Jim Bianco ‘s online persona is colorful to say the least. On his various social media outlets, he posts darkly humorous observations and hilarious puns, each one as accurate as they are funny. His music contains some of the same sentiments, and his latest album Loudmouth is a little bit of americana, folk, and jazz, with a lot of soul. His voice has the rasp of Tom Waits and the yearning quality of Dave Matthews, but yet he still manages to sound as distinct from the two as they are from one another. Upon a visit to his website I discovered Jim Bianco also makes incredible short silent films. The one posted below is called “Bathtub”, and I think it offers just as long of a look into the artist’s mind as the following interview does:

Laurel Kathleen: I’ve been listening to your latest record Loudmouth on your website, and it’s got a lot of unusual combinations of styles. Is there a word or phrase that you like to use to describe your sound?

Jim Bianco: I have recently taken to the phrase “misfit singer/songwriter”. Singer/songwriter is kind of bland-y, but there’s also…this James Taylor-style connotation. My influences range from so many stuff: I’m a jazz piano player and I love Fats Waller, Thelonious Monk, Tom Waits. I have all these parts of me that manifest themselves one way or another in my music. I guess “eclectic” would be a word that would not make me squirm in my seat. If someone called me a rock musician I would feel uncomfortable, you know? The whole source of doing anything is your ego. You have this big, giant ego that wants people to hear your music. The whole part of the ego is focused on trying to prove that you’re an individual, and once you put a label on it you associate yourself with other people which is not really what we’re trying to do, I think.

LK: What’s different about this record compared to your previous studio albums?

JB: I think the way the songs arrived individually, there’s a little bit more maturity. I was in my thirties and piecing it all together. The cores of the songs come from a little bit of a darker place. It’s not that there’s not any humor, it’s just a little bit darker and a little bit…less humorous? Or no, the humor itself is darker. I used a new producer, a new band. I kind of wanted to shake things up a bit from my prior albums.

LK: So tomorrow night is your album release party in San Francisco with a full band?

JB: Correct, and then I’ll be in Ventura the night after that before heading back to the East Coast. Honestly, I never get to take my full band everywhere, so just having them there is a big deal. We’re going to do the full record front to back, and some older stuff. We usually have confetti; I actually had a confetti cannon, that’s how big it is.

LK: I find your tweets and Facebook posts quite hilarious. Have you ever considered going into comedy?

JB: Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. I have a really good time not trying to be a comedian, and if I ever really tried to do it I think I would really not have fun with it. When I tour, I spend time storytelling and I love the art of stand-up comedy, I think it’s so difficult and you have to be so smart. But also, I love fucking rock ‘n’ roll. So I try to balance those two. When I’m with my full band, I don’t joke as much. But when I’m by myself I just wind up telling stories and making jokes. But I would never want to be a comic because…well on the other hand I guess it’d be easier because I wouldn’t have to carry my guitar anywhere.

LK: How did you get into making short silent films?

JB: I was in the middle of making a record, working on that like four or five days a week. So on my days off, I had nothing to do. I love Facebook, I love having an outlet for friends and fans, and so I just decided to try it. It started with earlier movies and developed into these characters of myself and Charlotte Sweeney, the female character in all of the films. It’s really a beautiful art form, and it’s so fun to do it all in just two days. There’s something really wholesome about the experience, it feels genuine to make something in entirety from scratch. Writing, producing, acting, editing, writing the music, then putting it all together and sending it out to everyone. People seem to be fascinated that it’s such an old model. There’s a contrast between the simplicity of it and how complicated our lives are now. The stories are easy; you don’t have to really follow a lot, they’re short.

LK: You’re touring the US before heading to Europe at the end of May and then on to Australia. Is there a major difference in your audience from place to place?

JB: I have toured Europe before, but not with this new record. This’ll be the tour for this record. I have not been to Australia; I’m really looking forward to it. There is a difference: one, I spend a lot of time writing my lyrics and I hit a little bit harder where English is their first language. That being said, I’ve been to Japan five times and they don’t understand it at all.

LK: They obviously like you, or else they wouldn’t have had you back so many times.

JB: Yeah, absolutely. I think that each country has a different way of appreciating your music. It’s really a matter of having a sense of humor. Most of these places have their own sense of humor, because it’s a regional thing. In that light, I’d say that the audiences have absolutely different reactions.

LK: Is there an audience that seems particularly appreciative?

JB: Scotland! Those people are my people. They’re full of fire, and fury, and love. If they don’t like you, they’ll tell you. If they love you, they’ll tell you. I’m really excited to get back there.

If you’re in San Franscisco, be sure to check out Jim Bianco‘s CD release party Friday, April 8th at the Hotel Utah Saloon. The event is 21 years of age and older, and the cost is $8. The album Loudmouth is now available digitally on iTunes and physically on his website, where you can even preview the full album.