Quick Q and A with Jim Infantino (Jim's Big Ego)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  2 April 2008

Jim Infantino is a character. There I said it and it’s said in a most endearing way. It’s impossible to listen to Jim’s Big Ego and not have a smile on your face. Jim Infantino is the incomparable leader of the band and ringleader, so to speak. According to All Music Guide, JBE combines folky political consciousness with catchy hip-hop beats and a pop-inflected sense of humor. I couldn’t come up with a better description if I tried myself. Below you can read some of Jim’s reflections about life in the music and computer businesses. Take a moment to check out this official Jim’s Big Ego video of “They’re Everywhere.” Listen to more of their music and watch more of their videos at http://jimsbigego.com.

Not only are you a talented musician, but you’ve got a computer techie side too. Can you explain what your non-musical life is like?

Really pretty boring — I get up, drink a cup of black tea, sit down and shut up for about 20 minutes, sometimes get out for a bike ride or something, then I sit in front of my computer design and programming websites for like 8 straight hours, breaking for lunch and finally make dinner. When I’m stuck, I work on a song or lyrics — but writing can be all-consuming so I have to concentrate that time. It will take over my whole day. My wife Catherine has given me a ton of help with this web business thing, and we are helping some great musicians manage their own sites, get the word out about their shows, sell their cds and such. It’s really pretty fun.

I did, in fact, do a search for “The Greatest Band in the History of Recorded Music” and, lo and behold, Jim’s Big Ego came up as the number one choice. Congratulations on such an honor. ;-) How does it feel to be the greatest band that time has not forgotten? ;-)

Well, I’m not sure why everyone is so surprised. It feels about as awesomely amazing as it always feels to be us. I don’t imagine that time will start to forget us until all the radioactive waste in Yucca mountain has become safe to settle down on. Something like a couple of million years.

Your attitude about downloadable music is an interesting one. Do you really *not* care when people don’t always buy your music and download it for free instead? That doesn’t sound very egotistical to me. ;-)

Hmmm. Okay — you’ve found a breach in our iron-clad persona. ( :^D Sharing music has been here and will remain with us. I did it with hundreds of cassettes when I was a kid, it’s just easier to do now. Most music buyers now view a CD as a 30c storage device with artwork on it — not as a $15 “album.” The important thing is that fans know that most or all of their 10 or 15 bucks is going to the artist to support future recordings. Then they will often choose to pay the money for a download, even though they can get it for free. We saw that recently with Radiohead and Trent Reznor. Record companies are trying to figure out how to replicate what they did — but they can’t. It’s just not something that record companies can do. Jane Siberry started that “pay what you want, or pay nothing” idea on her website back before 2003, and got no credit for it — but made as much or more money as if the price were fixed. Fans are much smarter than the companies want to admit — and they pay attention to where their money is going. SO — we have faith, and we let our fans know that if they share our music, we are not going to come after them with a lawsuit in hand.

Did I hear a rumor that there’s a new Jim’s Big Ego recording on the way? If so, tell us about it. If not, then how about one?

YES! we are very excited about it. We have not decided on a name yet, but it’s in the works & ready for mixing. We have been working with Ducky Carlisle at Ice Station Zebra in Medford. Ducky is just completely brilliant, and we have brought in other great musicians, including Jennifer Kimball, Steve Sadler, Sean Staples, Dave Crossland, and Mike Donello. We will probably be posting snippets of the choruses from the rough mixes on our website soon. Keep an eye out on http://bigego.com!

Do you have a favorite song that the group does?

I think we all really love “She’s Dead” still. Something about the call and response and trying to get the room singing “LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAA”! Plus we mangle a bunch of pop songs in the middle. I think it’s the best…. OR even better than that is “Napkin Poetry.” This is where we get the audience to write down bits and phrases on napkins after they arrive at the club or coffeehouse. Then they put them in front of us on stage and I perform them over an improvised groove by Jesse Flack (bass) and Dan Cantor (drums). It’s always different, and it really gets us in touch with the room in that moment. THAT one is our fave.

Do you have any favorite anecdotes about any live shows or recording experiences?

No. They are all incriminating.