SAN ANTONIO SHOW - BABIO'S Sept. 16, 2016 / 10p

O.K. San Antonio!

I'm doing the show that
Boy George
mentioned from the stage at
The Tobin Center!

ONE NIGHT ONLY
final presentation in San Antonio of:
"HEARING IS BELIEVING"
before I continue on to:
New Orleans, San Diego,
Los Angeles, Palm Springs,
New York, Vermont, St. Louis
and other U.S. cities...

Babio's Lounge Bar (Bá-bee-oes)
is kinda glamorous with all white furniture
and sofas (modeled after a Miami club).
There are 2 patios - indoor & outdoor.

FREE PARKING at the venue &

surrounding antique shops - it's allowed.

Show time: 10p

Friendly staff, intimate silver stage
& seating for mostly everybody
buying tickets.

Attendance will be
Family, Friends & Fans! 

Get your tickets at:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2597952

so we get an accurate number of seats.

Watch for me in
"The San Antonio Current"

Love u SA!
THANK YOU!

JIMMY JAMES

 

HEARING IS BELIEVING! AUGUST SHOWS! And MORE COMING IN!

I have some fun shows coming up!
I started out with my 1st show August 8 in Rehoboth Beach, DL at The Blue Moon Fine Dining & Entertainment.
I also played Austin, TX at OilCan Harry's Dance Club. Crazy...that was a Midnight show which I rarely do anymore...

I'm having fun with my New Show "HEARING IS BELIEVING" Tour 2016. New voices and a couple of my songs thrown in too. Usually FASHIONISTA closes the show. I usually open with 'SUMMER SUN' from my album JAMESTOWN.

HOT AUGUST SHOWS!
AUG 21 - NYC - WIGSTOCK Sea Cruise / Guest Appearance
(SeaTea.com) Sea Tea - Departs from Pier 40, NY NY 10014. Located on the North side of Pier 40. West Side Hwy & Houston Street, 2 blocks south of Christopher St.

AUG 22 - NYC - STONEWALL INN National Monument - 7p / FULL SHOW
(BrownPaperTickets.com - Jimmy James "Hearing Is Believing")

AUG 28 - DALLAS, TX - S4 ROSE ROOM - 7p / Guest Appearance
(BrownPaperTickets.com - ICON the show)
I have not been to NYC in 7 years! Wow! How did that happen? I will finally be able to throw Lady Bunny overboard. All my NYC friends come party with me on the cruise and or the next night at Stonewall (7p show). And Dallas! August 28! With Tasha Kohl...OMG I have not played Dallas in 25 years! Catch me if you can. JIMMYJAMES.COM

 I'm making a guest appearance for Lady Bunny's WIGSTOCK Cruise. I have not been to NY in 7 years! How does that happen? I'm hoping to see some ol' friends on the cruise and reconnect. California has been nice and has kept me busy. But I'm looking forward to this little break and NY appearance.

MY FULL SHOW will be here! STONEWALL INN - the birth of LGBTQ RIGHTS has been sanctioned a National Monument by President Obama. I felt it was only fitting that I have this one on my resume. This should be fun to see lots of friends I haven't seen in so many years. 

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2585729

 Well AFTER 25 YEARS of not playing Dallas, TX - I'm finally playing Dallas!

I am so thrilled to be a guest in my longtime friend's show. Tasha Kohl and I have reconnected to do a little something in the popular Rose Room at the S4 Dance Club. 

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2571709

Here are some more gigs that have just come in!

SEP 16 - SAN ANTONIO, TX - BABIO'S on 527 West Hildabrand Ave.

(BrownPaperTicket link coming soon)

OCT 3 - NEW ORLEANS, LA - OZ Nightclub 

(Contact venue for ticket info)

OCT 13 - SAN DIEGO, CA - MARTINI'S ABOVE 4th

http://www.ma4sd.com/ (Contact venue for ticket info)

2017:

JAN 19 - STOWE, VT - WINTER RENDEZVOUS - Stowe Mountain Resort

https://www.facebook.com/WinterRendezvous/

Some scenes from the road: Austin...

 My cousin Cristy deLlano, Rory Haff, John Limon.

 Singing "SUMMER SUN"

 Me with Rory Haff

 Carnival night at Oilcan Harry's with the girls backstage.

 @DannyAztecLong danced and worked it on stage for FASHIONISTA. 

 Austin ad.

 Performer Christopher Peterson comes to see me at Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, DL.

 From the poster for my Rehoboth Beach performance.

Set List for Blue Moon in Rehoboth.

 

LGBTWeddings.com My Latest Interview

http://www.lgbtweddings.com/jimmy-james-exposed8203.html

MARCH 2016 is for SAN FRANCISCO & PALM SPRINGS, CA

This month I've been busy exploring my potential as a painter....on canvas! I'm very curious and passionate right now about abstract art. I'm self teaching myself. I'm using the internet, YouTube and asking questions of several friends of mine who are artists already. I wanna accumulate a collection and start showing it. But it has to be good or else I'll be pissed. I don't wanna be embarrassed. 

I have a few shows this month maybe you're around. Let me know. Hope to see you. 

 MARCH 16, 2016 

San Francisco club OASIS

http://sfoasis.com/event.cfm?cart&id=163481

 MARCH 18, 2016

 The Purple Room is a very nice Supper Club with really good food and cocktails. One of my favorite rooms to play in Palm Springs. I was sold out last time so call or go on line for tickets. Hope I see you there.

