"Jimmy Leslie drops a funk and pop mix that's all his own."—Pacific Sun

Jimmy Leslie is a San Francisco singer, guitar player, and writer inspired by classic rock and New Orleans funk. Moving melodies and greasy grooves—the sea and the swamp—converge through unique compositions on Surfin’ the Swamp.

The single, “Sweetwater Sun” is an excellent example. Vintage Guitar magazine says, "Few pop/rock tunes are as good/catchy." Through his work with Guitar Player magazine, Jimmy met Carlos Santana. He inspired the song, which transports the listener to the Golden Gate via a radiant vocal and a reverb-drenched guitar bed. But the rhythm is brought up from the bayou. Galactic’s funky drummer Stanton Moore and bassist Robert Mercurio provide the pocket that propel Leslie’s West Coast inspirations.

“When I hired them for a session, I realized it was easier and more fun to suit my songs to their grooves than the other way around,” Leslie says. “So I groomed a group of tunes, and went to Galactic’s studio in New Orleans to record a marathon rhythm section session. I cut more guitar and vocals back in my home studio near the beach.”

Leslie’s songwriting is covers a range of emotions. Up tunes such as “Sweetwater Sun” and “In My Shell” are balanced the brooding “Southern Line” and the melancholy “Sidewalk Diamonds.” The funk epic “Wash it Out” is featured on Fortune Cookies II, a compilation of the Bay Area’s best.

The San Francisco scene benefited from an unexpected influx of seasoned musicians when Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans. Jimmy began jamming with a group called the Honey Island Swamp Band. Leslie’s live ensemble developed out of that connection, and has since expanded to include a stable of top-notch players from the Bay to the Bayou. In addition to other venues, Jimmy performs regularly across the street from fabled Fillmore auditorium at John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room, which Leslie calls “A portal between the New Orleans and San Francisco music scenes.”

Jimmy actually grew up in Toledo, Ohio, which lies less than an hour south of Detroit. He fell in love with New Orleans when he saw the Funky Meters perform there in 1996, and moved to San Francisco in 1998 to pursue a gig opportunity. “I left my heart in New Orleans, and found my soul in San Francisco,” he says. “They are the two most unique cities in America, which I appreciate to the utmost having been raised in a strip mall town. My goal is to build a musical bridge that can be appreciated by people everywhere.”

“It would be ironic if the modern New Orleans funk backbeat made national radio through its musical sister city, but stranger things have happened—and one listen to “Wash it Out,” which would tickle Sublime and Galactic fans, bears that out.”—Offbeat

2004 - 2008

Jimmy gathers Galactic rhythm section Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio to provide the pocket for Surfin’ the Swamp. The CD is available only at shows until its official national release in summer 2007. Jimmy’s live act emerges from a group of Katrina refugees called the Honey Island Swamp Band, which contains members of Eric Lindell’s band. When they return to NOLA, Jimmy forms a new group with SF musicians. He also plays gigs with Shana Morrison (Van the Man’s little girl).

Leslie hosts Guitar Player Presents once a month around the SF Bay. Examples include Buddy Guy and Robert Cray at the Mtn. Winery, Yngwie Malmsteen at the Independent, John Scofield at Yoshi’s, and Oz Noy at the Boom Boom Room.

2003–2005
In the spring of 2003, Jimmy sits in with electronic musician Alex Theory at a peace party. The two strike up a new project and add keyboardist Jeffrey Gilliam to form LunaGroove. The electro-live act instantly draws the attention of the Burning Man crowd and hits the festival/party circuit. LunaGroove releases a self-titled live CD [Cyberset] at legendary Burner party krewe Anon Salon's Sea of Dreams New Year’s Eve extravaganza.

2000–2003
Visitor Jim is born out of the partnership with Jim Greer and former Crumb bassist Jim Bowser. The band releases a praised CD, gains national radio play at the Triple A format, tours the West Coast, and has a single mixed by Bill Bottrell (Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow). However, the project gets put on hiatus due to Greer’s new gig ghostwriting for Galactic.

Leslie takes editorship of Gig magazine for a year before moving on to write for Guitar Player and Bass Player.

1998–2000
Jimmy transplants from Ohio to California when he lands a gig with DreamWorks artist Ira Marlowe, then joins a national touring outfit led by Fortune recording artist Jim Greer.

The Fortune Cookies compilation includes Jimmy’s solo track, “I Don’t Know,” which gains significant college radio play in the Bay Area. Jimmy records an album of solo material called Motherboard on his home PC.

Leslie develops his skill as a music journalist at the Gavin radio magazine.

1998
Jimmy Leslie and Friends’ Live Downtown CD is released independently.

An album of studio material, Libra, is recorded that reveals Leslie’s two-sided musical identity: The melodic singer/song-writer, and the groove-rock guitarist.