Jim Hornaday - Bass
Jim Hornaday started playing guitar at age 14, a venture he had to take into his own hands. You see, Jim's parents already had the experience of renting instruments (violin and trumpet specifically) and procuring lessons to satisfy Jim's desire to become a musician when he was in grade school. The only problem was that Jim never practiced. Guitar was different. When one of Jim's chums in high school that had already been playing guitar for a few years bought an electric guitar, Jim thought it was the coolest thing on Earth. So, Jim borrowed his buddy's acoustic, bought a basic chord book and started teaching himself to play, putting in an average of three hours a day through those high school years. "I learned most of my knowledge of theory from reading Guitar Player Magazine and Guitar For The Practicing Musician, along with talking about theory and scales with friends that were musicians," Jim recalls, adding "I've always told people it's not how many years you've played an instrument, it's how many hours.'
After playing for a little over a year, Jim joined his high school jazz band. At the Northern Arizona University Jazz Festival, Jim won the Outstanding Soloist award and was subsequently offered a music scholarship. Jim wound up going to another university, however, (University of the Pacific) and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Entertainment Management. After finishing his coursework at UOP, Jim served a three month internship for Chick Corea at Mad Hatter Recording Studio in Los Angeles, CA to finish his degree. Then he landed a job in Hollywood working for a firm that specialized in contract negotiations for music licensing in film and television, while spending his nights studying recording engineering at UCLA.
A few years later Jim found himself back in his hometown of Phoenix, AZ and joined a band called Joslin as the lead guitarist. This lead to a new partnership with his new band mates in a recording studio that Andy Joslin founded called Dream Catcher Recording. A few years later he would take over the studio from his partners and build his own little empire in the Arizona music scene. Along the way, Jim found himself recording bands as diverse as bit-o-jane, blessedbethyname, Lynch Mob, Gin Blossoms, and Shawn Johnson & the Foundation. Jim says the experience of living and breathing music in the critical listening environment of a recording studio is what made him a well-rounded musician, earning him the nickname The Ear from one of his clients (Jesse Henke of blessedbethyname). "Although I dabbled with piano and bass over the years, running a studio is what lead me to get serious about learning keyboards, bass and mandolin. I never really had much confidence in singing either until I forced myself to do a bunch of singing in the studio.'
Shortly after recording the album Strength for Shawn Johnson & the Foundation, Jim joined the Reign Kings as a lead guitarist and released Bloom, a masterful recording showcasing Jim's skills in recording and production. With the Reign Kings, Jim performed on many big stages, sharing the bill with Dishwalla, Counting Crows, Michelle Branch, Blues Traveler, The Samples, and Live, among others. Shortly after leaving the Reign Kings, Jim came to learn that there was an opening in the Foundation for a bassist and he jumped at the opportunity. In addition to filling the role of bassist, Jim is once again at the helm in the recording studio recording a new record for Shawn Johnson & the Foundation, due to be released in the Summer of 2006.
Jim's Gear
Schecter Stiletto Custom-4 Bass
Tobias Growler 4-string Bass
Trace Elliot AH500X amplifier
David Eden 2x12
Mesa/Boogie 1x15 cabinets.
Back to the Band