Cleveland, OH based Singer/Songwriter Jim Scaparotti has been crafting songs for over 40 years but is just now recording and releasing music. Life events sidelined Jim, but the pain of losing his beloved grandson Josiah to a rare genetic disorder inspired him to become a recording artist. 

Today, the Cleveland, Ohio-based singer-songwriter steps forward with centeredness and artistic assuredness to release a series of singles from an upcoming album of prime rock n’ roll, TIMEPIECE. Joining him on these musical adventures is a stable of world-class musicians, collectively called Jim Scaparotti and TINMAN Project. The parable of the Tin Man represents waiting, and healing for Jim. The Project, and Jim’s own journey, has further come to life with the animatic music video called "The Revelation of TINMAN."  

“In the past year and a half, I have found the inner peace that, along with my faith, has allowed me to move forward with my music endeavors,” Jim shares. He continues: “The story of the Tin Man resonates with me because I felt stuck for so long musically, then like oil freed up Tin Man, doors started opening that I never dreamed of, and I found myself working with these amazing artists and musicians . I hope my journey and my music helps to give others hope.” 

Music was Jim’s refuge growing up. He dissected songs by the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, James Brown, Taj Mahal, Joni Mitchell and others, so much that they became part of the fabric of his being. His spiritual journey has been vast and varied. It took him away from music and he didn’t consciously listen to those formative classic rock songs for many years. Yet they still cycled through his mind and heart, and, when he came back to music, it was like being unfrozen and picking up a creative dialogue fresh from his youth. Jim’s songs therefore are almost like direct links back to rock’s heyday though his own life truths and sense of spirituality imbue them with a sense of vigor and vibrancy. 

Jim grew up in the wilds of the 1960s—he attended Kent State University a year after the famous National Guard shootings. His Italian -American family was close, and very musical. Long nights listening to his father, Enrico singing playing the standards shaped his early life. After some informal guitar lessons from his dad, Jim set out on his own path of soaking up records, experimenting with a percussive guitar style, and eventually learning bass guitar. 

Fast forward to 2020 - Jim had met Nashville session drummer Dan Needham through his sister who lives nearby, and asked him for advice on getting great drum tracks, and Dan offered to record drums for Jim's demo for These Are the Times. From there, doors started opening to musicians and music business veterans previously closed to him. One such coup was getting guitar master Phil Keaggy to play on the track. Jim says: “I had a connection to Lynn Nichols (Nashville A/R, musician, producer,, Chagall Guevara, Phil Keaggy Band), who became my confidante’ and Executive Producer. Lynn introduced me to Phil and many of the other incredible session players and artists I’m working with today. I was used to nothing happening for so long, now all of a sudden, connections were happening that I only dreamed of in the past,” Jim says. “This trend continued to the point where I was recording entirely remotely, basically producing my songs with some of the greatest players in the world and somehow it was all coming together.” 

On “These Are the Times” Jim conjures the smoky roots rock of Dire Straits, while infusing a psychedelic rock vibe. “I wrote “Times” around 1992. It was a message to myself to" open up my heart" - but it’s for anyone who feels lost, is damaged or seeking meaning in life,” he says. The twangy rock continues on, “Walkin’ This Road,” which conjures the swampy sounds of Creedence. Here is also a message of self-empowerment: I’ll see you there my friend, one way or the other, but there’ll be hell to pay if I follow another". It’s basically about pursuing your calling in life, and not conforming despite tendencies to want to please people. For me, it’s about facing the darkness,” confesses Jim. 

In Jim’s story, facing the darkness has also been about facing the music, whether it be confronting his past, or healing through songwriting. His first ever released song, “Josiah’s Song,” was a tribute to his grandson who got his wings way too soon. Up next, Jim has “a bunch” of songs, and journals filled with lyrics and concepts he hopes to record and release along with new material he is currently writing. Hearing his songs recorded the way he imagined them for so long was like the moment the Tin Man received his heart. “During our first remote session, when Dave Cleveland did his first guitar pass on ‘These Are the Times,’ I was moved to tears,” Jim recalls. “It felt like this song I had mused over so long was finally coming alive.”

— 2020 Interview by Lorne Behrman