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Backstage at Rockstar: Supernova -
Part 3
The second season of the Rockstar reality series has come to a close and Rockstar: Supernova has
crowned Canadian Lukas Rossi the new lead singer of the super group. Jim McGorman of the Rockstar
house band provides us with a recap of this year’s show and informs us of where the members of the
band go from here. As Jim celebrates the release of the new Jamestown CD, he also provides us with
an update of where his solo career is heading and what the show’s incredible success has meant to him
as an artist, in our third and final chapter of “Backstage at Rockstar: Supernova.”
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Hi everyone, I’m back! In case you didn’t catch last month’s article, my name is Jim McGorman and I’m part of the Rockstar house band.
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The past
two seasons
have
featured contrasting styles of
music; from a house band perspective
did you find one more
challenging then the other?
Not really. Although this year was
more rock music, I still feel diversity
within the season.We still went from
Peter Gabriel to Billy Idol. From
Aerosmith to The Killers. It’s always
challenging to play multiple styles
within the same set.
The house band is going to open
the premiere dates for Supernova
New Years Eve in Las Vegas. What
can we expect from this show?
Well, first let me set the record
straight, because there seems to be a
lot of confusion about this. The house
band is not playing in Las Vegas. It is
the only town we are not playing. Not
really sure why, but we start the tour
January 16th. The show will start with
the house band playing with Dilana,
Tobay, Magni and Storm. Then the
Panis Channel – then Supernova.
As a solo artist, your band,
Jamestown, has just released its
premiere album, The World is
Falling Down. Tell us about the
band, the music and your contribution
to the project?
Well, Jamestown is my baby. I’ve
been working on music my entire life,
and this is my first full-length record. I
wrote – or co-wrote – all the songs,
produced the record, and obviously
played guitar, keys and sang. I’ve been
working with a lot of the same musicians
over the years in L.A.; the drummer
(Dave Allen), bass player (Jon
Button), and I have been working on
original stuff for almost seven years.
The three of us played for Michelle
Branch when I was her Musical
Director from 2001 to 2002.
Emerson Swinford (guitar) and I have
been writing and playing together for
longer than that, and David Levita
(guitar) has been a great contribution
to the recording process. Though we
are all pro players and are generally
really busy working on other projects
(to pay the bills), this is something
we have done for ourselves. I am
incredibly proud of the record and
how we all worked together to make
it happen.We’ll see where it goes
from here.
It has had to have been an insane
few months doing the Rockstar gig
and finishing up an album. How did
you juggle all this? You must have
had many late night trips to
Starbucks.
I’m not going to lie to you; it’s not
easy. I just took a two-day break (the
first I’ve had in 5 months) to go see
the Philadelphia Eagles play in San
Francisco. I’m a huge football fan. But
now, I’m right back to learning songs
again. It’s fun, but it can be very tiring.
The important thing for me is to live in
the moment; you can get so caught
up in the hype of the show, or the
possibilities of things, but you have to
remember to have fun with it. I am
very fortunate that people pay me to
“play” for a living. It’s easy to take it
for granted, but I am constantly
reminding myself of how lucky I am.
As the show has grown to incredible
proportions and the house
band members have truly become
rockstars, how do you feel this
entire experience has impacted
your career, and what have you
learned from it all?
Well, that’s kind of an odd question for
me to answer, especially because I
don’t consider myself a “rockstar.” I
always tell people, “I’m not a rockstar,
I just play one on TV.” The show has
definitely helped my profile as a musician
for hire, and it has put me in front
of an unbelievable amount of people –
which helps me get my music out
there. So, it has been a nice shot in
the arm for my career.
As far as what I’ve learned from this,
there would not be enough space and
time for me to tell. Plus, if I told you,
then you’d tell someone, then they’d
tell someone and I wouldn’t have anything
for myself.
Just kidding, but really, I am the kind
of person that loves learning, loves
observing and evaluating. During the
last few seasons on Rockstar, I have
seen a lot of things that I will take
with me and use in all aspects of my
life. It would be great if we could keep
it going for a while, but if not, I had a
great time and will take the memories
with me.
Jim McGorman
My band: Jamestown -
www.myspace.com/aboutjamestown
www.jimmcgorman.com
www.rockstar.msn.com
jmcgorman@mac.com
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