At times Jim from the Moon plays acoustic tunes about girls, the devil, and similar distractions. They flow in the vein of Loudon Wainwright III and Neil Young, sung with a voice soaked in years of Irish storytelling. Other times he expels far-out electric rock that is primal and space-ward, with hints of Hendrix's blues. Both sides are focused, catchy, and ready to be eaten by your ears.

Jim is going into the studio this month with drummer Jeff Boyd to record their debut dark folk/space rock album. They will be promoting the album throughout venues in Baltimore/D.C., including headlining the No Kings Collective art show "Leap Year" on February 4th at The Dunes in D.C. with Facil, Downtown and Thomas Pipkin, A.C.M.E., and food provided by special guests Tarsier.

Jim from the Moon has been playing guitar and writing original music since he was 11. Growing up he spent summers with his family in Ireland. There, he was immersed in the culture of storytelling, with seemingly everyone able to pick up any instrument and play a tune. In high school he taught his two friends to play guitar and bass so he could start his first band. They played as the grungy punk rock band Utica with Drummer Evan Sheperd from 2002-’04, recorded demos "Algal Bloom" and "Death To Emo" and played extensively with the local punk rock bands of Northern suburban N.J.

During college, Jim formed the guitar-based rock band Jim Prior and the Band from the Moon with previous bassist Jose Sofio and guitarist John Picini, plus drummer James Monaghan. In 2006 they recorded the "Spacemen EP" with engineer Jon Witte at the Music Machine Studio in Hackensack, N.J. In 2007 that band evolved into Antennae with bassist Jose Sofio and drummer James Monaghan. In 2007 they recorded the demo "Sounds from the End of the World (Heard From Underground)" in Jim's childhood home and played at some legendary venues around N.Y./N.J. (The Stone Pony, Mercury Lounge, Mainstage, The Pussycat Lounge, The Meat Locker). Also in 2007, Jim from the Moon released his first solo album "Raining on the Feathers of a Dead Bird." It was self-produced and recorded by himself in an old attic full of spiders. The album was a mix of layered acoustic and electric guitars, with spacey vocals reminiscent of Frusciante's more concentrated solo work.

In late 2008, Jim from the Moon teamed up with childhood friend Sam Lehmert (engineering/bass) and Mike Neglia (drums) to begin work on what would become "The Year I Grew My Hair Real Long." It was an experiment in melding their love of outward-reaching bands such as Radiohead/Devo with their admiration of the pop stylings of ’60s bands The Beatles/The Beach Boys/The Tokens. They finished mixing the album on the same day that Jim moved to Ireland. There, he found himself busking on the streets of Galway, playing local open mics, and writing songs that would later appear on his next album.

In the winter of 2010-’11 he moved to Baltimore and quickly got together with engineer Mike Franklin at Hour Haus Studios to record the EP "I Am Going to Steal You," a short but rich collection of tunes written while in Ireland and Baltimore. It is a stripped-down sound highlighting Jim's unique take on the old Irish "Sean-nos" singing, strummed and plucked to a warm acoustic guitar. Soon after recording "I Am Going to Steal You," Jim started to play with local drummer Jeff Boyd. They began building an impressive repertoire of dark folk/space rock tunes as a two-piece. They have played many venues in Baltimore and D.C. (The 8x10, Joe Squared, Sidebar Tavern, SubmergeDC) and plan to expand their fan base while promoting their upcoming album (due out early 2012).

Jim is constantly writing and sharpening his craft with ventures into many different sounds and influences, on a life-long quest to fill a void he sees in modern music.

Instrumentation: 

Jim - Guitars & Vocals 

Jeff Boyd - Drums 

Discography

Utica: 

Algal Bloom EP - 2003 

Death to Emo EP - 2004

Antennae: 

Sounds From the End of the World EP - 2007

Jim from the Moon: 

Spacemen EP - 2005 

Some Sound I Found LP - 2007 

Raining on the Feathers of a Dead Bird LP - 2008 

The Year I Grew My Hair Real Long LP - 2009 

I Am Going To Steal You EP - 2011