James Michael Bianco III (born March 25, 1976) is an independent musician, singer, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 25, 1976, Bianco is the youngest child of James Bianco, Jr. and Jane (née Levy) Bianco. The family, which also includes one older sister, moved from Brooklyn to Long Island, New York. According to his biography, in 1979 Bianco's father traded two 35 pound barbells and a bench press for the first upright piano in the Bianco home.[1] As a youth, Bianco studied piano and played bass guitar in local bands. Bianco graduated from high school in 1994 and from college in 1998.
Career
After graduation, Bianco spent time in Europe. Upon returning to the United States, a friend from college invited Bianco to Los Angeles, California, to play in his band. Bianco moved to Los Angeles in the spring of 2000. He played bass and wrote songs with the group until they disbanded. Bianco decided to learn to play the guitar, refine his singing skills and set about assembling a band of his own. He rented a room in West Los Angeles for $80 a month and practiced until he felt comfortable sharing his music.[1] He began attending open mic nights around Los Angeles, performing at least three nights a week. One evening he attended a songwriter night at a small coffee shop in Hollywood called the Hotel Café. Soon after, Bianco was invited to open for Gary Jules.[2]
Jim Bianco performing live at the Hotel Cafe on August 28, 2009.
The Hotel Café has grown from a small coffee shop into what is now considered one of the finest venues in Los Angeles. The Hotel Café has been credited for the renaissance of the Los Angeles singer/songwriter movement that began in the early 2000s.[3] Initiated by Gary Jules’ idea of creating a supportive space for artists to hone their craft, coupled with appropriate timing and genuine need, musicians began gravitating to the Hotel Café. In a cooperative effort, Bianco, along with fellow musicians Gary Jules, Cary Brothers and owners Marko Schafer and Max Mamikunian, worked together to transform the space, book, promote and perform shows. Their efforts received a big promotional push from legendary KCRW music director Nic Harcourt. Today, the Hotel Café is considered one of the best venues in Los Angeles, noted for the superior sound, intimate setting and quality of the acts that perform on the bill.[4][5]
Bianco is a regular performer at the Hotel Café and his residencies are a popular favorite.[6] Usually playing with his full band, Bianco's sets have a reputation for being sold-out, high energy and sexually charged events. On occasion, Bianco has rented a catwalk and invited his burlesque dancer friends to perform and throw feathers during his set.[7] Bianco is also known for eliminating the traditional fourth wall between audience and performer by leading his band into the center of the audience during his song “Sing” encouraging audience participation, which culminates in a sing-along.[8][9]
On March 4, 2008, Bianco's album “Sing” was the first album released on the Hotel Café Records label. Bianco has said that most of the songs on the album had been composed on the piano in the back room at the Hotel Café after regular club hours.[8]
Bianco's band consists of Matt DeMerritt (aka Matty D) on saxophone, piano and flute, Brad Gordon (aka Professor Beeg) on keyboard, trumpet, clarinet and accordion, Kenny Lyon on electric guitar, Jason Pipkin (aka Pip) on drums, Josef Zimmerman (aka Joe EZ) on upright bass.
Bianco's full band was established by 2003. The first official member to join the band was drummer, Jason Pipkin. Bianco met Pipkin at a gig the day that Pipkin arrived in California from Texas. Bianco asked Kenny Lyon (then just a friend) to suggest a bass player and was introduced to Josef Zimmerman. Bianco began looking for a saxophone player and Zimmerman suggested Matt DeMerritt. After seeing Bianco's show, multi-instrumentalist Brad Gordon joined the crew offering to play keyboard, trumpet, clarinet and accordion. After seeing Bianco's show at The Mint in Los Angeles, Kenny Lyon decided to join the band.
In 2014, Bianco formed his 12 piece band Forniquette. Bianco describes their sound as "modern brothel music." The members of Forniquette are Jim Bianco (Vocals), Alex Budman (Clarinet/Tenor), Jon Flower (Bass), Jordan Katz (trumpet), Phil Krohnengold (Accordion), Elizabeth Lea (Trombone), Danny Levin (Trumpet), Chris Lovejoy (Percussion), Nick Mancini (Vibes), David Moyer (Baritone Sax), Jason Pipkin (drums), David Ralicke (Trombone).
Albums
Bianco has officially released four studio albums:
He has also released one studio EP of ballads titled "Painkiller", one live album titled "Jim Bianco Live at the Hotel Cafe", and one four song self-titled EP with his brothel band Forniquette.
Prior to restructuring the CDBaby Top Sellers format in July 2009, three of Bianco's albums were ranked among the top 50 best sellers in the following categories:
Bianco has been named among the top 100 hottest unsigned acts in Southern California by music trade industry journal Music Connection in 2002, 2004 and 2007.
