Meet Jim Kimo West of Westernmost Music in San Fernando Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Kimo West.

Jim, before we jump into specific questions about your art, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Jim West was nine years old when his family moved to Florida. At age twelve, he discovered his older brother’s old archtop guitar in the closet and started plucking out melodies on the two rusty strings that were still intact. Seeing Jim’s interest, his brother got him a new set of strings, an instruction book, a capo and a few picks. Within a few hours, Jim had mastered four chords and “composed” a little piece with them-his first composition.

Completely self-taught, Jim never took lessons or studied music in school. In college, he studied visual arts, a continuation of a passion that started when he first was able to hold a pencil. Jim played his first professional gig at age sixteen, the same year he started college and it wasn’t long before rock and roll won out. He decided then and there that music was his life and never looked back.

Jim moved to Los Angeles in the early eighties to further his pursuit of music as a career and not long afterward met up with musical parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic who offered him the guitar position in his new band. Learning and faithfully duplicating “cover songs” was something Jim had much experience with and besides, playing Al shows was nothing but fun. Even though it wasn’t very profitable in the beginning, Jim recognized Al’s amazing talent and ability to produce musical satire like no one ever before.

It wasn’t long before Al’s second record “In 3D” climbed up the charts with the Michael Jackson parody, “Eat It” and soon they had a gold record and a Grammy for “Best Comedy Recording”. Over the years his affiliation with Al has seen numerous gold and platinum record awards, many successful tours and three Grammys, including another in the Comedy category in 2004 for “Poodle Hat”. The latest release from “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Mandatory Fun” recently debuted at #1 on the Billboard/Soundscan Top Ten. Besides playing all the guitars, Jim also played and programmed most of the keyboard and synth parts.

In 1985, he made his first trip to Hana, Maui and fell in love with the cultural and physical landscape of Hawai’i, sometimes spending a couple of months a year there. It was there that he also discovered “ki ho ‘alu” or as it is more commonly called, “slack key” guitar, an old Hawai’ian style of playing where the strings are loosened or “slacked” to different tunings, allowing the bass, chords and melody to be played simultaneously.

Already a devotee of playing in altered, non-standard tunings, he quickly fell in love with the gentle spirit of slack key and the great sense of discovery that comes with exploring new tunings. Records by Gabby Pahinui, The Sons of Hawai’i, The Sunday Manoa and Peter Moon played continuously on the turntable or cassette deck and Jim absorbed ki ho ‘alu by osmosis. Jim didn’t concentrate on learning the standard riffs but instead, developed his slack key vocabulary which now defines his very unique approach to this great tradition.

His 1999 CD, “Coconut Hat” is one of the first examples of the tradition of slack key guitar taken to a new and unique place, while still retaining the essence of the “nahenahe” or “gentle” style. Jim, or “Kimo” as he is called in Hawai’i, has performed at many of the island’s slack key guitar festivals and many concerts and festivals here on the mainland. His playing has been featured on network TV, in feature films and on National Public Radio. His eighth and most recent CD, “Moku Maluhia-Peaceful Island” was nominated for a Grammy in 2019ʻs 61st Grammy Awards.

Great, 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?
I decided on a career in music when I was quite young, probably when I was fifteen or sixteen years old. I had already played some professional gigs and I knew this was where my future was.

I have been very lucky to almost always having worked mainly because I wear a number of hats: session guitarist, composer for TV and film, producer, engineer and slack key artist.

There was a time when not having a major tour or big composing job lined up was kind of terrifying-not knowing where your next dollar is coming from. Now that I’m more successful I welcome the downtime. I know that I’ll have time to write and record or perhaps travel – all things that I value a lot. One thing I’ve never had is writer’s block-it just seems like the music is always flowing!

Please tell us about your art.
I’m mostly an artist these days and my business is me. I’m proud of the fact that I have composed, produced, recorded, art directed and promoted all my projects pretty music single-handedly and received a Grammy nomination as well.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Getting the Grammy nomination last year was the capper although having a Billboard #1 CD and Grammy with Weird Alʻs the last record was close!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jimkimowest.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @jimkimowest
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimkimowest
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/westernmost

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