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​​Jim Hoke - Tune up the bongos

​"Tune Up The Bongos"  
CD in tri-fold wallet w/ liner notes
​$12.99 + shipping

​Just released and available for downloads on Bandcamp - or click on contact to request a CD!!
"You're right - it's a great title, as is the music - provocative, melodically and chordally kaleidoscopic with sly stylistic references to a plethora of pop, folk and rock touchstones. Again many of the songs came from dreams and were totally out of my hands, so the lyrics and tunes come from... someplace else. It's folk-rock from a parallel universe and it's my job to present it here!"
Jim Hoke

Jim hoke - I was born in ohio
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​"I Was Born In Ohio"  
CD in bi-fold wallet w/ liner notes
​$12.99 + shipping

Jim Hoke Embraces Spontaneity on ‘I Was Born in Ohio’Catching up with the master musician in advance of his second solo LP
There’s much to say about Jim Hoke’s résumé — after all, the beloved multi-instrumentalist and songwriter has collaborated with a murderers’ row of musicians, including Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney and Buddy Guy. His creative process, though, is even more fascinating. Hoke’s ideas often come from his subconscious mind, whether they appear to him in dreams or emerge during otherwise quotidian moments like rushing through traffic. 
On his solo LP I Was Born in Ohio, whose release he’ll celebrate Thursday at The 5 Spot, Hoke builds upon the dream-inspired songs of his previous record The Floating Zone for a more expansive, sonically varied collection of songs that also touches on — if obliquely — the ills facing society today. Hoke played every instrument on the record himself, with the exception of strings (played by Kristen Weber and Austin Hoke) and additional guitar from Chris Cottros. Hoke has a succinct description of the record’s sound: “I’m stuck in the ’60s, and you can print that.” The Scene caught up with Hoke to talk about about writing message songs, making music with his son, the aforementioned Austin, and literally composing songs while sleeping

What’s a song from this record that came from a dream?
“Wake Up the Whole World.” It’s kind of a message song. The dream that brought me that one was about listening to Rubber Soul outtakes. In my dream, I’m hanging out at some friend’s house and he’s saying, “Oh, I just got this bootleg of Rubber Soul outtakes from Abbey Road. Let’s listen to it.” And the whole course of that song — the chords, the lyrics, the arrangement — was pretty much complete. So I just had to write some verses.

You can certainly hear that ’60s influence all over the record. I’m thinking of “Gotta Go,” with that kind of push-and-pull shift in feel and the trippy lyrics.
That was just a bit of silliness. I was hurrying out the door. I was late for lunch and I just started nervously going, “Gotta go, gotta go. Gotta go. Gotta go now.” And it just came out of nothing. I got in my car, and I’m driving down the street, and I’m still chanting that thing. Next thing you know, here comes the slow part, when it kind of takes a sharp turn into that slower section. So I fleshed that out. I had my wife, Lisa Haddad, sing harmonies on that. She’s a one-man background vocal group.
Given how you wrote “Gotta Go” and your tendency to write from dreams, it sounds like spontaneity is a big part of your process.
Yeah. Songs can be silly little ideas that just happen and pop into your head washing the dishes or shoveling your driveway or driving someplace. A lot of my ideas have come that way, totally. And I’ve learned not to just blow them off, because the smallest little germ of an idea, you put a little rhythm to it and then it takes on a life. You throw some chords behind it, and you’ve got something. So many songs that we love came that way. They’re not very profound if you really analyze them, but something happened with it.
The world has changed a great deal since you released The Floating Zone, and mostly not for the better. Did that influence creep into your songwriting?
I’m sure it did. Some of those songs came about during COVID. Everyone had all this free time. So that allowed for deeper dives into the process. But it’s not like I wrote the songs, you know, two months ago. Whatever version of trouble has come along — and there’s certainly been just so, so much tragedy in the world — I just hope that my songs point to a way out, for individuals anyway, to deal with life and feel good. 

Brittney McKenna - The Nashville Scene


​​Jim Hoke - The Floating Zone

​"The Floating Zone"  
CD in tri-fold wallet w/ liner notes
​$12.99 + shipping

"News of a new Jim Hoke recording project is always good news! I've been a fan since I first heard him playing saxophone with NRBQ...  This new project contains 10 original songs that began, in one shape or another, in Jim's dreams, and it's further proof that he's a man with a vivid imagination and the means to turn it all into varied and captivating sounds. Besides the usual plethora of instruments he plays, it features Jim singing, which is a new and welcome development. And for good measure he's joined on some songs by John Oates, Terry Adams of NRBQ and the beyond-legendary Duane Eddy." 
        -Bob Brainen, DJ, WFMU.org and lifelong music obsessive.

