Jimmy Gnecco
Encyclopedia
James Francis "Jimmy" Gnecco III (born September 30, 1973) is an American musician. He is the vocalist for the rock
band Ours as well as a solo artist with his release of The Heart
.
at Holy Name Medical Center and grew up in Ridgefield Park. Gnecco grew up well rounded in his musical influences, listening to old Motown artists like the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson
, and Marvin Gaye
. Gnecco calls Gaye's What's Going On
his favorite album. He has also cited artists and bands like Frank Sinatra
, U2
, Radiohead
, Jellyfish
, and KD Lang as people that helped shape his musical pathway.
Being fairly small all his life, Gnecco's years as a teenager in high school were plagued with a fair share of teasing and bullying from his peers. High school was also the time period in which Gnecco would start his life as a musician. Before forming Ours, Gnecco gained experience by playing guitar and fronting hair metal bands called "Lost Child" and the "Harmony Bandits". Gnecco started singing at the urging of other bandmates, eventually finding enjoyment in it. Gnecco had very little formal vocal training saying he couldn't afford it.
Maintaining a very small frame, Gnecco is an avid runner. He used to live a strict vegetarian lifestyle for several years, but explained in a recent interview that he added meat back into his diet after feeling weak at times. He stated, “I was a vegan for about twelve years, but I’m not anymore. I still try to be as much of it as I can. But every once in awhile I have to eat some salmon or some tuna, or turkey or something. I have to because I work out a lot and it’s really tough if I’m working out that much. I feel a little bit better when I eat a little bit of meat. I don't overdo it but I’m not fully a vegan.” Gnecco also cautiously protects his voice, often performing without air conditioning and also avoiding being in rooms where people are smoking.
Gnecco started a friendship with late musician Jeff Buckley
shortly before his death. When his career with Ours finally got media attention, it was often falsely reported that Gnecco worked as Buckley's guitar technician
. Along with those reports, vocal and physical comparisons to Buckley often plagued Gnecco. While Gnecco cites Buckley as an inspiration to him later in his career, in an attempt to silence the comparisons, he stresses that Buckley was not an influence on his singing style, explaining that he and Buckley shared a lot of the same influences growing up. Gnecco has often professed a great love and respect for Buckley and wrote the songs, "I Heard You Singing," "Bleed," "As I Wander," "Living In A Video," & "Saint" about his lost friend.
in 1997 under the moniker of Ours. Ours have released three official albums to date: Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy
) (2008), Precious
(2002), and their label debut Distorted Lullabies
(2001).
Gnecco's first recording titled Sour
(1994) was a demo compilation which he feels is not a real Ours record, being that he was dissatisfied with much of it. In 2005 he said, "In 1994, I was only 20 years old, and labels with offering record deals to me, but I knew I was too young, that's not where I was going yet. So, I made one demo record with that Ours line-up and then left it; I didn't want to be known as the ex-singer from those Sour recordings. The band on Sour is not Ours- we were just a bunch of young kids, just messing around. I wasn't allowed to be insane, like I wanted, and I had no patience, and wondered why we felt we had to put it out." A song from this recording entitled "OURS" eventually evolved into the title track of their latest album Mercy.
Ours have gone through several members over the years, most notably rotating drummers very often.
Their current line-up does not include a drummer. It consists of Race on bass, Static on guitar and effects, and Locke on whatever else they need done for a song, which includes but is not limited to... guitar, keyboards, and percussion.
Gnecco has stated that their album Mercy is the only album they've put out that he is truly pleased with. Gnecco has faced plenty of setbacks in dealing with record labels and their treatment of the band and once stated that he would like to release music independent of any label. He has since signed with indie label Bright Antenna.
of the band Queen
recorded a duet, "Someone to Die For" for the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. The song is written by Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of Eleven in collaboration with Chris Cornell. There is also a demo version of the same song featuring Chris Cornell on vocals.
Gnecco also contributed on the track Our Final Hymn from Neverending White Lights
' debut album, Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
and also the track "Dove Coloured Sky" from their second album Act 2: The Blood and the Life Eternal
.
Gnecco is a good friend of Savoy
and former a-ha
member Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
, and sings a song, "The Breaker", on Savoy's eponymous 2004 album. It seems both of them could collaborate again, since a-ha disbanded in 2010, leaving Waaktaar-Savoy with more time for other projects. They presented Weathervane as a new project in June 2011. Their self-titled single (Weathervane) will be on the soundtrack for the movie Headhunters (based on the book "Hodejegerne" of Jo Nesbø
).
Gnecco lent his voice to a Kohl's fall 2006 commercial singing a cover of Big Country
's titular "Big Country."
Gnecco released his debut solo album, entitled The Heart
, on July 20, 2010 via indie label Bright Antenna
.
