Jim McGorman Biography

Jim McGorman (born c. 1974), a native of Philadelphia, is an American musician, songwriter/producer and multi- instrumentalist: guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist. Best known for his work with the House Band on the CBS television shows Rockstar: INXS and Rockstar: Supernova, he has been musical director for Avril Lavigne, Weezer, Michelle Branch, Paul Stanley (from KISS) and toured with Cher. With Cher on her Farewell Tour, McGorman played guitars, keyboards and sang a duet with Cher. He has also worked with Shakira, The Corrs, Aaron Neville, New Radicals, Poison, Goo Goo Dolls and Marc Broussard. He has written songs for Kate Voegele, Bret Michaels (Poison), Marc Broussard and for TV shows such as One Tree Hill and Smallville. TV performances include Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, BBC's Top of the Pops, "American Music Awards", "Vancouver 2010 Olympics Closing Ceremonies", Conan O'Brien, Regis and Kelly, The View, and MTV's TRL. Jim performed with Michelle Branch on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (episode: Tabula Rasa) and with Dilana Robichaux (the runner-up from Rock Star: Supernova) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In October/November 2006, Jim and the House Band toured the United States with Paul Stanley (from KISS). In January 2007, Jim became a member of Avril Lavigne's band and has toured with her from 2007 to present. Currently he's playing with Cassadee Pope.

Regarding the Rockstar TV show house band, he says that he feels his role is a multifaceted one: guitar, keys and singing. "Plus, being a writer/artist myself, I feel that I understand how to work with the singers. From a guitar perspective, I try to capture the original tones of the records we play, from guitars to tunings and effects. Rafa has a unique tone that he really likes, so the more I get the original tones right, the more I think the audience will relate to the performance."

Other members of the House band include: Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Sasha Krivtsov (bass) and Nate Morton (drums).

Jamestown Ltd

In 2006, McGorman's band Jamestown Ltd released its first album, The World Is Falling Down. Tracks:

1. You're Not Alone
2. All I Know
3. California
4. The World Is Falling Down
5. Through to You
6. Do You Remember
7. Rebound
8. Let's Not Fall In Love
9. Change
10. Here Is Now
11. You and I

Jim, on Jamestown Ltd and recording the CD ..."Well, Jamestown is my baby. I've been working on music my entire life, and this is my first full-length record. I wrote " or co-wrote " all the songs, produced the record, and obviously played guitar, keys and sang. I've been working with a lot of the same musicians over the years in L.A.; the drummer (Dave Allen), bass player (Jon Button), and I have been working on original stuff for almost seven years. The three of us played for Michelle Branch when I was her Musical Director from 2001 to 2002. Emerson Swinford (guitar) and I have been writing and playing together for longer than that, and David Levita (guitar) has been a great contribution to the recording process. Though we are all pro players and are generally really busy working on other projects (to pay the bills), this is something we have done for ourselves. I am incredibly proud of the record and how we all worked together to make it happen.We'll see where it goes from here."

NOTE: band changed name from Jamestown to Jamestown Ltd in January, 2007 due to copyright issues.

Musical Influences

"Everyone in my family is musical or some sort of performer. My mother was a dancer, and my dad plays piano and sings. My dad, though, really got me going with music. He showed me the beauty of chord changes. Mom was more of a "word writer." I got my love of lyrics from her. I guess you could say I'm very fortunate to have talented and supportive parents. - Started playing piano at six, drums at eight, guitar at 12, and I've been singing since I was born."

McGorman cites a number of popular music influences, including soul music of Gamble and Huff, and the rock of Coldplay and U2.

Education

Graduated Cherry Hill High School East, 1992; graduated Berklee College of Music in 1995 with a degree in audio engineering and music production.

Discography

Year	Album	Artist	Credit
1997	To Make Me Who I Am	Aaron Neville	Guitar
2001	Transmatic	Transmatic	Strings
2002	Leap of Faith	David Charvet	Vocals (bckgr)
2003	Chapter 2	Jessica Jacobs	Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (bckgr), Producer
2004	Borrowed Heaven	The Corrs	Piano, Musician
2004	Carencro	Marc Broussard	Organ, Piano, Vocals (bckgr), Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
2005	Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan	Various Artists	Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
2005	Rock Star: INXS (DVD)	Various Artists	Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
2005	Safe in Sound	Jim Boggia	Piano, Tack Piano
2005	Unfabulous and More	Emma Roberts	Keyboards, Group Member
2005	Something To Fall Back On	Sam Jaffe	Guitars, Keyboards
2006	Reach	Warren Barfield	Piano, Guitar (Electric), Organ (Hammond), Vocals (bckgr), Clavinet, Wurlitzer, Tack Piano
2006	Dark Horse	Ryan Star	Guitar, Vocals (bckgr)
2006	The World is Falling Down	Jamestown Ltd.	Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Guitars, Bass, Producer
2007	Poison'd	Poison	Keyboards, Vocals (bckgr)
2007	The Best Damn Thing	Avril Lavigne	Rhythm Guitar, Vocals (bckgr)
2011	Do The Best With What I Got	Greg Lato	Producer, Songwriting, Guitarist, Keyboards, Bass, Vocals (bckgr)

Main source for discography: