NEWS ARCHIVE

"June 23, 2009" Access2Music Review...
Hey guys, check out http://access2music.info/ for the awesome reviews of some of the Germany shows last month!!!!!

5/19/09 - New videos, tour de-briefing...
Hey guys I got asked to do a video for my live rig and studio setup for the fine folks at Fender musical instruments! Check out the link here, and scroll down to "favorites"...
http://www.youtube.com/user/fendermusical

Also, our good pal Starr from Pennsylania covered "Carburetor", check her out here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtvYeyZaJtk

Tour was a blast, big thanks to the boys from Los Straitjackets for coming out to check us out and say hello, and our good pal Dibbs Preston from the Rockats for stopping to visit! Check back for photos this evening. We busted our butts this trip ya'll, pulling two all-nighters to make it from gig to gig. Im speaking for Nate and Randy here, but we're all sick of the van haha. Peace and grease guys, new album is in the works..
SJ

2/7/09 - John Brown's , next Friday!!!
Hey guys, next Friday, February 13, at John Brown's on the square in Marion, Illinois, we're recording a live CD!!! Photographers, party favors, the whole bit!!! Be there and get your picture in the booklet, and be heard on the disc!! Show starts at 8, see you there!!
Peace and Grease,
SJ

1/6/09 - Northeast....
This weekend we'll be headed to Kingston, Torrington, and Philly for a couple of shows! Its been a few months since we've been up there, really looking forward to hanging out with everybody again!! New songs are still in the works, the holidays and a Dallas Alice tour have been keeping everybody as busy as possible. Keep you updated on the tour, peace and grease!
SJ

12/17/08 -
"Horsepower! Horsepower! available again!!"
"Hey ya'll we've been sold out for about a month now, but wait no longer! A new shipment of Horsepower! Horsepower! is here and ready! Check out our Merch page to get yours today. Thanks again!
Peace and Grease..
SJ"

11/19/08 - NEWS!
Hey guys, things may seem stagnant over here in Blacktops land, but a lot has been brewing. Make sure and listen close when you hear the new Black Diamond Harley Davidson commercials, thats yours truly you're hearing!

We'll be out East in a few weeks, really looking forward to playing with our good pals the Cocktail Shakers again in Pittsburgh, can't wait to hang out with Jim and crew in Cleveland, and raise hell with our good pals the Pussyfoot Girls!

Most of my time lately has been devoted to writing. Im trying to keep local shows to a minimum so that I can get this new album done! Frankly, Im ready to play new songs, haha. Things are coming along, Ill keep you posted.

We'll be touring national again in April! Woohoo! Probably be out for 3 weeks, then in June its over to Europe for a month. Dynamite and Jungle have been great to us - can't wait to meet all the great folks I've became friends with. Peace and grease ya'll
SJ

10/22/08 - "Taylor Sprehe we meet again....."
Third time's a charm ya'll!! First things first, a big thank you hug to Dallas Alice's Sean Hopkins for filling in on drums for the past few months until Taylor could get going with us!

Southern Illinois native Taylor Sprehe is now drumming full time with yours truly. Taylor and I played in The Accelerators for a few years together, and we're more than happy to have him on board in the Blacktops. I've been hitting him up to fill the spot for a while now, and Taylor's skills are high demand around here. He's a rock-n-roll drummer through and through, exactly what we want, more ROCK, less BILLY! Bye-bye traditionalists!

Taylor plays his first show with us tonight in St.Louis at the Way Out Club, with the Black Fortys (I think we broke Sean into the band in St. Louis also ha!) Taylor will also hit the highways out East with us in December and January, as well as playing Europe in the Summer of next year. Let's make him feel right at home, so make sure and boo him on stage as much as you do Randy and me!

Other news, expect to hear new tunes at some shows! Sorry it took so long, I've got a million things going on. "57 Dragstrip", "Hemi", "Punch It", and "Riptide" are almost polished out and ready to go! Thanks again for all your support - peace and grease!

~Skinny Jim

August 19, 2008 - Finland's Jungle Records welcomes Skinny Jim & the Number 9 Blacktops!
We are proud to annouce that we are now being distributed overseas by Jungle Records! - the premier distributor for rockabilly/surf/retro rock in Finland! Check out the site, and drop them a line and tell them thanks for supporting your favorite 5-star rockabilly band!

Also, the October 2 show at Carbondale, Illinois' Hangar 9 with Southern Culture on the Skids is confirmed! Its an earlier show, Ill keep you posted with ticket availability and prices as soon as possible.
Peace and grease...
SJ

July 29, 2008 - Gretsch lists Jim on artist page
Hey guys, Gretsch has listed me on the artist page! Go to Gretsch Guitar Artist Page Scroll down to the "J" section....so I'm between the Reverend Horton Heat, and Jimmie Webster (inventor of the tap technique of guitar! Remember Eddie Van Halen?!?!). Within earshot of Joe Perry from Aerosmith and George Harrison.....a Beatle!!! This is very humbling! The Artist Profile Pages are in the works, stay tuned!
Jim

July 28, 2008 - NEWS...
Hey guys, great time at the Hangar 9 last weekend, thanks to all who came out! Big thanks to Mr. Bob Lohr sitting in on the keys with us! We owe you one Bob, sounded great!