Gnecco toured with Norwegian band a-ha
as a supporting act of the band during the concerts of October and November 2010 of a-ha's farewell tour Ending on a High Note
.
2011 Collaborating with a-ha's Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
with a new band called Weathervane. The song Weathervane is for the upcoming Norwegian film Hodejegerne (Headhunters) which is a book written by Norwegian Author, Jo Nesbø
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Ours as well as a solo artist with his release of The Heart
The Heart (Album)
The Heart is the debut solo album of Ours lead singer Jimmy Gnecco. The album was released via Bright Antenna on July 20, 2010. It was self-produced by Gnecco, who also played every instrument on the album...
.
Early life
Gnecco was born on September 30, 1973 in Teaneck, New JerseyTeaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
at Holy Name Medical Center and grew up in Ridgefield Park. Gnecco grew up well rounded in his musical influences, listening to old Motown artists like the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, and Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
. Gnecco calls Gaye's What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
his favorite album. He has also cited artists and bands like Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Jellyfish
Jellyfish (band)
Jellyfish were a power pop band from San Francisco. It formed after Beatnik Beatch broke up in 1989. The core members were drummer/singer/songwriter Andy Sturmer and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Roger Joseph Manning, Jr...
, and KD Lang as people that helped shape his musical pathway.
Being fairly small all his life, Gnecco's years as a teenager in high school were plagued with a fair share of teasing and bullying from his peers. High school was also the time period in which Gnecco would start his life as a musician. Before forming Ours, Gnecco gained experience by playing guitar and fronting hair metal bands called "Lost Child" and the "Harmony Bandits". Gnecco started singing at the urging of other bandmates, eventually finding enjoyment in it. Gnecco had very little formal vocal training saying he couldn't afford it.
Personal life
Gnecco, who has never been married, has three older sisters and two younger brothers. The youngest of them, Pit, formerly played drums for numerous Ours tours. Gnecco also had two children, both born to different mothers. Gnecco remains a doting father to both. In 2002, shortly after the release of their second album, Gnecco's then girlfriend ended her own life. This caused Gnecco to reconsider his choice to be a constantly touring musician after being distraught about not being there for his loved ones. It took a long while for Gnecco to resume his career as a musician. Gnecco stated, "I was really hesitant to pick up a guitar again and start singing or writing. I didn't feel like singing. And writing...I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror, so how could I write? I just felt like, 'I don't like myself at all.' I felt horrible. I felt guilty."Maintaining a very small frame, Gnecco is an avid runner. He used to live a strict vegetarian lifestyle for several years, but explained in a recent interview that he added meat back into his diet after feeling weak at times. He stated, “I was a vegan for about twelve years, but I’m not anymore. I still try to be as much of it as I can. But every once in awhile I have to eat some salmon or some tuna, or turkey or something. I have to because I work out a lot and it’s really tough if I’m working out that much. I feel a little bit better when I eat a little bit of meat. I don't overdo it but I’m not fully a vegan.” Gnecco also cautiously protects his voice, often performing without air conditioning and also avoiding being in rooms where people are smoking.
Gnecco started a friendship with late musician Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
shortly before his death. When his career with Ours finally got media attention, it was often falsely reported that Gnecco worked as Buckley's guitar technician
Guitar technician
A guitar technician is a member of a music ensemble's road crew who maintains and sets up the musical equipment for one or more guitarists during a concert tour...
. Along with those reports, vocal and physical comparisons to Buckley often plagued Gnecco. While Gnecco cites Buckley as an inspiration to him later in his career, in an attempt to silence the comparisons, he stresses that Buckley was not an influence on his singing style, explaining that he and Buckley shared a lot of the same influences growing up. Gnecco has often professed a great love and respect for Buckley and wrote the songs, "I Heard You Singing," "Bleed," "As I Wander," "Living In A Video," & "Saint" about his lost friend.
Career
Ours formed officially in 1992. Several years later, after a handful of setbacks and personal conflicts, Jimmy Gnecco was signed as a solo artist to DreamWorks RecordsDreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
in 1997 under the moniker of Ours. Ours have released three official albums to date: Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy
Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy
Mercy is the band Ours' third major label release. The album was recorded with renowned record producer Rick Rubin over several years, and was released on April 15, 2008. Music videos have been made for "Live Again", "God Only Wants You", and "The Worst Things Beautiful"...
) (2008), Precious
Precious (Ours album)
Precious is the second album by rock group Ours. When recording this album, Jimmy Gnecco wanted to get it done quickly, and didn't aim for the polished production achieved on their previous record.-Track listing:#"Kill the Band" - 4:02#"Realize" - 3:37...
(2002), and their label debut Distorted Lullabies
Distorted Lullabies
Distorted Lullabies is the band Ours' first official album. Released on the Dreamworks label on May 15, 2001, it is largely composed of melodic rock songs...
