Jimmy Nichols
Jimmy Nichols is the keyboard player, and music director for Faith Hill's touring band. Jimmy was raised in Columbus, Ohio where he and his 7 brothers and sisters shared a musical upbringing with their Father, pianist Joey “Nichols” Ginnetti. The four brothers started playing professionally when Jimmy was only ten years old. They went on to become the Nichols Brothers, and toured the country for 24 years, until a potential record deal brought Jimmy and his Brothers to Nashville in 1994.
Working in a recording studio that was co-owned by Grammy-winning producer/songwriter David Malloy proved fateful when David, through advice from session player Spady Brannon, started using Jimmy on all his sessions. With no musical training and without the ability to read music, Jimmy quickly became one of the busiest session players in town. His first master was with David on Mindy McCready’s debut album, both playing and singing all the background vocals on 9 of the ten cuts. The album sold over 2 million copies. His credit list has risen quickly in his short twelve years in town, and include Elton John, Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Andy Griggs, Mindy McCready, Billy Gilman, BJ Thomas, Keith Urban, Lonestar, Jo Dee Messina, and most recently of course, Faith Hill.
Jimmy's Credits:
Faith Hill, Daryle Singletary, B.J. Thomas, Marty Brown, Mindy McCready, Larry Gatlin, Al Denson, Juice Newton, Chalee Tennison, Andy Griggs, Chad Austin, Billy Gilman, Ray Hood, Ricochet, Elton John, Rita Coolidge, Jim Peterik & World Stage, Lila McCann, Tim Rushlow, The Martins, Jerry Kilgore, Trick Pony, Van-Zant, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr. Sherrié Austin, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, Keith Urban, Blue County, Lane Brody Lonestar, Craig Morgan, Sammy Kershaw, Jeff Bates, Lee Ann Womack, Shawn King, Blaine Larsen, Jessica Simpson (credited as James Ginnetti), Bill Medley, Brooks & Dunn, John Mellencamp.
Artist Q&A
Q: What do you use your Neko For?
A: I use my Neko for just about everything I do, but I especially find it indispensable live, because of it's flexible outputs, and endless variety of sounds. The huge display makes seeing what you're doing on stage a dream!
Q: Where do you use your Neko?
A: I use my NeKo both live and in the studio, and I'm finding it very hard to justify my racks full of gear anymore!
Q: Why do you use the Neko rather than something else?
A: I use the Neko more than anything else because I'm so familiar with the PC format, and with this keyboard, I don't have to grab a CPU, Monitor, Rack, controller, mouse, keyboard, and external drives. Just grab the NeKo, and rock!
Q: What software do you use with your Neko?
A: Karsyn is the ticket for live work, while in the studio I use Sonar as a host and for recording and sequencing. I have a plethora of soft synths, Gigastudio 3.0, Ivory, Atmosphere, Kontact, and the many plugins that ship with the unit. I especially like Mr. Tramp. The transport was easy to configure for Sonar, and the faders work great for emulating drawbars and volume faders for mixing.
(complete Jimmy Nichols interview)
Equipment Used
Purchased NeKo 64 (Gen1) upgraded to NeKo LX (Gen2)
Purchased NeKo LX (Gen3)
Artist Links