jimmy and the mirrors

Miranda Freeman checked in on Rip It Up's Hot Six candidate Jimmy & The Mirrors as they threw the meanest, bitchingest flower party this side of Tynte Street.

While at other rock gigs you’ll usually get hit in the head with an airborne plastic cup, at Jimmy & The Mirrors’ Flower Party last Friday at Rocket Bar you were getting hit by... bunches of gerberas. And having one colliding with the back of my head mid-set, flowers are more aerodynamic than one would think.
Aside from having its ceilings, walls and staircases embellished with over 500 gerberas, the newly refurbished Rocket Bar was looking notably different tonight than its seedier early days. With fresh wooden panelling on each bar, and miniature stadium seats now at the back to watch the stage, the feel of the place had been refreshed. Yet the sound was still a few too many decibels high and the low-hanging air conditioning duct was still there – but nowadays painted white and adorned with fairy lights.
The crowd itself was a jostling sea of floral printed shirts. A face painter had been employed, and there were a number of frightening looking men prowling around with painted-on roses occupying their entire faces. The pollen count was steadily growing, the hayfever-prone were having a hard time clearing their nasal canals and just to top it off there was also an earthquake, but nobody seemed to feel anything. Who’d have thought Rocket Bar would be seismic activity proof?
Support act All Night Girls kicked off late in the night to fill the crowd’s ears with some soulful tunes. Standing as the project of Tyger Tyger alumni’s Nick Bastiras on guitar and vocals, Travis Williamson on drums and Michael Armstrong on bass, their rhythmic guitar strums and inoffensive alt-rock vibes drew in a mesmerized crowd. With Nick Bastiras up front it offered a chance for him to showcase his enormously impressive vocal abilities, having been solely recognised as a guitarist in the past. His aching, vibrato-rich tenors were reminiscent of soulful vocalists Jeff Buckley and Bob Dylan – this is a musician to keep your eye on.
With a final trip to the bar to secure a drink-in-hand for the main act Jimmy and the Mirrors, we all uprooted from our seats to the stage and the gerberas began to fly in the air thick and fast. Opening with Romance, the floor became a slippery hazard within minutes as punters stomped flowers, stems and spilt drinks on the ground into a disgusting, yet fragrant, paste. You’ve got to hand it to Banjo and Jimmy for holding their vocal notes while the crowd flung, no, threw ancillaries of flowers at their heads. They seemed unphased by the objects flying towards their faces, remaining focused with tight chords, good timing and slick percussions. Their set highlights included Cinderella and a rendition of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, which only increased the high pitched squeals in the crowd as the girls, to use the appropriate lingo, lost their shit. They danced, they screamed, they threw more flowers.
By the end of the set we were all pollinated, the venue looked like it had just been assaulted by a florist and the band were rosy-faced – excuse the pun. The night proved to be an excellent showcase of local talent from Adelaide, though I can’t help but feel a little sorry for the cleaners that came in the next day to scrape the petals off the floor. - Rip It Up

Adelaide pop rockers Jimmy and the Mirrors are on their way to being one of the biggest bands in Australia. After just two years, the four piece have gone on to tour with some big named acts, such as The Galvatrons and Art Vs Science. They have also gone on to win over some of the biggest personalities in Australia.

Luna got to talk to front man Jimmy Meegan about his band’s achievements to date and the quirky methods the band use to self-promote themselves.

Jimmy is a singer, songwriter and says the name Jimmy and the Mirrors is a self-reflection of himself.

“The Mirrors act as a reflective device of my alter ego. They reflect everything that shines from my golden torso. They represent the unknown, the mysterious and the successful.”

This year the band wrote, recorded and released their third and biggest EP. Titled Hard to Find, the 7 piece EP showcases the bands unique style, but at the same time delves into some very important issues including homelessness and single-parenting.

