JUNE 2008 UPDATE:
Wow, what a couple months!! Jeff's single and video did everything we hoped it would do and more. The video debuted and has been #1 on CMT's pure 12-pack for 4 weeks straight! The next single, which goes for adds on radio June 28th, is titled "Riverbank". We think it will do quite well, but we're counting on you Jeff Bates fans out there to help us. Jimmy's also been in the studio putting the final touches on Sarah Darling's debut CD. This is going to be one awesome CD! Check out Sarah's myspace page.
Jimmy also made his motion picture debut, landing a bit part in the new Hannah Montana movie being filmed in Nashville! He'll be playing the piano with Taylor Swift in a scene, as well as being hired behind the cameras as piano coach to Miley's Co-star in the movie. Jimmy said the whole experience was both fun and educating. Be sure to catch the movie when it opens. Jimmy performed at the CMA festival with Faith Hill, as well as perfoming with Faith for a soon to be televised special called "V To The Tenth" also performing with Idol star and Tony winner Jennifer Hudson. Recent studio appearances include Bill Ray Cyrus, including a song which will be in the new film as well, and the great Kenny Rogers. So much more to come, so check back often, and thanks again for visiting!!
MARCH 2008 UPDATE:
Jeff Bates' new single is out!! The song is titled "Don't Hate Me For Loving You", and should be at your local radio station as we speak. Call and request it, and let us know what you think. Also, you can preview the entire album on www.cmt.com So far, all the press seems to agree that we've made a CD we can be proud of. We are, by the way! Jeff's splash page is up and running as well.www.jeffbates.net is accepting fans to sign on to be a part of his street team. We are also starting to work on Sarah Darling's debut project for BRMG. We really believe she's gonna be huge, so stay tuned for her.
Jimmy's session work has been busy as well, with projects for Faith, Julianne Hough (2-time Dancing With The Stars winner and Universal recording artist), new RCA artist Christian Kane, and Kenny Rogers in a couple weeks, to name a few. He also has a song on the debut album by Equity artist Blake Wise, whom he also recorded on. The song is called "Cool Me Down".
The new recording studio that is the home of BRMG has been renamed "Ronnie's Place" after one of it's previous owners, the legendary Ronnie Milsap. The room is a westlake style studio with a 56 input Neve 8128 console, Protools HD3 Accel, Apple Logic 8, and Ronnie's 9' Yamaha Concert grand piano, which most agree may be the finest piano in town! For more info, go to http://www.myspace.com/ronniesplacestudio . So, Jimmy and Tonya are busier than they've ever been. Tonya, who's official position is VP/director of artist relations for the label, is in L.A. with Jeff filming his first video for his new single. Be sure to look for it on CMT and GAC in April.
There's much more, but that'll do for now! Be sure to go to Jimmy's myspace page and add him as your friend and stay in touch for more hot news from Jimmy and BRMG. "I'm Just Sayin!!"
FEBRUARY 2008 UPDATE:
BLACK RIVER MUSIC GROUP has a brand new home! The company has purchased 12 Music Circle as their new place of business. The two story building in the heart of Musc Row is also home to the newly redone and renamed "Ronnie's Place" recording studio, paying tribute to the studio's former owner, Ronnie Milsap. Ronnie recorded some of his biggest hits there, and this legacy will continue, as BRMG begins it's new year with a brand new release from Artist Jeff Bates in April, a single going to radio this month, and promotion beginning on their brand new artist, Sarah Darling. After the way last year ended, this is a positive beginning, and one we're all looking forward to. There will be a full media blitz with both artists beginning with Jeff. Look for a video of Jeff's first single shortly, and stay tuned for info on his new website. Meanwhile, go to www.blackrivermusicgroup.com and make sure you register to get more info.
Meanwhile, Jimmy started the year off with two shows with Faith Hill performing with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. These shows, both with proceeds going to charity, showcased Faith's amazing vocal ability. Supported by the symphony, and backed by a streamlined four-piece band and her trusted singers, Faith showed off both her class and versatility with songs ranging from Paris to Piece Of My Heart, all backed with new arrangements by David Campbell and Jimmy Nichols, among others. Both young and old alike were mesmerized by Faith's undeniable talent. Hopefully, she'll be enticed to do more of these shows this year.
Also, BRMG held it's innaugural gala at Sambuca in Nashville at the end of the month. Around 150 guests came out to celebrate, including Jeff, Sarah, and Dancing with The Stars' Jullianne Hough. Good music was heard, and good times were had. Stay tuned for some photos.....and keep checking back!
JANUARY 2008 UPDATE
Well, it's been a difficult end of 2007. My family is grieving from the loss of our first sibling. Terry Marie Ginnetti passed away December 11, 2007. She left four children along with 7 brothers and sisters todeal with the great loss. Please keep the family in your prayers as we go through this very personal time.
The news hasn't all been bad, however. The new year saw our new record label grow by leaps and bounds. We have hired Rick Baumgartner as VP of radio promotion, Joe Carroll as National Director of radio promotion. We also signed Artist Garage in L.A. to handle our distribution. Echo will be handling our internet interests, and the biggest news of all. We're moving into our new digs. We purchased The old studio originally belonging to Ronnie Milsap, and recently home of Category 5 records. We'll be closing at the end of the month. We'll be able to handle our whole operation, including all of our recordings for our flagship artist, Sarah Darling. More to come later, my friends/ Still some dates with Faith coming up, though not a tour.
NOVEMBER UPDATE:
Sorry for the long delay, but things have been a little crazy. First off, let's update everyone with BRMG. Black River has officially signed our first artist, Sarah Darling. Sarah is an amazingly talented singer/songwriter from Iowa, and although she's only 25, she has the personality and voice of someone who's lived life to it's fullest and is not afraid to share her awesome talent with the world. We're looking forward to a long and sucessful partnership with this amazing yound artist. Please check out her myspace page. Search Sarah Darling or click this link: http://www.myspace.com/sarahdarlingmusic and be sure to add her as a friend. Look for her website coming soon. Jimmy and his wife Tonya have certainly had their hands full getting everything up and running in time for the official launch in December. There's more to come from BRMG with another signing happening as we speak.
Jimmy's also been busy doing some shows with his old boss, the one and only Reba! Jimmy will be in L.A. in December doing a performance with Reba, details of which will be posted on her website. Check the links button to find out more. Along with a few more TV appearances with Faith, Jimmy's been busy as usual and is looking forward to taking some time off for the holidays! But before that happens, he'll be in NYC doing the Today Show with Faith, along with a performance for a local radio broadcast.
Session work is still a big part of Jimmy's world, and he's been busy doing that as well. Along with new releases from Carrie Underwood and Brooks & Dunn, Jimmy also had the honor of working on a record with Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, which was produced by Jimmy's good friend and respected L.A. producer Steve Dorff. Be sure to check out Steve's web site for more info on this legendary producer/songwriter. Jimmy also finished working on a Christmas album with Carnie Wilson of Wilson-Phillips fame and daughter of Legendary Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Jimmy programmed all the instruments except the guitars and vocals. Famed producer Richard Landis hired Jimmy after working with him on previous recordings with Lorrie Morgan and Juice Newton. "Working with Richard has always been a learning experience and a blast, and getting to work with Carnie was an amazing thrill as well!", Jimmy said. He's already been asked to work on Carnie's next project, so stay tuned.
Much more to come, so stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.
AUGUST UPDATE:
Well, the tour's over....finally! It's been a long summer, but we all had a great time this year, and the band rocked really hard this year. We had some great shows in Canada, and the people were amazing. Faith even received a 5 minute standing ovation in Winnipeg! WOW! Returning to the states brought even more excuberant fans, as I'm sure you've heard by now. Some crazed fan went a little south on the handshake with Tim, and Faith let the girl know how she felt about it. It happened right in front of Jimmy, who stood there befuddled. We'll list more later, but suffice to say it was a wild tour, and Tim and Faith were the consumate professionals. It was sad to see it all end, but I'm now officially back at the label, and we're getting ready to announce our first two artists. Stay tuned. We'll also post some new pics and video from the tour soon. Please keep checking back for more. Thanks for stopping by!
JUNE UPDATE!!
June had been a busy month for Jimmy. The tour he's currently on, Soul 2 Soul II 2007, the sequel to the record-breaking tour last year is blowing last year's out of the water! Reviews have been stellar, and Faith and the band have been having the time of their lives. If you been thinking about going, trust me, you will not regret it. This will probably be the last time these two tour so you need to come out and be a part of country music history.
BLACK RIVER MUSIC GROUP is officially up and running. Look for our article in this weeks Tennessean and Music Row. Signings are soon to be announced. The tour should be over around 8/10, closing in LA. Jimmy will be in the studio again with Faith doing a special project to be announced soon. Look for more promotion dates around the time of the release of her GREATEST HITS CD. Jimmy Would also like to thank Ben James and all the fine folks at Yamaha for allowing him to be their newest artist on their impressive roster. Along with His NeKo, Jimmy's still on the cutting edge on this tour with the new Motif XS8. Tim's long-time keyboardist Jeff McMahon is also a member of the family, and is using it as well. So much more to be included, with pictures and videos soon to come. Stay tuned for more updates on BRMG. Also, don't forget to check out Jimmy's MYSPACE. Check the links section for hyper links to the various sites.