Planning for winter 08 tour has began, we'll be in the Southeast and Northeast parts of the country! More shows are in the works overseas as well...stay tuned for news updates...

In other Blacktop news, I would like to say a huge thank you to Nate "Bedhead" Hopman for almost three years of rock-n-roll drumming for us! Nate is moving on to different endeavors and we wish him the best of luck. We are proud to welcome "Hickory Smoked Rockabilly" drummer Sean Hopkins to the lineup! Sean has been super busy fronting Louisville's "Dallas Alice", but is back in southern Illinois and about to be ran through the ringer! haha

In 2004, I met Nate through two other bands we were in. Nate sang in Chicago's "Rushmores", and I was playing guitar in "The Accelerators". We had a split bill at the High Point in St.Louis. Two years later, Nate and his lovely fiance Lisa Fisk (soon to be Lisa "Bedhead" Hopman!) moved from Chicago to southern Illinois for Lisa's major at SIU.

Nate had hung around the Lost Cross before, and we became good friends. He was at Tuff Luck one day, and we were talking about drumming. At that time, I had recorded "Hickory Smoked Rockabilly", but needed a drummer to play shows. I asked Nate to play one show, 5 songs, just for fun. He agreed to one show. I remember that first show like it was yesterday, the set list, the messups, you name it!

Well that one show, about 250+ shows later, and here we are haha. Lisa is continuing studies at SIU, and Nate's knees are already starting to shake in anticipation for their wedding in October! Nate has been around the country with me, shook the hands of the rockabilly greats with me, been a shoulder to cry on, and sometimes after shows, a shoulder to puke on! haha Good luck to you Nate, you're one of the best buddies a fella could ask for....

July 17, 2008 - Philadelphia...
Hey ya'll tomorrow starts day 1 of a short weekender out to the Blue Comet in Philadelphia/Glenside Pennsylvania! The Blue Comet is the rockabilly mecca, the place to play in this genre (Setzer shows up sporatically and sits in with bands)! We're very honored to have the opportunity to play here, much appreciation to Scott for having us out!
We're also proud to get to play at the new Snapper Magee's in Torrington, CT! We've played Snapper's in Kingston, hopefully some of you Kingston folks (you know who ya are!) will come out and support us again.

Friday, Jim and Michelle Murphy from Cleveland are hosting the Dragway 42 Rock and Race, this is going to be a blast! 3 nights of racing and rockabilly, can't wait to see some old friends again....Alleycasters, Pussyfoot Girls, Jim and Michelle! Big thanks to Colonel Justin Hughes for putting us up in Louisville, we owe ya Colonel! See you guys soon,
Jim

June 25, 2008 - New Album!
Hey ya'll after a bit of conflict with the midwest/west tour, we're back in good ol' humid Southern Illinois! Hopefully our pals Haze the Hides, along Sarah and family survived the flooding in Des Moines. Luckily we could avoid it....keeping you guys in prayers.

You may have noticed some cutting back on shows - well, no need to worry! You know the little round chrome things we sell at shows? They're called CDs, and they don't write themselves, so we've trimmed back about a dozen or so shows in order to focus on writing a new album! We're in the beginning stages of talking to a producer, I'll reveal the details if it comes through (we've all got our fingers crossed, we hope it does! )

I don't want to speak for Nate and Randy, but I know its going to be hard for me to go from playing SO many shows back to the writing mode. Live shows are what we live for, but creating the music ain't so bad! I've got a couple tunes I think you're really gonna dig, more of the hot-rodded rockabilly that blows that traditional boring stuff away! More distortion, more distortion! haha Randy, Nate, and I are actually starting our first writing session this week!! Thanks again for all your support, keep ya posted every step of the way...
Peace and Grease...
Sj

June 12, 2008 - "Here we go again!"
Tomorrow starts the first show of two more weeks on the road! We're really looking forward to getting out west and playing with some great bands, and meeting cool folks. We can't thank you enough for your support with the local shows the past few weeks, these shows pay for the gas to get the tours rolling! Check back for tour updates, keep local music alive by supporting your hometown bands!
Peace and grease..
SJ

May 13, 2008 - And the winner is...
"Well guys its been long enough, the tattoo contest has officially ended! BUT we're still featuring any submissions on the site in a "show your tattoo" gallery! Its hard to pick your favorite, so after adding up the email votes I received, we've got a total of 4 winners!! Amy is the winner on the girls side! Woohooo! Easy to see why :) Also winning on the girls' side is Dylan Felty, what a cutie! Look out boys! haha For the fellas, we've got two also..Mr.Collin Hill and Mr.Carl Becker!!! What badasses you guys rock! I will be in touch with all of you regarding your prizes shortly!

