Tabula Rasa

With the long-anticipated arrival of his third album, Tabula Rasa, Jim resets his musical compass and shows us another side of his creativity, while still retaining his classic sonic signature. Always honest, always real, with subtle tinges of Tom Petty, Paul Simon, The Wallflowers and Mark Knopfler peeking out from behind strong melodies and creative lyrics.

When asked about the curious title for his new album Jim confides, “I just felt it was time in my career to, in a sense, wipe my music slate clean. I no longer felt compelled to try to fit into any certain genre mold – I wanted to give my writing and producing more air and space to breathe…to grow. Hence the album’s title, Tabula Rasa, which is a Latin term for an interesting theory that proposes that we’re all born without any built-in mental content, a blank slate so to speak, and that every bit of our knowledge comes from our individual experiences and perceptions.

If the theory of tabula rasa is valid and perceptions and experiences count for everything, then experiencing Jim’s songs on Tabula Rasa should definitely be on everyone’s content list. With the exception of the drums, played brilliantly by Austin’s Brandon Storms, Jim performed all the instruments and vocals on the album, as well as producing, mixing and mastering. “Doing all the work myself definitely contributed to the album’s 11-year time-frame,” laughs Halfpenny, “but it also allowed me a level of quality-control that I’ve never had in past recording projects.”