6/19/2013 - A New Album!
After a long wait since the release
Playing Life
by Ear and True
To Me, Jim finally has a new album officially
underway. At least 13 new songs are planned to be included
in the sessions. The recording approach will be similar to
Playing Life by Ear, but Jim has some new toys to
include in the production. Anticipated completion is
sometime in 2014. At the moment, preliminary drum tracking
is complete for two songs. More details to come as the
project develops. Miles to go....
Meantime, for a taste of some of the
possible sound on the new album, check out this remake of "Ticket"
(originally found on
Afterimages)
that Jim recorded in Spring of 2013.
12/30/2011 A message from Jim...
As you can see, it's been far too long since there has been
an update to this site. The last few years have given me a
new perspective on the role of making music in my life.
I haven't gigged in a very long while, and I don't seem to
mind too much. Admittedly, playing solo has held less appeal
for me lately, and I haven't really sought further
opportunities to do so. That said, I am by no means done
with music. I have delved into some aspects like mixing
techniques and instrument tones, and I have continued to
further develop my playing and singing skills. I have also
considered that playing live, preferably with other people,
could become a separate avenue from being a
singer/songwriter.
I still very much enjoy
creating music, and I continue to feel some need to have a
project that is designed purely for my own artistic
expression. It is certainly great to have an audience for
that, but to me, making the music is an end in itself.
I am planning to start another album project in the not too
distant future. Since working on
Playing Life
by Ear and True
To Me, I have written and recorded demos of ten
new songs, and I hope to write a few more before starting
work in earnest on an album. I will be happy to provide
updates on this site as the project unfolds. I will also be
happy to share any other music developments in which I am
involved.
Happy New Year!
-Jim Balcerek
8/7/2008 Apologies for the
complete lack of notice here, but Jim made good on the June
cancelation and played
First Friday
Hatboro last week. The set list can be found on the
Performances page. We'll try
to actually let you know in advance the next time Jim has a
show!
6/17/2008 In case anyone hasn't
already realized, Jim's recent scheduled appearance at First
Friday Hatboro was canceled at the last minute. The venue
had Jim double-booked with another act, and rather than deal
with splitting the time or some other inconvenient scenario,
Jim made the decision to step aside.
2/27/2008 The set lists for
Jim's appearance at the Curl-a-Thon benefit have been added
to the Performances page.
Links have been added to the top of that page to make it
easier to access Jim's older appearances.
2/19/2008 This Saturday, Jim
will be playing at a Curl-a-Thon benefit at the Philadelphia
Curling Club in Paoli, PA. He'll be playing at the end of
the Curl-a-Thon from about 8-10pm. The event supports the
NTAF Mid-Atlantic Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and is in honor
of Jeff Harris, a member of the club who recently became
paralyzed. Details can be found on the
Curl-a-Thon Website. Non-members are welcome, but a
minimum $10 donation is requested.
The set
list for Jim's recent open mic performance at
Puck has been added
to the Performances page.
1/23/2008 The
Lyrics Page has been updated with
the lyrics to Jim's single
True To Me, as well as all tracks from his new
release
Playing Life
by Ear.
11/30/2007 More new ways to
obtain
Playing Life
by Ear online! Here is the complete breakdown of how
you can get Jim's new album:
-
CD purchase at any of Jim's
live performances, $10
-
Online CD purchase or MP3 download of
entire album at
CD Baby,
$12
-
Download from
Apple iTunes, $0.99 per track or $9.99 for the album
-
Download from
Buy.com, $0.89 per track or $8.90 for the album
-
Napster Download — Must be a Napster member
-
PayPlay.fm Download, $0.88/$8.88 for MP3 files or
$0.77/$7.77 for WMA files
11/27/2007 Jim's new album,
Playing Life
by Ear, is now available on
iTunes.
11/20/2007 The set lists and a
couple of pictures from the private event that Jim played on
November 16 have been added to the
Performances page.
11/13/2007
The True To Me
soundtrack EP that Jim created for a performance of Sam
Shepard's "True West" has been released, and will be
available at Jim's gigs. Details can be found on the
Discography page. Two videos
featuring songs from the EP have been added to the
Downloads page. And
finally, a few more clips from Jim's
Playing Life
by Ear major
release have been added to the
Discography track listing.
11/9/2007
Set lists for Jim's September, October, and November
performances at the open mic night at Puck in Doylestown
have all been added to the Performances
page. Jim's next appearance will be at a private event on
Friday, 16 November.
11/5/2007
Jim's new album is now
available!
10/16/2007
It's been about a year of waiting since this website
appeared, but Jim's second album,
Playing Life
by Ear, has finally reached its official release
date! You can buy tracks or the whole album on
Jim's MySpace site
... track purchasing and CD details will be available on
this website soon.
8/22/2007 The set list for Jim's
recent performance at Molettiere's Cafe in Lansdale has been
added to the Performances
page.
7/31/2007
A new photo of Jim's first solo live performance has been added at the
bottom of the Performances
page. A zip file of the complete Afterimages
debut album has been added to the options on the Downloads page.
6/22/2007
We've moved
things over to a new server. Apologies to those who saw the temporary
"Under Construction" message while things were underway!
6/19/2007
The Performances
page has been updated with the set list from Jim's Grape Street gig at
the end of May. A live version of "Wishing Well," recorded at Jim's
first Grape Street gig back in February, has been added to the Downloads
page. Jim's next scheduled gig will be at Molettiere's Cafe in Lansdale
on August 18.
5/14/2007
While Jim has been busily working on the final mixes for his upcoming
album Playing
Life by Ear, his debut album Afterimages
has been made available for download
in its entirety (including art and insert text).
3/29/2007
Wondering what Jim's been up to lately? He's hard at work writing new
tunes for a local
production of Sam Shepard's play True West.
Jim's music will be featured during preshow and intermission music, and
used exclusively during scene changes. His main theme track, "True
To Me," is now available on the Downloads
page.
2/23/2007
The set list for Jim's recent appearance at Puck as been added to the Performances
page. Things have also been tweaked a bit on this page: Older news
items are now archived below, and an Upcoming Appearances box has been
added above.
2/17/2007
Photos from Jim's recent Grape
Street gig have been added to the Performances
page. And no sooner are those up than a second Grape Street gig has
been confirmed! Jim will be returning on Saturday, April 7, at 7:00
p.m.
2/16/2007
Jim played an impromptu set at an open mic night last night; the set
list has been added to the Performances
page. He's planning to be at another open mic this coming Wednesday, 21
February, at Puck
in Doylestown. The show begins at 7:30, with free admission.
2/9/2007 Special
thanks to everyone who came out for the Grape Street
gig. It was a very cool experience to play at such a renowned venue!
You can check out the set list from last night on the Performances
page.
1/19/2007
Jim is scheduled
to appear at the Grape
Street Philadelphia on Thursday, February 8, at 8:15, in the
Grape Room. The site design has also been tweaked again, courtesy 5-x-5 Design.
Continue to keep an eye out for further updates, as well as
announcements on the upcoming Playing
Life By Ear release.
12/29/2006
As you can see, the site has been given
a makeover for 2007, to coincide with the upcoming release of Playing
Life by Ear. Special thanks to Glen Eric Reed for taking and
providing the photos.
12/03/2006
This year's new Christmas download, "Time For Christmas", the 2006
version, is now available on the Music
Downloads page.
11/19/2006
Thanks to everyone who made it out to the
Kitty Cottage benefit last night. Your donations will be a big help for
the cause!!! Last night's set list has been added to the Performances
page, along with a new picture.