Daily Inspiration: Meet Jimmy Haun

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Haun.

Jimmy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I come from a musical family and at age 6 or 7 my father Rouvaun, an opera/contemporary singer left a lasting impression on me during one of his live performances. I believe my well-rounded application for music of all music styles came from home where my father immersed us with music from all the greats from Louis Armstrong to Sarah Vaughan. Around 6 pm every night was like a music appreciation class. I would sit in my rocking chair and my dad would play music that I’ve never heard before from Broadway shows, jazz bands, big bands, etc.

At age 11 I picked up the guitar and formed a band. By the time I was 15, I was touring the west coast with a Jazz band (the Bobby Sherwood Orchestra). In 1985 I got my first record deal with the band Lodgic on A&M records which was produced by David Paich and Steve Porcaro of the rock band TOTO. I was also a session guitarist for many years (Cher, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Miles etc. to name a few).

It was when I met and was hired by Jonathan Elias who was producing the Yes “Union” album to play guitar on it that my career as a commercial, film and tv composer took off. Jonathan saw a talent in me that was more than just a guitar player and asked me to join his music company Elias Arts as senior composer and the rest is history.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was a bit rough at first. I was juggling having a kid, being in a touring band and trying to launch a composing career. I finally had to sacrifice touring with a band and concentrate on composing when I joined up with Jonathan Elias. After 20 years with Elias, I decided to go freelance it’s been pretty steady for me thankfully.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, I compose music for commercials and films and play guitar with the band “Arc of Life” on Frontier records. As far as what I specialize in, I’ve been told and do believe I can handle any genre of music quite proficiently. But if I had to say what style I’m usually called for and what I feel I’m strongest at is retro sounding tracks from the 60s and 70s, Motown psychedelic and folk styles. I really love the old methods of recording and I try to emulate that into my work. As far as what I’m most proud of in the commercial realm, probably doing the Budweiser Clydesdale spots through the years would be up there at the top along with creating the Yahoo yodel logo, Expedia.com logo and the yo Quero Taco Bell campaign with the Chihuahua.

In the film world, it would be the movie “A guide to recognizing your Saints” as well as Boulevard, which was Robin Williams last movie. Both of those were directed by Dito Montiel with whom I work frequently with. In the recording world, I think my work with the bands Yes and Circa, Jon and Vangelis and Steve Porcaro’s solo projects rank in the top for me.

I created the Logo/mnemonic for Chick fil A and I am the voice on the Oh Oh Oh Ozempic spots

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
My love for paleontology. I am always looking for fossils whenever I’m hiking with my dogs. For my birthday one year, my wife gave me a field trip to join Utah State paleontologist Jim Kirkland for a three-day dig in the middle of nowhere. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I actually found a neck bone from a Dinosaur that was very unique and it was put on display in a museum.

Contact Info:

• Website: jimmyhaun.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.haun.1
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rouvaun

Image Credits
Kevin Kehoe Cara Haun