Jimbo Mathus has lived a pretty interesting life, to say the least! The kind Tim Burton or David Lynch would direct if it were told in a feature film. Born and raised in Oxford, Mississippi, Mathus was exposed to countless instruments from his musical family. Mastering guitar, piano, and mandolin by the age of 15, he was destined to have a life in music. He recorded in Sam Phillips studio with the band The End and helped form Mississippi’s first noise rock outfit Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves.
But things got even more serious when he and his future (and later divorced) wife Katharine Whalen formed band Squirrel Nut Zippers. By 1997, the swing revival band had two buzzbin videos, “Hot” and “Put The Lid On It”, performed at the 1996 Olympics, Bill Clinton’s 2nd inauguration, a platinum album, and countless TV appearances. After the band disbanded, Mathus took his blues guitar expertise on the road with the legendary Buddy Guy, as well as the Grammy Award-winning album Blues Singer. As the years passed, Mathus has recorded numerous solo albums and worked on even more. His entire life has been defined by music.
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To celebrate his love and dedication to all things music, Mathus has teamed up with indie label Shed House Records (Jeff The Brotherhood, Natural Child, Cheap Time) for an extremely limited lathe cut series featuring 2 knock-out covers. “Lodi” originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival, is a sentimental and soulful rendition showcasing the heartfelt passion Mathus applies to everything he does. The Fugs’ classic “Couldn’t Get High” takes on a dire, almost psychedelic turn without compromising the garage rock beauty of the original.
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It’s debatable whether or not Jimbo Mathus is more music than man. Whether its fuzzy garage rock, theatrical swing, emotional blues, or sentimental folk, everything he does is 100%. There aren’t too many other musicians out there kicking it today with a journey like his. The limited-edition lathe might sound like a novelty to some and maybe it is, but both tracks represent Mathus as an artist so well, it defies a mere collector’s item. It’s quirky, weird, but fun. It’s the definition of Jimbo Mathus.
Lodi/Couldn’t Get High is available now at Shed House Records.
For more information on the life and times of Jimbo Mathus, visit therealjimbomathus.com