Welcome...

Denise Marie Stein, one of our beloved Bushwackers, passed away on June 15 after a long battle with leukemia. Her health had taken a sudden downturn in late May. Her funeral took place on June 20 and Dennis, Maggie and I had the honor of singing a few songs in rememberance. For now, the Bushwackers will be a trio - we hope to see you at our shows this summer. Denise will always be a Bushwacker and we think of her fondly.

For me, July is half vacation, half CD production. By August, I'll be hitting the stage again with Jan Krist, the Bushwackers and my friends from the Yellow Room Gang.

Here's the deal:

More to come!


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The brand-spankin' new Yellow Room Gang CD "Happy New Day" is now available!
Find it (along with Yellow Room Gang Vol. 1) at www.yellowroomgang.com
Check out the debut release from the rollicking Floyd King & the Bushwackers at the Bushwacker website.

Next on the agenda is the long-discussed Jan Krist & Jim Bizer duo recording - look for it this fall.
In the meantime, here's the skinny on my two solo releases:

Twelve songs, including the multiple-award-winning "We Are All Connected." Some are just me and my guitar, others feature such marvelous Michigan musicians as Jan Krist, Alan Finkbeiner, Paul Finkbeiner, Peter "Madcat" Ruth, David Mosher, Pat Prouty, Dan Kolton, Danny Cox and more. Songs about faith, rivers, baseball and combustible waterfowl. Forty-eight minutes of wonder, groove and surprise. And a really cool package to boot (thanks to Ron Bizer of PWB for design and Oasis CD for manufacturing.)

The tunes on this CD cut through quite a few musical alleys and hop lots of stylistic fences, from the thoughtful solo guitar pieces “Bye” and “Before you know it” to the full-band extravaganzas “Falling into it” and “Get to me”, from the funky roots-rock of “Be alright” to the reggae of “Wake up” to the jump swing of “How do I look”. Twelve songs of love, life, insanity and natural disasters, catchy as the flu and uniquely Jim Bizer.

Read the online review at Minor 7th


Some recent comments from CD purchasers:
“ Passionate writing. We play it again and again.”
“Not a single clunker. Every song is great.”
“He’s got the goods.”

CDs available online at CD Baby. Audio samples are available at the CD Baby site.

Of course, the best way to purchase my CDs is to come to one of my shows! I always have copies available, you get to hear me perform these songs live and I get to meet you!


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Biographical info:

Award-winning songs and dynamic performance: the signature of singer/songwriter/guitarist Jim Bizer. Combining a vast musical knowledge with thoughtful and humorous lyrical ideas, he concocts songs that are both beautiful and startling. Against a musical kaleidoscope of jazz, blues, country, reggae and god-knows-what-else, he sings about faith, rivers, insanity and a few things you've probably never heard before in a song. He leads his audience to many places; you never quite know what will come out of his mouth, or his guitar, next.

Starting his professional career at age 14, Jim has performed literally thousands of times, mostly around the midwest and his native Detroit. He's been a "cover" musician, a session player and a composer for radio and television, but his first love is playing his guitar and singing his songs for all who listen. With a comfortable rapport and an intimate delivery, he is equally at home in the house concert or on the festival stage.

Jim is a masterful performer and a superb guitarist, but it is his songwriting that has recently earned accolades: His song "We Are All Connected", a moving 9/11 testament, won the grand prize in the Great American Song Contest and led to an appearance at the Mountain Stage NewSong Festival (WV). Jim has been a finalist (three times!) in the New Folk songwriting competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX), and made his Kerrville mainstage debut in June 2005.

2001 saw the release of his CD, "Closer To The Surface": a twelve song musical roller coaster through the human experience. His latest is "Connected" (2004), showcasing another dozen of Jim's remarkable songs: a collection of original and inspired performances, graced by his wry and compassionate lyrics that express the beauty, the terror and the wonder of being alive.

GREAT AMERICAN SONG Contest - Grand Prize winner 2002

MOUNTAIN STAGE NewSong Festival ("First Five" Recorded Round Pick) 2004

KERRVILLE NEW FOLK FINALIST 2000/2002/2004
KERRVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL Mainstage 2005

GREAT WATERS FOLK FESTIVAL (NH) Song Contest - top five finalist 2004

WHEATLAND Festival 2005

BLISSFEST 2002 Mainstage & Songtree

Venues throughout the midwest, northeast and Texas
(and many points between)

Host of MAMA's Coffeehouse, Bloomfield Hills, MI


QUOTABLES:


“Knocked me out. Very impressive!”
Rod Kennedy, Kerrville Folk Festival


“Winner of the Great American Song Contest, and understandably so...”
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press


“What a great songwriter and performer! Having Jim on the show just ups the ante!”
Vance Gilbert


“... a great live performer and recording artist. Watch out for him.”
Matt Watroba, WDET-FM, Detroit; WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti


“Wonderful rhythmic folk and a mixture of different rock and world styles that was great fun. But all the way through, it was the singer songwriter lyrics that keep your ear, because they do matter. Thanks for the music, Jim.”
Carey Carlson, WLLC-FM (Detroit Drive 106.7), Detroit