Go Jimmy Go back to finish CD, regroup

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Go Jimmy Go — from left, Andrew McClellan, Eric White, Cameron Wright, Jason "Bison" Friedmann, Shon Gregory, Fernando Pacheco, Ian Ashley — is back from a seven-month tour for an extended holiday break at home. The band plays Pipeline Café on Wednesday. Go Jimmy Go photo Go Jimmy Go at The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Kick-Off Party, with Missing Dave 9 p.m. Wednesday Pipeline Café $10 589-1999

"We were driving from Los Angeles to Tucson for a show and The Cream Machine started overheating in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the day," sax player Eric White recalled of the band's rented, 19-year-old recreational vehicle. "And there was absolutely nothing around."

A jug of water the band had on hand for such an emergency cooled down the radiator somewhat. But with early June heat kicking up desert temperatures, the effort was like taking a garden hose to a forest fire.

"So the next thing we know, we're using our own personal bottles of water. And nobody wanted to give up their personal stash because we were stuck in a desert," said White, laughing.

That worked, until The Cream Machine overheated again further down the highway.

"We were like, 'We're gonna die in the middle of this desert!' " said White. "We threw open the doors of the RV to get some air, and this swarm of flies started flying in. It was like the plague or something!"

No surprise, Go Jimmy Go missed its Tucson gig. The band finished that leg of the tour, which started in April, toting a collection of discarded jugs filled with water. Holes in the jugs were patched with band stickers. The Cream Machine finally died a few weeks later. "We buried it in L.A.," said White.

Back in Honolulu on an extended break, White said Go Jimmy Go members are "surprisingly, getting along pretty good" after five more months touring the country in its new van. The ska/rock-steady/reggae/soul band returned in mid-October. Time since has been spent taking care of personal and family business, completing work on a third album, and playing select gigs.

Go Jimmy Go headlines the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing kick-off party Wednesday at Pipeline Café.

The band will be home through the holidays. Members hope to hit the road for another open-ended tour some time after the February release of its still untitled CD.

"The break is to rest, finish the album, and make enough money so that we can get back on the road," said White.

The band's first-ever open-ended tour introduced Go Jimmy Go and its music to new audiences.

"We basically went from L.A. to Maine ... from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back, and up and down the coasts, too," said White.

Gigs included the really good — Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, New York, Seattle. The really bad — "any place we outnumbered the crowd was really bad. There were a couple of places like that." And the just plain surprisingly good — McCall, Idaho.

"It was in the middle of the state in a town known for skiing. And there we were in the off-season playing a coffee shop on Cinco de Mayo," said White. "We were, like, 'Oh, man!' "

Off-season or no, the band arrived to a large open-air stage with an excellent light and sound system, beer and wine in stage-side coolers, and a crowd eager to see a Hawai'i ska band.

"Everybody was dancing. They were good people ... so laid back and into having a good time," said White. "They reminded us of Hawai'i. I told them it was just like home."

Go Jimmy Go is looking forward to a first-time trek through Canada in 2005, and return trips to Midwest and East Coast venues it first visited this summer. White is eager to return to New York.

"Brooklyn and the East Village were so good to us," said White. "And there were so many Hawai'i people in the big cities like Chicago, New York and Boston."

The band is still hoping to finance trips to Japan and Europe, but will likely leave its new touring vehicle on the Mainland.

"It's an indiscreet white Ford van with a trailer," said White. "It's got no flavor. But it's solid!"

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.