Artist Spotlight: Jimmy Needham
Jimmy Quick Facts:
Born in: Denver Colorado, but raised in Houston, TX
Graduated from: Texas A&M University (Philosophy and History) - he met his wife Kelly there, too!
STAR: If you had to introduce and describe yourself to someone in three sentences, what would they be?
JN: 1) My name is Jimmy. (I thought that's a good place to start) 2) I am an Ambassador of Christ disguised as a musician. 3) I hope to make Jesus famous in all that I do.
STAR: That's cool. Okay, now... Let's get to know the quirky stuff about 'real Jimmy'... If people really knew you, they'd know... what?
JN: People who REALLY know me, know that I once wanted to... be a stand-up comedian! Really! That's no joke!
STAR: Did you receive any of those "Most Likely..." awards in high school?
JN: In high school, I was actually voted 'Most Friendly' and 'Most Outgoing'. I probably would've also been voted most likely to stay in bed until 1 PM after school!
STAR: What's your biggest pet peeve?
JN: When I'm at a light and I want to turn right, and there's a car in front of me who wants to go straight, and I can't turn because I don't have enough room to go around them. Totally Non-Spiritual, I know! For a Spiritual one: It urks me when people take a passage from the Bible and turn it around to say what THEY want it to say, instead of what God intended for it to be.
STAR: Who has had the biggest influence on your faith?
JN: High school youth pastor, then mentor, now friend: Ben Stewart. We still meet for coffee every week. I learned more from him (about the love and character and grace of God, not just from his teachings but from his life) than from anyone else I know. I would hope one day that I could be more like him.
STAR: If you could cast yourself as a character in a movie, who would it be?
JN: Easy! Robert The Bruce from Braveheart... He's constantly searching for courage in this struggle between doing something to further himself and doing something of value. I can totally relate to that!
STAR: ...Do you tweet, Jimmy? How about Facebook? What can our listeners do to keep track of you on the internet?
JN: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace: I do all of them!!! I just got onto Twitter, and that's a new kind of scary thing, LOL!
STAR: Good to know... (and I hope you'll check us out on Facebook, too: STAR933oh) Speaking of mySpace, though. I thought I heard somewhere that mySpace was how you got started... Is that right?
JN: I started playing in some coffee houses with roommates and friends while in college... My father came out to a show and told me that he really believed in me and offered to pay for me to record some stuff... I put a small CD together and put it up on mySpace. About 3 months later the President of INPOP Records called me and asked if he could fly to Houston to talk to me about signing with them... That's it! I couldn't believe it! I mean, really?!?! I didn't know it could come together like that!
STAR: Why did you pick 'Not Without Love' as the title to your new CD?
JN: Well, my first CD 'Speak' had lots of messages that battled with hypocrisy that I perceived in the church and around me. I was really passionate about Holiness, but somewhere in the middle I became a bit legalistic and judgmental. In this process (and with the love and perspective of my new wife), God reminded me that witnessing, holding one another accountable, and all those things are simply worthless without love. I'm like a 'clanging cymbal' without it.
Special Thanks to Jimmy Needham for the phone interview with Daryl Pierce and STAR 93.3 fm. More information about Jimmy Needham can be found on his website: www.jimmyneedham.com