Former Carson City resident brings LA band JimBo Pap home

Newly formed JimBo Pap is coming to Carson City to play at Sassafrass Eclectic Food Joint on Thursday.

Former Carson City resident Jim Bowers created the Los Angeles band JimBo Pap, a name that came about by combining the band members’ names.

He describes his music as using the instrumentation of classic country and western band. They make use of the pedal steel guitar, fiddle and dobro. While the core of the band consists of the three members in the name, there will be about six or seven people performing when they come to Carson.

He’s also bringing along an opener, Sie Sie Benhoff, who will perform a few songs to get the stage warmed up.

JimBo Pap is touring before the release of their new album “It Can Always Get Worse,” which will be officially released Sept. 13 (although he will have copies for sale at the Aug. 8 show). Bowers has toured previously with the band Radar Brothers, and he’s excited to get his new one on the road.

Bowers said the album started as a private solo record, which he wasn’t planning to release to the public. He played a song at a party and people told him he should record what he has. Those friends who told him this were Glen Campbell’s former rhythm section, Campbells’ son Cal Campbell and a friend Siggy Sjursen.

“I thought to myself, I could record with Glen Campbell’s old rhythm section,” Bowers said. “We’ve got to get this going right away.”

Fans can get a taste of the band by listening to the radio the day before. The band stops in Reno to perform at 100.1 the on The Local Spotlight. It begins at 6 p.m. and can be listened to on 100.1 FM or online at www.myradiox.com.

The band performs at a private party Friday, the day after the Carson show. Jim said if someone wasn’t able to make it Thursday to Carson, contact him and he can most likely get you to the show on Friday.

Jim left Carson City shortly after graduating high school, but he loves coming back to visit and has family to keep him coming back. One of his childhood heroes was Adam Furlong in town.

“He helped me see that there was a bigger world out there with music,” Jim said.

Jim is excited to come back to the town he grew up. His album cover is a photo from Carson City. The photo is a black and white picture of his great grandmother somewhere near the Little League fields, taken in 1984. He also has memories working as a paper boy.

“The first job I ever had in my life was, wait for it, paper boy at the Nevada Appeal,” Jim wrote in an email. “Used to ride my bike around slinging rolled-up newspapers at people’s porches and driveways along Arrowhead Road in Carson City.”