MARCH 29, 2016

EVERY LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

Celebrating 4 years! And going strong!

My 'WORK IN PROGRESS' show

 I can't believe it's been 4 years! I always tell my agents wherever you book me, please be sure you leave the last Tuesday of every month open so I can do this gig. I enjoy visiting PS every month. I'm also very very lucky to stay at my sponsoring accommmodations: CASA OCOTILLO! Only 5 units on the property. Hidden behind an electronic gate. Brian & Vic are great. I'm very blessed and lucky to have their support.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2469817
Home for the Holidays. San Antonio, TX here I come. Don't let the name fool you "San Antonio Country Saloon" ... It's really a nice sized dance club. I'll be performing to Friends, Family & Fans! Besides me performing, I want everyone to network and get to know each other...so bring your business cards!

Rare Footage Of Marilyn Monroe Entertaining The Troops On Stage In Korea...

JIMMY JAMES - Tribute to a Great Artist.
53 years ago today the world lost Marilyn Monroe. She was an artist and a work of art herself. She was a "brand" before anyone knew to label performers as such. People wonder why she has endured so long. I believe true art does not die - it appreciates in value. When I performed as Marilyn ('83-'97), I was only interested in recreating her LIFE - her LIGHT. I wanted to recreate her with love and respect for the artist she was. I was NOT interested in doing something where she dies tragically on the stage - that would be too morbid and sad for me. Alas, I was but a mere imitation of what she herself created. She helped me to get my start in entertainment. I owe her my deepest respect & admiration. ‪#‎grateful‬ ‪#‎MarilynMonroe‬ ‪#‎keepagoodthoughtforMarilyn‬

I worked hard to try to figure out Marilyn's enigmatic personality. Remember, there was NO INTERNET in the early 80's, NO YouTube....my god if I had these tools it would have not taken me 3 years of hard research to try to sort of figure her out. She was private. 

In my research I surmised that she was two people - #1 Norma Jeane,  #2 Marilyn Monroe. I figured out on my own that Norma Jeane would get in "drag" to become Marilyn Monroe. In everything I read and researched it dawned on me that I was basically reading about TWO PEOPLE. It was not just about what I was reading, but literally what I was feeling from what I was reading - the vibrations of her personality. 

Bert Stern's Last Sitting was my muse for how to do the makeup. The extreme closeups were key in figuring out the makeup. It also helped that I studied theatrical makeup. I was good at it.

But how was I going to present my Marilyn to the public? How was I going to do it? Scenes from her movies?... her singing with a band? How?

Again without the internet (and basically only 3 network stations to watch) I only saw short clips of her performing to the troops in Korea. I ordered my first Marilyn Monroe album through the mail from Sandy Hook Records. It seemed like they were the only ones who distributed the rare recordings (my god u can go on EBAY right now and find tons of her records, but it was hard back then in '79 & '80). 
 
 (I got these images of the album on EBAY....I don't know about the writing...lol)

I discovered she had quite a nice singing voice. It was sultry and sweet. Smooth and distinct. Wow! SHE HAD TALENT! Nobody ever talked much about it. Hmmm?
They were always talking or writing about her lovers, her body, her antics of being late, her boozing or pills, or whatever....but I was discovering a talented woman beyond all the crap that was being written about her after she died. Then when I got to see her movies (when they  were shown on occasion on one of those 3 networks...NO VCR's either kids) I could see she was quite a good dancer too. 

I was studying to be a dancer. I got a dance scholarship at the Kathy Marfin's Dance Studio in San Antonio, TX. I was convinced I was going to be the next Nijinsky. But Marilyn interrupted everything for me. 

I was also in community theater and it paid NO MONEY. So much hard work but NO MONEY. UGH...

It was so hard to find regular jobs back then. For one thing, I looked too young for my age. At 18, I looked like a 14 year old girl. 

I was always kind of made fun of for looking like a girl. I was made fun of for my girl voice too. I wanted to die. I did not fit in. Back then I was the ONLY boy in San Antonio taking dance classes. But NOBODY was going to stop me from that - NOBODY. I loved dance too much. I was going to be just like Nijinsky!

I went to a Marilyn Monroe film festival to finally see her films! WOW! She was STUNNING! MESMERIZING! When I watched The Seven Year Itch, she seemed a little more fuller in the face than so many of the chiseled photos I'd seen of her. I was falling in love with someone from the past who was gone.

I knew about Jim Bailey and his legendary Judy Garland recreation. But could I do that with Marilyn? I did not know. Then I was like parish the thought Jimmy!...you cannot do this. You live in po-dunk San Antonio and you're family will have a shit fit, are you crazy? 

Eventually I conjured up an act whereby I performed Marilyn Monroe in the 1st 20 or 30 minutes of the show, then changed as myself with the makeup altered to do a show of my Voice Impressions. For years my show was called JIMMY JAMES - "Marilyn & Voices." I played the gay dance clubs because this was the closest I could get to my vision of Marilyn performing for the troops in Korea. That was my muse for developing my Marilyn act. Ultimately my act mirrored what she was doing in Korea. But instead of the Korean war, we were fighting the AIDS war. In my own small way with national exposure on those 3 TV channels and my tours and benefits, I did what I could.

I'm going to stop here because this is turning out to be a book.

I discovered Marilyn Monroe to be one of our greatest treasures of America and the world. She was years ahead of her time. She was an artist. She was miss understood - a victim of her time. 
And I also think she was smarter and prettier than any of us.

To be continued....

Keep a good thought for Marilyn.