'Ours' lead singer has experienced 'a few lives'

'Music obsessed' Jimmy Gnecco explains the ups and downs in his career, and speaks the world of his music and his children

by DESIREE POLONIS

Just one day after the April 16 release of Ours’ new album, “Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy,” Jimmy Gnecco is driving around with his son and daughter talking about music, his album, and life.

"I am a full time dad. Those things never go away all day long when I’m doing interviews on the radio,” Gnecco said jokingly noting that when he isn’t working on music, he’s with his kids.

Balancing a single-minded musical determination with a genuine love for his kids and the world around him, Gnecco is becoming a star on the alternative rock scene. But he remains grounded on the journey.

Gnecco, the lead singer of the alternative rock band Ours, was born in Teaneck, N.J., in 1973. He said the first time he picked up a guitar was in December 1986, at the age 13.

Photo By: Desiree Polonis

Jimmy Gnecco live at the Bluebird Theater in Denver, Colo.

“Some of the kids in school were playing guitar and learning all of these fast and heavy guitar things. There’s a certain part of me that felt like, well maybe I should learn those things, but I never really did,” Gnecco said. “My brother who was teaching me how to play basically said to me, ‘Work on your songs. Don’t worry about playing fast like a jackass.’”

Gnecco said that’s how his musical journey began. He eventually began to play well enough that he was able to hold down a tune, and he started singing over the guitar.

Ours formed in 1992, and the band built a strong following, playing shows in New York City, which is where the band is currently based.

Gnecco now has three albums, the most recent produced by the co-head of Columbia Records, Rick Rubin. MTV has called Rubin “the most important producer of the last 20 years.” Gnecco said he was a pleasure to work with, especially after having unpleasant encounters with record labels in the past.

“He was great. The process was great. It was a really rewarding experience because he gave us a lot of space, and I kind of needed that in my life,” Gnecco said.

"We worked on songs at his house on my acoustic guitar before we went into the studio, and then basically he said, ‘Go make your record,’ and he never came to the studio.”

Gnecco has been described as “music obsessive,” and said that having his way with his music while working with a major record label has been a great experience compared to his battles with DreamWorks Records. In 2002, the recording of his second album, “Precious,” didn’t go the way he wanted.

“It wasn’t right so it made me really not well for a few years because it’s just battle after battle. It just never seemed like the music and the art and the real vision was coming first. It always seemed like that was secondary to other things that didn’t matter and that was really frustrating for me,” Gnecco said.

Gnecco, 34, said one of his biggest accomplishments in his music career is the completion of Ours’ newest album, even though he was proud of his first album released in 2001, “Distorted Lullabies.”

He said the similarities between “Distorted Lullabies” and “Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy” is that both albums came from his heart, unlike “Precious.”

“It [“Precious”] didn’t define who I was and what I was about. It was just more of a mood and a fluke. I wanted to work on it for about another month, which would have made it closer to the feeling of “Distorted Lullabies,” but there were things about it that made me upset with the process and record companies,” Gnecco said.

Gnecco said if he’s not satisfied with a drum sound or a vocal, he wants to get it right, adding that’s what “about the music” really means.

“That’s how Rick was. That’s how the entire label has been to me so far so I’m really happy to be in the position and the situation that we are right now,” Gnecco said of working with Columbia on the new album.

Many fans of Gnecco know that he’s obsessed with the sound of his music, but Josh Goodfellow, a sound engineer at Codex Sound Company who will be working on Ours’ upcoming summer tour, knew he was serious after just one conversation.

“I have only talked to Jimmy on the phone about his needs as a musician, but I could just tell that he was serious about his music and loves what he does,” Goodfellow said.

Now that “Precious” is in the past, Gnecco said the release of the new album is “surreal,” because the band has been holding onto it for so long. He said the day the album was released, he was “giddy” all day long.

“I just worked on it for so long. Some of the songs are 17 years old. To have the songs for that long and then we worked on the recordings for such a long time and finally let it out there…it’s an anxious process because you can’t change it anymore.”

Gnecco’s writing process is similar to how long it took to record the new album. He said it’s rare when he just sits down and says, “OK, I have to write words.”

“Often more times than not, I’m like a French cook. Things take a long time,” Gnecco said.

All of his time has paid off. Gnecco is now frequently compared to artists such as Jeff Buckley, U2 and Radiohead, but said he has “no shame” in that because he truly loves all of those artists.

“I’m in good company. And it doesn’t bother me so much when people put me in that company because that’s a great place to be. It’s usually more about when people can be sometimes a little short-sided and narrow-minded and they attack you,” Gnecco said.

While Gnecco is compared to these major acts, he still remains grounded. Caitlin Jaene Parsons, a friend of Gnecco for the past six years, said he’s a down to earth man who cares about his children and his music.

“The strong, confident person you see on stage does not disappear off stage. He’s modest, sensitive, and he listens well,” Parsons said.

Parsons has seen Gnecco play live and believes that he is very powerful onstage. She said that she doesn’t know how Gnecco spends so much time talking with fans after a show because it’s hard on a singer’s voice to sing for an hour (or more), and then talk to people for another two hours in a noisy bar.

“He's an undeniably great musician with an amazing voice who spends so much of his time inside music that he is absolutely fluent in his communication with an audience," Parsons said. "When he sings out an emotion with the power and honesty that he always taps into, it is easy to get lost in the music and forget your surroundings."

Linda Flores, a fan who discovered Ours in 2002, said Gnecco’s music is filled with sadness and emotion, but still has a positive light. Flores said she felt this emotion more after seeing them for the first time at the Launchpad in Albuquerque.

“Seeing them at the Launchpad last year was one of the most amazing experiences ever. Jimmy’s voice filled the room — every corner, every crevice. It was beautiful in more ways than one,” Flores said.

While Gnecco isn’t blowing people away with his vocal range, he’s a normal guy who speaks the world of his children.

“I have two great children who are filled with love and hope and respect for other people,” Gnecco said.

Gnecco’s daughter sings at the end of “Get Up,” the last track on “Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy."

“I find nothing more innocent and beautiful than a child telling you to “get up” and get over it. Like whatever’s going on, dust yourself off,” Gnecco said

And Gnecco has had his fair share of having to get over many things in life. Parsons said Gnecco has been through a few lives worth of emotions and experience.

“If you are ever listening to his music and you have one of those moments where you feel like he must know exactly what you're going through — he probably does,” Parsons said.

The release of Ours’ third album is another “life” worth of experience for Gnecco, and if he stays on the path he is right now, there will definitely be more positive experiences in the future.

Written May 1, 2008

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