Jim Simpson is an award-winning fiction writer and freelance music critic. A native of the wilds of Florida's Gulf Coast, he now resides on the scruffy fringes of Atlanta, Georgia.
He frequently writes about music, with his taste spanning all genres: Bluegrass, Americana, Classic Country, Alternative Country, Western Swing, Blues, Classical, Rock 'n' Roll, Punk, Reggae, Klezmer, and British Isles Folk (to name but a few).
He once sang Happy Birthday (with about 10,000 other people) to Joni Mitchell, and has seen such legends as Miles Davis, The Incredible Jimmy Smith, Rockpile, Blue Rodeo, King Sunny Ade, David Bowie, Joan Jett, Robyn Hitchcock, R.E.M., Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan live in concert. He has interviewed Those Darlins, John Linnell of They Might Be Giants, Marshall Chapman, Charlie Louvin, Derek Hoke, JIm Avett, the Secret Sisters, and Meghan McCormick.
Jim is the managing editor for Awaiting the Flood and staff writer for Country Music Pride magazine, the Atlanta Music Guide and contributes essays to the international magazine The Nervous Breakdown. He has been at work on his first novel for longer than he originally planned. If all goes well it should be in bookstores sometime before his death.
Music reviews and interviews at Awaiting the Flood
Essays, music and book reviews at Hellbomb.
Books:
Music:
La La Land by Plants and Animals
Features:
Adventures in Emotional Fascism: A Look Back at Elvis Costello’s Armed Forces
Fiction featured in Literary Potpourri, Anthology 4, available for purchase at Amazon.com. More info. also at Good Reads.
Fiction in Big City Lit
“Never Had It So Good” (Nominated for the Pushcart Prize.)
Award-winning fiction in Kennesaw Review.
(Winner of Kennesaw State University journal’s 2008 flash fiction award, judged by David Bottoms, Georgia Poet Laureate.)
Music reviews and interviews.
Interviews:
Features:
Brandon Bush - The Long Drive Home on WMLB
Reviews:
Loudon Wainwright III - High Wide & Handsome, The Charlie Poole Project
Sidewalk Dave - Songs for Cowards
Freedy Johnston - Rain on the City
Laura Cantrell at Radio Free Song Club - “Kitty Wells’ Dresses”
Tiny Television - Mission Statement
The Bottle Rockets - Lean Forward
Those Darlins - Those Darlins
Johnny Gimble - Celebrating With Friends
The Reverend John DeLore - Ode to an American Urn
Derek Hoke - Goodbye Rock ‘N’ Roll
I did not write this, Joyce Carol Oates did. Her novels freak me out, but I enjoy them just the same.
Atlanta music articles.
Interviews:
John Linnell of They Might Be Giants
Music Reviews:
Nneka - Concrete Jungle
Findlay Brown - Love Will Find You