In 2003, Bianco entered the “Acoustic Live” music competition. Out of more than 500 applicants, Bianco placed first. The contest has been billed as an elimination style acoustic battle of the bands. Submissions are judged based on songwriting, performance, musicianship and originality.[10]
On September 2, 2004, Bianco and his band appeared on Nic Harcourt's esteemed Morning Becomes Eclectic radio program in support of the release of "Handsome Devil." They performed seven songs over the course of two sets and Bianco was interviewed by Nic Harcourt.[11]
In 2004, RCA recording artist Tunde Baiyewu, a member of Lighthouse Family, covered Bianco's song “Long Way Home.” The recording was released as a bonus track on Baiyewu's self-titled solo album, "Tunde."
Bianco has been a regular performer in showcases at the SXSW musical festival since 2002.
Bianco was one of eleven Los Angeles singer/songwriters invited by the Getty Museum to participate in a special Friday evening performance called "Drawing on LA: Songs for Taddeo Zuccaro". This concert was presented in conjunction with the exhibit "Taddeo and Federico Zuccaro: Artist-Brothers in Renaissance Rome." On December 14, 2007, Bianco played piano and sang his song “Thundercloud.” [12][13]
On February 22, 2008, Bianco's song “Belong” was featured as KCRW’s Top Tune.[14]
On November 16, 2008, Bianco performed a five-song set as a part of NPR's Mountain Stage in Charleston, West Virginia while on tour supporting Shelby Lynne.[16]
The Ventura Film Society invited Bianco to screen his series of short films and perform a set on March 17, 2010, at the 2010 Ventura Film Society Benefit.[17]
Bianco walked the red carpet at the world premiere of the film Ca$h on March 25, 2010. The film features four of Bianco's song. The event was held at Brenden Theaters at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.[18]
Bianco made a guest appearance playing guitar with Aqualung during the musical guest segment of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 28, 2010. They performed Aqualung's song "Reel Me In."
Bianco was on the cover of the Ventura County Reporter on the May 6, 2010, issue.[19] He was quoted in Butch Warner's feature article, "The Magic of Music."[20]
On June 2, 2010, Bianco appeared as a guest on Sue Marchant's BBCCambridgeshire radio program. Along with being interviewed, Bianco sang his song "Sing" and Marchant played the studio version of "I've Got A Thing For You."[21]
In August 2010, Bianco performed at Hotel Carolina, an annual two-day singer-songwriter festival held in South Carolina.
On August 3, 2010, Bianco collaborated with Kickstarter to launch a fan funding campaign to raise money for the release of his third official studio album, "LOUDMOUTH." Over the course of the 45-day campaign, people were asked to pledge money in exchange for gifts based on their pledge level. Bianco's gifts included autographed advance copies of the new album, T-shirts, buttons, a recording of your favorite Jim Bianco song, a limited edition memorabilia book, a personal song written based on a questionnaire with the song appearing on an album with proceeds going to charity, a house concert, a live stream performance of a set from inside his apartment, opportunities to appear as a character in the animated video for his song "Elevator Operator," and Bianco would become an ordained minister in the Universal Church to officiate a wedding. The campaign ended at 11:59pm EDT on September 17, 2010. Bianco received $31,500.00 in pledges from 346 backers, exceeding his initial pledge goal of $15,000.00 by $16,500.00.[22]
On March 4, 2011, Bianco's song "Sinners," from his album Loudmouth, exclusively premiered worldwide in an article by Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post.[24]
Bianco regularly lends his time and talents to charities and benefits. The following is a list of events in which he has participated: Toys for Tots, Eric Garcetti Fundraiser, Rainn Benefit (2007 & 2008), Jordan Lawhead Cancer Fund (March 2009), Obama Nights! (Oct 2008), Night with the Friends of El Faro (May 2005), Ho-Ho-Tel for LAFD Sparks of Love Toy Drive (Dec 2008 & 2009), Pop & Politics with Jimmy Dore for Hurricane Katrina Relief (2005), Doctors Without Borders (Feb 2008), Tom's Shoes (July 2009), Give Into the Groove to benefit American Red Cross (2005), Larchmont Charter School (June 2009), Ventura Film Society Festival Benefit (2010) and The Pink Project.
In 2002, Keiji Matsumoto, a Japanese independent record store owner, discovered “Well Within Reason” online and contacted Bianco about selling the album in his store Café Goattee.[11] The album sold out quickly and with the release of “Handsome Devil” in 2004, Matsumoto booked Bianco on a tour across Japan in February 2005. Accompanied by Brad Gordon and Jason Pipkin, Bianco played all over the country. In 2006, Bianco released his album "Steady" in Japan. Bianco, again with Brad Gordon and Jason Pipkin, toured Japan in April 2006 and returned for their third tour in June 2009. In April 2010, Bianco returned to Japan for an acoustic tour, playing six shows in five cities. In March 2012, Bianco returned to Japan for a seven city tour with Gary Jules.