(2001).
Gnecco's first recording titled Sour
Sour (Ours album)
Sour is the first official recording by rock group Ours. Sour is an anagram of the band's name.-Track listing:#"Dracula's Bride"#"Lotti Di"#"The Mean Between Extremes"#"Trust Is Dead"#"The Norm"#"Emotional Wreck"#"Use Me"#"Ours"...
(1994) was a demo compilation which he feels is not a real Ours record, being that he was dissatisfied with much of it. In 2005 he said, "In 1994, I was only 20 years old, and labels with offering record deals to me, but I knew I was too young, that's not where I was going yet. So, I made one demo record with that Ours line-up and then left it; I didn't want to be known as the ex-singer from those Sour recordings. The band on Sour is not Ours- we were just a bunch of young kids, just messing around. I wasn't allowed to be insane, like I wanted, and I had no patience, and wondered why we felt we had to put it out." A song from this recording entitled "OURS" eventually evolved into the title track of their latest album Mercy.
Ours have gone through several members over the years, most notably rotating drummers very often.
Their current line-up does not include a drummer. It consists of Race on bass, Static on guitar and effects, and Locke on whatever else they need done for a song, which includes but is not limited to... guitar, keyboards, and percussion.
Gnecco has stated that their album Mercy is the only album they've put out that he is truly pleased with. Gnecco has faced plenty of setbacks in dealing with record labels and their treatment of the band and once stated that he would like to release music independent of any label. He has since signed with indie label Bright Antenna.
Other projects
Gnecco and Brian MayBrian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
of the band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
recorded a duet, "Someone to Die For" for the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. The song is written by Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of Eleven in collaboration with Chris Cornell. There is also a demo version of the same song featuring Chris Cornell on vocals.
Gnecco also contributed on the track Our Final Hymn from Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights is a Canadian music collaboration project fronted by Daniel Victor from Windsor, Ontario, and featuring several artists mainly from Canada and the United States. Daniel Victor performs all musical instruments, with most of his songs featuring guest singers...
' debut album, Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies is a 2005 multi-artist collaborative album by Neverending White Lights. Conceived by Daniel Victor, it features lead vocal performances by members of different bands, including several well known Canadian acts, such as Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven,...
and also the track "Dove Coloured Sky" from their second album Act 2: The Blood and the Life Eternal
Act 2: The Blood and the Life Eternal
Act 2: The Blood and the Life Eternal is the second album by Neverending White Lights. Like their first album it features guest artists performing vocals, however this album plays host to significantly more tracks sung by Daniel Victor than the first, which included only one...
.
Gnecco is a good friend of Savoy
Savoy (band)
Savoy are a Norwegian-American rock trio consisting of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy , Lauren Savoy and Frode Unneland...
and former a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
member Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha...
, and sings a song, "The Breaker", on Savoy's eponymous 2004 album. It seems both of them could collaborate again, since a-ha disbanded in 2010, leaving Waaktaar-Savoy with more time for other projects. They presented Weathervane as a new project in June 2011. Their self-titled single (Weathervane) will be on the soundtrack for the movie Headhunters (based on the book "Hodejegerne" of Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø is an Edgar Award nominated Norwegian author and musician. As of September 2008 more than one and a half million copies of his novels have been sold in Norway, and his work has been translated into over forty languages....
).
Gnecco lent his voice to a Kohl's fall 2006 commercial singing a cover of Big Country
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
's titular "Big Country."
Gnecco released his debut solo album, entitled The Heart
The Heart (Album)
The Heart is the debut solo album of Ours lead singer Jimmy Gnecco. The album was released via Bright Antenna on July 20, 2010. It was self-produced by Gnecco, who also played every instrument on the album...
, on July 20, 2010 via indie label Bright Antenna
Bright Antenna
Bright Antenna is a record label founded in 2007 and based in Oakland, California. One of the founders is author and filmmaker Tiffanie DeBartolo...
.
Gnecco toured with Norwegian band a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
as a supporting act of the band during the concerts of October and November 2010 of a-ha's farewell tour Ending on a High Note
Ending on a High Note Tour
Ending On A High Note Tour is a worldwide concert tour by Norway synthpop/rock band A-ha in support of the group's 9th studio album, Foot of the Mountain, which was released in June 2009 as well as the compilation 25 which was released in July 2010....
.
2011 Collaborating with a-ha's Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha...
with a new band called Weathervane. The song Weathervane is for the upcoming Norwegian film Hodejegerne (Headhunters) which is a book written by Norwegian Author, Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø is an Edgar Award nominated Norwegian author and musician. As of September 2008 more than one and a half million copies of his novels have been sold in Norway, and his work has been translated into over forty languages....
.