• JIM ROLL Born and raised in suburban Chicago, Jim Roll had his early musical experience founded in the folk influence of Bob Dylan, the blues of Jimmy Reed and the rock 'n' roll of Chuck Berry. After serving a musical apprenticeship in the mid '80s as a member of a popular Midwest band, he decided to pursue an education in social work, moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1991. During this period, he continued to hone his writing skills and perform at local clubs while completing his degree. In 1993, he moved to Frankfurt, Germany, performing for several months as a street musician. After returning to Ann Arbor, he began a series of monthly shows at The Gypsy Cafe, a local folk club, in October, 1996. Armed with a substantial catalogue of original songs, Jim Roll developed a large following at the club, playing to packed crowds knocked out by the combination of his introspective tunes and off-the-wall stage presence. The word also spread to the local media, which began to take a serious look at this new troubadour. In 1998, he released the critically-acclaimed CD, Ready to Hang, which mixed both alt. country rockers with stark solo acoustic songs, on One Man Clapping Records. Roll also expanded his touring range, hitting the club circuit and showcasing at a number of music conferences and festivals, including South By Southwest, Nashville's Extravaganza, The Folk Alliance and Kerrville Folk Festival. The seeds were sown for his followup album, Lunette, when he met The Silos' Walter Salas-Humara in 1998. "I met Walter at a Silos gig in Chicago," recalls Jim Roll. " I was a huge Silos fan starting in 1987-1988, especially the album Cuba. He also produced The Vulgar Boatmen, who were a huge influence on me. So, when I met him, I asked if he'd be interested in producing me. He liked my writing a lot and we worked on the album for about 10 months. In addition to guitarists Graham and  Morlix, Walter's stellar cast of players would include violinist Mary Rowell, fiddler Kevin Wimmer and Salas-Humara, himself, on drums, as well as other members of The Silos. "I play guitar, banjo and harmonica on it and will play some fiddle on the tour dates as well," says Roll. "I learned a lot about the fiddle in the last few years," he admits, "and studied with an old fiddler in West Virginia." On Lunette, Jim Roll brought together an assortment of styles and influences: rock, alt. country and folk music come together in a totally unique way. Rockin' guitars, Appalachian fiddles and even cellos collide on a most glorious ride. | Jim’s third record, Inhabiting the Ball, his first for Telegraph, promises to be a genre-shattering surprise. This record was built upon on Jim’s home recorded demos, embroidered with contributions by Chuck Prophet, Brian Deck, and Jon Williams. In addtion, it features lyrics on 3 tracks by incomparable short story writer/novelist Rick Moody (The Ice Storm), lyrics on 5 more by peerless novelist/poet  Denis Johnson (Jesus’ Son.)