Surf rock band revives local music scene

Local alternative rock band JIMMY hopes to keep the Greenville music scene alive as they prepare for their upcoming performance on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Backdoor Skatepark.

Band members Mark Griffin, Nick Vines and Connor Black went to high school together and developed a close friendship, eventually forming the surf punk band, JIMMY.

With Griffin and Vines on guitar, and Black on bass, the band soon met their fourth and most recent member, Will Perrone, who has taken on the role as the lead drummer. All members of the band contribute to vocals.

“I ended up meeting JIMMY at a show in Greenville and ended up talking to Mark after their set and I asked if they knew musicians who are looking for a drummer, so he let me know of a side project they were working on, so I did that,” Perrone said. “After doing a couple shows they had an opening for JIMMY and they were like, ‘Hey do you want to do this?’”

Since pre-releasing their single “Face Like The Sun” in December, the group has recently dropped their first full length album “Moving On” on Jan. 13. With the help of 85 Spilt Records, a recently formed indie music label, the band plans on releasing their next album this summer.

Although the band will be working with the record label to help distribute their upcoming album, the band is not signed and prefers to stay independent, according to Black.

“We like to stay independent, but be involved with people we consider to be friends within the industry in a sense,” Black said. “85 Spilt is a newer label who is trying to help a lot of younger bands get started, so they are helping us with the distribution of stuff and we are helping them by helping the younger folks with how to do stuff.”

After the release of “Moving On,” the band took on the 10th annual D.I.Y. music festival Spazz Fest, hosted by founder Jeff Blinder. Performing at both popular locations downtown, Trollingwood Taproom and Brewery and Pitt Street Brewing Company, this festival was the band’s second time making an appearance.

Blinder said he first included the group in his festival last year, when he heard talk of a new rock band approaching the Greenville scene.

“I had heard about them last year right around the time I was planning Spazz Fest nine and since I was living in Philly at the time, I didn't really get to check them out, so I blindly added them to my day party, which was the start of the Spazz Fest nine,” Blinder said. “I had booked them on sight, unseen and unheard and I was really impressed, they kicked things up a notch.”

Perrone said following the festival performances, the band performed at an after-party house show in a secret location.

“We do a lot of house shows and there is a pretty big significant difference in energy levels and level of commitment from both the audience and us because if you're at a house show to watch a band play, you really want to be there—it’s about all the good energy you know,” Perrone said.

Nicole Summerlin, an East Carolina University sophomore nursing major, is one of the many fans who attended both Spazz Fest performances and the after-party show. Summerlin said the band has a wide variety of music, providing a sound that can vary with each performance.

“It’s just stuff that's really vibey, they have some music you can just sit and chill and listen to in the car, then they have some stuff that makes you want to get up and just throw your body around, it’s just really intense honestly,” Summerlin said.

Closing out their most recent performance at “The Mumz Rock’n Roll Revue” hosted by Turner's High Moon Bar in Avon, North Carolina, the band is now preparing for their upcoming performance with North Carolina native bands Deadly Edibles and Student Health on Saturday. The venue is located at 108 Riverbluff Road.

Black said the band aims to bring more recognition to local bands with their upcoming performance and hopes to continue to provide a welcoming community for those who feel as they don’t have one.

“We are trying to get more interest back into the local music scene and trying to get people to come out and support their local bands, it’s a whole community and it can be a home for a lot of people who don't necessarily have a place to be,” Black said.

For more information about upcoming performances, the band encourages fans to follow their Facebook and Instagram pages @jimmytheband. Album “Moving On” and the groups other latest releases can be found on both Spotify and BandCamp.