sometimes happens when a musician runs into a journalist who has had many a favorable thing to say over the years (and I wrote often and enthusiastically about Thee Hypnotics, let me tell ya - their brand of Stooges-spawned psychedelic overdrive, proto-stoner rock of a sort, was pretty awesome). But his pleasure was genuine, and as it turned out his new band, Black Moses, was about to play shortly, so I got a chance to be knocked outta my socks, sonically speaking, all over again.

Now word arrives that Jones has yet another combo, this time the economically-naked The Jim Jones Revue. They've been described as a "London powerhouse quintet [like] James Brown fronting the MC5 with Little Richard guesting on piano." Well, boy howdy to that. They've already been given the thumbs-up from the likes of MOJO and Record Collector for their self-titled debut and singles collection Here to Save Your Soul, and they've toured heavily, including opening for the Dead Weather in Europe after Jack White personally invited them. Among the band's other high profile fans: Black Crowes' Chris Robinson, and Mick Jones.

You can check out some tunes and videos at the group's YouTube page here - "Elemental" and "Hey Hey Hey Hey" will do quite nicely, ladies. Little Richard, indeed.

The Jim Jones Revue is about to go into Assault & Battery 2 Studio to record a new platter, with Bad Seeds man Jim Sclavunos producing, and then they're off to the 2010 edition of SXSW, so needless to say yours truly will be queueing up in Austin to get a fresh dose of the man's music.

Don't worry, Jim, I'll let you finish your business in the loo before walking up to shake your hand this year.