Any of you gear fans, remember to check out the info section for the latest gear Jimmy owns and uses. Thanks for all your support.
May Update:
Well, it's been a busy month! Jimmy's been in the studio with Carrie Underwood working on her new album. Mark Bright's producing again, and it's gonna be a great project. He's also been in working with both his current and former bosses, Reba and Faith. Along with preparations for the upcoming Soul2Soul II tour, he's also been busy with Rob Hendon and his wife Tonya at Black River getting ready for the official announcment of their new label. Keep checking on this site for information regarding their new artist. The site is up aready, and you can check it out by going to WWW.BLACKRIVERMUSICGROUP.COM .com. Fill out the form on the page to be included in all our artist news. We have some exciting things in store. More info as we get it. Jimmy has also set up his MySpace site. Just type in www.myspace / jimmynichols. More to come this year, so keep checking back!
March Update:
I thought I'd pass on a little information about a project I did a few years ago. After being approached by a good friend and founding member of the group Survivor, Jim Peterik, I became involved with a band called MECCA. The brainchild behind MECCA is an amazing singer/songwriter named Joe Vanna. Joe lives in Chicago, but came to Nashville to work on M1. We 'll probably be doing M2 kind of piecemeal, what with my schedule being as crazy as it is. You can go to myspace.com/meccaofmusic to hear what it's all about. It's not country, but instead kind of a mix of Toto, Mr. Mister, Survivor, with great harmonies, melodies and musicianship. All the things I'm so passionate about even in the country format. Check it out. Also, we've released Mindy from the label due to management differences. Although I'm proud of the project we did together, It became apparent that we can't work in an environment without mutual trust and respect. We wish her the best in her future endeavors, and hope she gets her life together, if for no other reason than for the sake of her precious young son, Zander. Meanwhile, BRMG is moving forward, with acts approaching us daily to do a project with them, so stay posted. The site should be up soon, and is WWW.BLACKRIVERMUSICGROUP.COM It's not up yet, but stay tuned. Thanks everyone for your support.
PERFORMANCES
Jimmy will be performing with Faith Hill for the CMT awards show on April 16. He's also just finished tracking with Reba for her upcoming project. You can check the links page to go the their sites.
February Update:
It's may not be public news yet, but it is official....Black River Music Group is Nashville's newest record label. The label, formed in early January of this year, is the newest co-venture of studio musician/producer Jimmy Nichols and several other partners. Along with longtime friends Terry & Kim Pegula and Nashville veteran Rob Hendon, Jimmy and his wife/partner Tonya will be involved in all aspects of the label's operation, and an official press release is in the works, but we thought we'd give you all the heads up!! Look for more information right here on this site!
Jimmy has also signed on again to be Musical Director/keyboardist/singer for the 2007 encore of Soul 2 Soul II starring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Those of you who saw the tour last year may remember this incredible production, which made headlines as the biggest and best selling country tour in country music history. Check the LINKS section to go to Faith's official site and get tour dates when they become available.
It's looking to be a busy year for Jimmy and Tonya, but they're both looking forward to a sucessful venture as well as another record-breaking tour. For those of you who may be keyboard enthusiasts, don't forget to check out the INFO section for a complete list of the equipment Jimmy uses both in the studio and on the road.
Also, check out Jimmy's new MYSPACE page......http://www.myspace.com/jimmynichols There are three new songs from Jimmy's upcoming new mood album. It's a collaborative effort with Jimmy's friend and long time session drummer Tommy Harden. It's not country or rock, but instead just easy listening songs to ease your mind and relax your soul. Let us know what you think .
Thanks, and keep checking back for more news.
Update: Jimmy Nichols performs in LA at NAMM Show!
Jimmy performed at the OpenLabs booth to help show off their state of the art Keyboard, The NeKo64 Gen 2. Jimmy has used this keyboard for both of his last two tours, Reba and Faith. To read more about this amazing keyboard, see Open Labs in the links page. Jimmy also got a surpise when his good friend, David Pack showed up at the booth on Friday and sat in. David, founding member and lead singer/songwriter for Ambrosia, sang one of his biggest hits, "You're The Biggest Part Of Me" with Jimmy accompanying him on the MiKo keyboard. The crowd reaction to this impromptu performance said it all! David then helped Jimmy realize one of his biggest dreams when he introduced Jimmy To Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys! Brian was there signing autographs on an unannounced visit, but David got Jimmy up front with the living legend for a photo op. Look for new photos coming soon on the photo page. Needless to say, it was a great weekend for Jimmy, which started with a recording session for another legend, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers. Jimmy's been working with well known producer/arranger Steve Dorff and songwriter Shayne Fair on Bill's upcoming CD. Stay tuned for more info and links.