“I think lyrics created in all songs will derive from some sort of personal experience, whether it be actually experiencing something first hand or viewing it on the television screen. In the latter case the experience isn’t going to be as intense but it can certainly have an effect on somebody and justify a song being written about a particular topic. As such, some of the content does derive from firsthand experience whereas others were written more from an observer’s point of view.”

The EP comes after a stellar year which started off with the band being chosen as a ‘Hot six band’ which allowed them to tour interstate. They were then offered a touring grant by the Honourable Peter Garret himself.

“The selection of being a hot six band got us a fair bit of attention interstate and the touring grant gave us the cash for us to go and play in the areas where we had new fan bases. It all worked out really well,” Jimmy said.

Along with these achievements, Jimmy says making friends in the industry is also a big help.

“It sounds wanky but friendship is probably the best thing to derive from it. The guys from Kid Confucious were great when we played in Sydney with them and I recently bumped into one of the guys when he was playing a gig here in Adelaide. It’s awesome to meet people that want to make a career out of music and are doing all they can to achieve that.”

Jimmy and The Mirrors have picked up a lot of new fans from touring throughout the country, but there is always room for more fans. The band have a unique way of getting their name out there; busking.

“Banjo and Kaurna recently moved over to Berlin to do busking full-time and were able to make a pretty decent living out of it. I think that street performing is a fantastic marketing tool because people don’t just see you on a computer screen or on the radio, they actually see you performing in the flesh. Nothing is better than a live performance.”

So make sure you keep an eye out for this band as you walk down the street. Check out their Facebook to find out tour dates for their 2012 tours. - Luna Mag

Adelaide pop rockers Jimmy and the Mirrors are on their way to being one of the biggest bands in Australia. After just two years, the four piece have gone on to tour with some big named acts, such as The Galvatrons and Art Vs Science. They have also gone on to win over some of the biggest personalities in Australia.

Luna got to talk to front man Jimmy Meegan about his band’s achievements to date and the quirky methods the band use to self-promote themselves.

Jimmy is a singer, songwriter and says the name Jimmy and the Mirrors is a self-reflection of himself.

“The Mirrors act as a reflective device of my alter ego. They reflect everything that shines from my golden torso. They represent the unknown, the mysterious and the successful.”

This year the band wrote, recorded and released their third and biggest EP. Titled Hard to Find, the 7 piece EP showcases the bands unique style, but at the same time delves into some very important issues including homelessness and single-parenting.

“I think lyrics created in all songs will derive from some sort of personal experience, whether it be actually experiencing something first hand or viewing it on the television screen. In the latter case the experience isn’t going to be as intense but it can certainly have an effect on somebody and justify a song being written about a particular topic. As such, some of the content does derive from firsthand experience whereas others were written more from an observer’s point of view.”

The EP comes after a stellar year which started off with the band being chosen as a ‘Hot six band’ which allowed them to tour interstate. They were then offered a touring grant by the Honourable Peter Garret himself.

“The selection of being a hot six band got us a fair bit of attention interstate and the touring grant gave us the cash for us to go and play in the areas where we had new fan bases. It all worked out really well,” Jimmy said.

Along with these achievements, Jimmy says making friends in the industry is also a big help.

“It sounds wanky but friendship is probably the best thing to derive from it. The guys from Kid Confucious were great when we played in Sydney with them and I recently bumped into one of the guys when he was playing a gig here in Adelaide. It’s awesome to meet people that want to make a career out of music and are doing all they can to achieve that.”

Jimmy and The Mirrors have picked up a lot of new fans from touring throughout the country, but there is always room for more fans. The band have a unique way of getting their name out there; busking.

“Banjo and Kaurna recently moved over to Berlin to do busking full-time and were able to make a pretty decent living out of it. I think that street performing is a fantastic marketing tool because people don’t just see you on a computer screen or on the radio, they actually see you performing in the flesh. Nothing is better than a live performance.”

So make sure you keep an eye out for this band as you walk down the street. Check out their Facebook to find out tour dates for their 2012 tours. - Luna Mag