Keep those Skinny Jim tattoo pics coming in though, we'll post them on here, and they're always great ways to remember the live shows, and show your support for the rockabilly scene!"

May 9, 2008 - Reviews, updates, tour and all that jazz!
Hey guys if you haven't noticed we've got tons of new tour pictures up! First time out east was a blast! Big thanks to all the bands who split bills with us, put us up for the night, and bought us drinks. We owe you one.

Also, slight change in the Herrinfest show. We'll actually be playing two spots, one at 6 and one at 9:15. This is great for us, more time for us local boys to show up the national acts huh? haha Come out and have a great time with us if ya can!

We've got a couple local shows before we hit the road again in a few weeks. I guess this is life now...it ain't all local. It hit me 3 nights ago outside of Indianapolis. I payed $4 for a gallon of gas. It hit me how much we appreciate you guys buying our CDs, buying shirts, telling your pals to support the Blacktops. That stuff helps out. You know who you are. Thanks ya'll.

Other news, we've got two killer reviews this month! "Rockabilly Magazine" did a great review on Horsepower, but "Blue Suede News" did a more awesome review than that! We actually got reviewed before Ringo Starr in the magazine haha! Pick a copy of each up if ya can, I'll try to get them posted on here asap for ya.

Feels good to be home, see ya at the hot spots. Peace and grease.. Jim

APRIL 3, 2008 - News!
"Hey guys this weekend starts our month long tour of the East coast! We're very excited to get some miles under our belts for the Spring, and to play with some great bands we've only talked to via this interweb thing. Make sure and check the myspace page for the addresses of the venues, and check out the bands we're splitting shows with! We're looking forward to seeing some old friends out east too! (Kate and Leah!)

Also, big thanks to Jeremy and everybody at Black Diamond Harley Davidson in Marion, Illinois for officially sponsoring the Number 9 Blacktops! Keep an ear open in the next couple weeks for the new Black Diamond Harley Davidson TV commercials, yours truly and crew are the background music! Stop in and tell Jeremy you dig the Blacktops, and make sure and pick up some cool stuff while you're there! (the 2008 Sportsters are way cool by the way!). Check them out at www.blackdiamondhd.com"

MARCH 12, 2008 - News!
Jim is officially sponsored by Gretsch/FMIC! "I've played vintage and re-issue Gretsches through vintage and re-issue Fender amps for over ten years now, they've finally taken notice! haha" Keep an eye out on Gretsch Guitars website for more news. They're updating the site soon, and it'll will feature links, bios, and pics on your favorite Southern Illinois 5-star rockabilly frontman!

We've got the Chuck Berry gig tonight, I don't think we've been this nervous in a long time! Thanks to all who purchased tickets and are making the trip up to St.Louis to support us! Make sure and tell the bartenders and bar staff that you really dig the #9 Blacktops, we would love to get on good terms with Blueberry Hill!

Last, but by far most important, our photographer/webmaster/ great friend Darrell Mankin and his wife Rhonda are having their second child TODAY! We are very proud to call them friends, so make sure and keep them in your prayers for a safe delivery and at least a couple hours of sleep in the next year!

FEBRUARY 29, 2008 - Horsepower! Horsepower! charts on Freeform American Roots!!
Skinny Jim & the Number 9 Blacktops' "Horsepower! Horsepower!" charted at #27 for January on San Antonio's "Third Coast Music Magazine's Freeform American Roots" charts! The new album was also a pick for album of the month, by Motorbilly Radio's Del Villareal. Big thanks to Del and all the rockabilly/roots DJs out there for playing the album, and supporting true rock-n-roll...

Jim

DECEMBER 29, 2007 - Heading East...
Hey ya'll we will be taking our first tour of 2008 out east! We've got some great shows lined up with some even greater bands! We'll be in New York, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and tons more cool cities! If you're a friend of ours, or have family or friends in one of the cities, the more people we can get out the better! This affects the booking in 3 months, when we're back out there again.

We need your support on the road more than ever. Hope ya'll had a good Christmas, see you soon...

SJ

NOVEMBER 11, 2007 - Horsepower! Horsepower!
Hey guys, Jim here. The new album "Horsepower, Horsepower" is now available! You can drop us an email to get details on how to purchase one, or grab one at the Pmac Music in Carbondale (across from Mugsy McGuire's), Plaza Records in Carbondale (next to Sonic), Tuff Luck Tattoos in Carbondale (just east of the University Mall), or at any live Blacktops show

We're really pleased with the way the album came out, and we hope you dig it as well. It's got some cool extras that come with it... Keep checking back to this site for details on the new CD contest... (involving the new album's "hidden extras")

Thanks for the support, and thanks for keeping local music alive!

Jim