​Available on Bandcamp
or email Jim Hoke for a CD.  Vinyl albums coming soon!

OTTO

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A quasi-classical chamber group of cello, vibes, woodwinds and pedal steel. This unique blend is fully exploited on works by "serious" composers like Satie, Milhaud and Prokofiev, and "pop" musicians like David Byrne, Frank Zappa, Brian Wilson... and Hoke himself. Formerly available only in Europe, you can now enjoy this beautiful, singular CD. 
"OTTO"
CD in jewel case
$12.99 + shipping


​ManAtee Waltz - The Jim Hoke Nonet

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The Orch Bop! morfed into The Jim Hoke Nonet, an all-instrumental vehicle for his original music. They found a home at Bean Central, a coffeehouse hang for Vandy students. Jim led live rehearsals every Tues. night where new tunes would be premiered, tweaked, rejected, expanded, de-constructed, etc. in front of an audience of rapt or confused listeners. The CD is a culmination of their efforts.
"Manatee Waltz"
CD in jewel case
$12.99


Aqua Velvet - Home for the Holidays  
itunes downloads:  https://music.apple.com/us/album/home-for-the-holidays/1538910279

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​Whimsical and edgy takes on classic Christmas songs ("Must Be Santa", "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy", "Jolly Old St. Nicholas") meet new arrangements of secular pop tunes with a joyful or wintery theme ("Joni Mitchell's "River", "Never Never Land", "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"). Aqua Velvet's trademark exotic instrumental flair adorns the rich vocals of Kristi Rose. 


​"Home for The Holidays"
CD in sleeve
​$12.99 + shipping

aqua velvet - exotic sounds in country music

"Exotic Sounds in Country Music" 
CD in clear wallet only
$8.99 + shipping
Jim indulged his love of Country Music and blended it with rhythms and chords from other musical neighborhoods on Aqua Velvet's newest CD.  Featuring the impassioned vocals of Kristi Rose, the arrangements create a depth of mood to give these direct and simple melodies fresh impact.


​Aqua Velvet - Hey Everybody, Let's Fall In Love!

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​Teaming up with Randy Leago, Hoke turned to pop songs of the 60's and 70's, refracting them into un-typical sonic colors and textures. The CD features sitar, ocarina, pedal steel, bass flute and also some strange instruments. Janis Ian appears on a Fleetwoods song; other than that it's all instrumental. 
"Hey Everybody,
Let's Fall in Love!"
CD in jewel case
$12.99 + shipping


​Aqua Velvet - A SPlash Of Aqua Velvet

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This follow-up to "Hey Everybody..." has an overtly Hawaiian vibe, featuring marimba, vibes, steel guitar, uke and percussion. Vocal cameos by Kristi Rose and Swan Dive add variety. Stand-out track is a Brian Wilson-Todd Rundgren mash up called "Hello Carolyn. No, It's Me".
"A Splash of
Aqua Velvet"
CD in jewel case
$12.99 + shipping


​Merry Aqua Velvet

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Breathtaking re-inventions of your favorite holiday tunes. The joy of the season shines through the sometimes-startling musical variations and detours. "The Chipmunk Song" starts as a vocal harmony-drenched waltz, then shifts into a big-band romp with horns. Swan Dive's guest turn on "Winter Wonderland" is Stereolab-soporific.
"Merry Aqua Velvet"
CD in sleeve
$12.99 + Shipping


​Hoke And His Orchestra Bop!

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​​This jump-blues band featured Kristi Rose on vocals and nine of Nashville's finest players. Their regular Tuesday nights on lower Broad drew big crowds. Hoke wrote the charts, played sax, walked the bar and knocked over people's drinks. Mitch Mitchell came to lots of their gigs and would sit in if he was in the mood. This CD captures the energy and excitement of that band.
"Hoke and His
​Orchestra Bop!"
CD in jewel case
$12.99


​Aqua Velvet - A Bit Of Burt

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Familiar and obscure Bacharach gems are Velvet-ized in this collection. The result is music as richly detailed as the original versions. Especially notable is "Me Japanese Boy" which goes from languid balladry to surf combo speed and back again. Ravel-esque poly-chordal flights of fancy enhance "You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart".


​Orchestra Tropicale

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This delves into the world of Cole Porter, Billy Strayhorn and their ilk. While many of these songs are jazz standards, this isn't a jazz CD; while brief solos abound, the main focus is the Esquivel-esque arrangements. You'll hear smoky sax, languid reed sections, spiky woodwind and vibes textures, and some of the coolest steel guitar since Alvino Rey.  Orchestra Tropicale features a stratospheric Bill Huber trombone 
                                  turn on "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You".