Jim Hanft, Live@Chessvolt Studios
Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 3:09PM 
Americana's popularity has grown of late, and it suits indie-folk singer-songwriter Jim Hanft, who is friendly with fiddle atop his young musical storylines like ice cream over apple pie.
Although the band numbered five, including sweet vocal harmonies from Sam, Jim's girlfriend's cousin (oh my), simplicity rules his tunes, highlighting Jim's creations which intelligently depict love and longing in mainstream, boyish terms.
A pretty animated, socially extroverted character, Jim playfully and sarcastically commanded the room during his Luxury Wafers session. Pair this energy, bordering on mania, with his lyrical content, and the suggestion arises that Hanft may have been the bright teen conjuring trouble in high school, just because. He's the kind of guy who's the boss of himself and he'll damn well go and do anything he puts his mind to. Believe me, he will.
Some of the choice lyrics from this set of songs include, "I'm rolling around the bedroom floor", "You might change as often as your shoes", "I've been mixing the drinks you're drinking a little too strong", "All my friends are strangers, selfish and sad", and the opening line to Superhero, which totally cracks me up, delivered with a sense of serious sensitivity, "Spreads her legs in her baby blue sundress".
Jim's music and his presence are fun, stimulating and engaging. Although the subject matter strays nowhere near comedy, a sense of humor and lightness invisibly assert themselves in Hanft's songs. His unique and loquacious way took me a minute to understand, but he, like his tunes, possesses an endearing quality. What a relief to skip the pretense of inaccessibly moody artist and get right to enjoying the delight in Jim Hanft's music.
Jim Hanft - Passenger Side - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.
Jim Hanft - China Doll - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.
Listen to the tracks (option/click to download):
Reader Comments (1)
As far as perfect representations can be in just a couple paragraphs and a short video, this is a perfect representation of Jim Hanft. Who ever wrote the tid-bit got him really good--the stuff about him being the smartest kid in the class who was always causing a ruckus because someone took his hand-sanitizer, or the time he went on a hunger strike because his mother accidently left his favorite heather gray, extra medium, T-shirt in the drier to long and it became shrunk on accident.
Jim Hanft does take over a room, but not in the way that JFK could take over a room, Jim's way of taking over a room is much more like being on a completely packed subway car after a major event, and after you get off the subway you walk to Joe's Pizza to get a slice, because nothing makes you more hungry than River Dance, and you notice that your wallet is not in your back pocket anymore. you think to yourself, "that jim hanft sure is doing great things out in sunny Los Angeles!"
this video made me proud. then it made me hungry for a meetball sub from either WaWa or Shea Stadium. good job Jimbo and crew! John paul is the sexiest roadhouse drummer i have ever seen, since i saw patrick swayze play roadhouse drums just by sheer coincidence.