By Gary Mandell and Gary Kohatsu
Husband and wife team, Jim and Anne Curry with backup deliver the multi-platinum hits of the great John Denver in a fun-filled evening of singing and stories.
Curry plays the guitar and sings Denver’s songs in a crystal clear tenor that will take your breath away. Anne, his wife, and musical partner, plays guitar and mandolin and sings harmony in all the right places.
You’ll be invited to sing along, share in the memories, learn new songs and howl at the moon (literally!) The music of the late John Denver is like an old friend, outlasting trends and standing the test of time.
Join acclaimed performer Jim Curry for this tribute to the music of one of the most beloved singer/songwriters ever to grace the stage. Tribute artist Jim Curry, whose voice was heard in the CBS-TV movie Take Me Home: The John Denver Story, has performed Denver’s music in sold out shows throughout the country and has emerged as today’s top performer of Denver’s vast legacy of multi-platinum hits.
Curry’s uncanny ability to mirror John’s voice and clean-cut look takes you back to the time when “Rocky Mountain High” “Sunshine” “Calypso” and “Annie’s Song” topped the charts, and his popular music had the heartfelt message of caring for the earth and caring for each other.
Denver’s message is worth repeating: “Be kind to the Earth and to each other. ” Jim will appear with his wife, Anne who plays mandolin and guitar, sings harmony and generally keeps Jim in line! Together, they will take you on a musical journey of the heart, where you will be invited to sing, clap your hands, stomp your feet and howl at the moon. Don’t worry, you already know the words to the songs.
Variety night tonight with special guest Mike Perlowin
Jim Curry and Co. will perform at Boulevard Music from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 at 4316 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. Tickets are $17.50.
The News had an opportunity to get acquainted with Jim Curry and the question-and-answer results follow.
1) When did you start playing and writing music, and when did you start taking it seriously (playing live, recording, etc)?
JC: I taught myself to play guitar when I was in the 7th grade. I did not pursue music in school until my 12th year. I was asked by the class sponsor to write a song for the class play “The Time Of Your Life” by William Saroyan. I did what I could with my guitar and they liked it enough to make it the class song.
The Rotary International awarded me a full two-year scholarship to study music. I took the two years and studied both music and commercial art.
I left college after the two years and went to work in advertising. It wasn’t until 2002 when I went full time into music, doing the John Denver Tribute shows. While working at a Trade Show Exhibit Company in Anaheim, Calif. I did the voiceover work, singing the voice of John Denver for the CBS Movie “Take Me Home: The John Denver Story.” That gave me the credit I needed to go into the music full time.
2) Who are your main influences?
At that time of my life, when I started playing guitar, John Denver was RCA’s top artist. Others I liked to play were Neal Diamond, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens.
3) Describe your particular style…
I think my natural style is similar to those artists of the ‘70s. I don’t dance around the stage like Garth Brooks or the Rock Stars. The singer-songwriter style is about delivering the lyrics and melody.
4) Where are you based? What do you think of the local scene?
I have lived in many places growing up. My Dad was in the Navy, so we moved a lot. I live in California now and of all the places growing up, Southern California has been the main location. I think California has been one of the most difficult music scenes to make it in the business. The industry here is too volatile. It never settles down into a set genre of music so the audiences are smaller and the venues are less likely to hire someone like me. We do well here when we perform in California; we just have a lot more gigs outside of California. The Central and East coast are the majority of our time on the road. We do over 100 shows a year. One year we performed over 150 shows and only a handful were in California.
5) Best gig to date? And worst?
With so many shows it is hard to pinpoint the best and the worst. In the top I would say there are a few: Red Rocks, Colo.; Verizon Wireless Amphitheater here in Southern California; and Connor Prairie, Indianapolis to name a few. The worst is a little easier to name because almost all of the venues we have played are real good places with great people to work with only one or two in the past 16 years have left a bad taste. I shouldn’t name names but it was a community theater in West Virginia and the venue was totally unprepared for us to be there. Their first comment when the 6-piece band walked on the stage to set up for the show was “Wow, we weren’t expecting so many.” We were still sound checking when the audience started entering to find their seat. The squealing feedback and horrible sound topped off one of the worst gigs I have ever had.
6) Do you have any albums / singles available?
Over the years I have released a handful of Albums: “Tribute 2” is a studio recording done here in the Burbank area; “Live In Lincoln” was a live concert we did in Lincoln, Neb.; we recorded a Christmas album “A Rocky Mountain Christmas” up in Big Bear Lake at what used to be the home of Oscar De La Hoya. A friend of ours bought the training facility and the homes up there and it was the perfect get-away to create and record. The last CD was released in October 2017. It is a landmark project. It has the very first licensed recording of John Denver’s last song “Yellowstone: Coming Home.” The song had never been published by John Denver and I have the honor of being the first. We have the original orchestra arrangement that Lee Holdridge wrote for John on this recording. There are four tracks that I co-wrote on this project and two other very eclectic John Denver songs you won’t find on a John Denver Album. “The Storms Of November” is a song John wrote for a Jacque Cousteau special. The other is “The Wandering Soul,” a very unique song by John that he performed at one of his symposiums accompanied only by a piano. The other cuts on the CD are songs some friends of mine wrote that are great tunes that fit this collection very well.
7) Have you played at Boulevard Music before? How did that connection happen? How did it go?
I have played Boulevard Music many times. They always go well. The attendance is always very strong and the people that come are very enthusiastic. My first time there I was just in the audience watching my friend Pete Huttlinger play a show for guitar legend Steve Vai, who later signed Pete to his label. Pete and I had been friends for many years. He was John Denver’s last lead guitar player. I learned a lot of how to play John Denver guitar from Pete. He has since past away and my last CD project has Pete playing on it. He and I actually started the project together then he passed away and John’s Piano player, Chris Nole, and I finished it. The entire project was recorded in Nashville, except for the drums on the title cut “Such A Wild Place,” a song I wrote. The drums were done here in Los Angeles by Richie Gajate Garcia, a world famous percussionist and drummer that also toured and recorded with John Denver.
- What can we expect from your upcoming performance?
This next show will be a trio. I will have our Flautist Diane Ireland and my wife Anne Curry on Mandolin and Guitar and singing harmonies, and Chris Wills on the keyboard. This is the core of our music and we perform in this configuration often. With over 290 songs in John’s arsenal we always mix it up, but we always cover the top hits too. With the recent release of 5 movies last year featuring John Denver’s “Country Roads” and “Annie’s Song,” and the new Game “Fallout 76,” we are sure to do those in the set for the younger audience members coming to hear those songs.
9) What do you have planned going forward, after this show, for 2018?
We already have bookings into 2019. It will be a big year already. Before that, I will be the official host for the John Denver Estate shows that features John Denver singing on the big movie screen, while the band and I play live on the stage. I host the show to do the band introductions and patter, and I will sing a few songs in that show and play guitar in the band. The show will play in Pennsylvania and Florida before it tours in Australia in December.
For more about Boulevard Music, log on at www.boulevardmusic.com