Texas resident by choice for many years, Jim Hancock has been singing all his life and first picked up the guitar when hewas in 7th grade. The first time he remembers performing musically was inthe 5th grade playing the trombone. After graduating from Anderson HighSchool in Austin in 1976, he joined the Navy (3 years, 3 days, 4 hours and27 minutes). In 1980 he began studying voice and music theory at the Universityof Texas. In 1982, his life began a turn toward the road. He attended hisfirst Kerrville Folk Festival and began hitchikingin the summers.
e started playing at restaurants, open mics, Rainbow Gatherings and for
people he met on the road from as far north as the Yukon and as far south
as Guatemala. He played solo and with diverse bands from rock and roll to reggae.
From early on, Jim has had an ear for a good song and began accumulating
his current repertoire of hundreds of songs he now can pull out at the drop
of a hat. In 1986, he performed at his first Renaissance Festival with The
Great American Rainbow Gypsy Theatre. In 1987, he was a Music Director
at King Richard’s Faire in Boston and Chicago and, also in 1987, he recorded
with Jim and Joyce Lillquist’s group, The Gypsy
Guerrilla Band . That association proved to be fruitful and he stayed
with them for 10 seasons, recording 5 albums and playing renaissance
festivals, state fairs, folk festivals and other special events all over the country. Since
1997, he has been a regular solo act on the renaissance festival circuit,
sitting in and supporting other bands’ music as well as doing his own stage
shows. He is back music directing, now at the Sterling Renaissance Festival.
founding member of the Burly Minstrels
(also of the Christmas singing group, the Merry Minstrels
), and a longtime pickin’ partner of Ky
Hote , some of the other groups he has performed with include: Cantiga ,
Celtic Stone, the Minstrels of Mayhem ,
As You Like It , the New World Renaissance
Band and Empty Hats . Steve Gillette,
Michelle Shocked , Seven
Thunders , David Amram, Brian Cutean
and many others who have enjoyed Jim’s legendary ability to accompany and "jam"
with almost anyone. While known mostly for his dynamic work on guitar and
vocals, Jim also excels on mandolin, acoustic bass and cittern. In 1997,
he was selected as an "Artist-In Residence" for the Disney Institute at Walt
Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
ately
he’s been busy putting together his jimusic
Mobile Studios , a fully digital recording studio. Completed in March
of 1999, his first completely digital project is Sing
We Enchanted . Owning his own mobile studio has allowed
him to record in many different settings and with numerous musicians that
he knows all over the country. He hopes to be able to archive and record more musicians that otherwise
might not get a chance to record. Listen for singer-songwriter Maia Archote
on the airwaves soon!
