The Jim Menzel Project consists of:  Jim Menzel on guitars and songwriting, Danette Daniels on Lead and back up vocals, Gary Lickness on bass guitar and Vaughn Link on drums.

The band is from the Minneapolis, MN area, which is the Hotbed for music in the Upper Midwest.  The band plays a varied mix of musical styles.  Rock, Hard Rock, Blues, 60’s Rock, Garage and Rockabilly are all represented.  Currently, they are in the process of getting our CD ( Midnite Shadows ), out to people everywhere, that want to check out our sounds.

Jim has played in various original and cover bands, including Driveline band with Danette on vocals.  Gary and Jim played in Big Daddy and the B-3’s together.  Gary and Vaughn play in the M.E. band together.  Back in the day, Jim had the honor of recording at the same studio as the famous garage rock band, THE LITTER !  All members have played in other various bands, including Gary in Burning Sky, a tribute to Bad Company.

Jim is currently playing in the IT’S NEVER 2 L 8 band and Gary and Vaughn are still playing in the M.E. band.  These are both cover bands.  Jim is in the process of writing songs for the next CD.  While no timetable has been set for it, the band continues working away to complete the next project.

In this interview, we chat with Jim Menzel about influences, challenges, and the Jim Menzel Project.

Full Q&A, links, and streams below.

Introduce yourself to our readers and describe the style of music you create.

Hi, I’m Jim Menzel from the Jim Menzel Project.  My general style of music is rock.  I try to incorporate all the various styles of music that I like.  Blues, hard rock, garage, 60’s and even 50’s rock are influences I try to put in my music.

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing styles? Also, what motivates you to keep creating?

For playing styles, the Beatles, Stones, Buddy Holly, Marshall Crenshaw, Bad Company are some.

For writing style, I love old Soul music, 60’s and 70’s rock, blues and hard rock.

As for motivation to keep creating.  I have written songs since my early teens.  It’s something that I enjoy.  It can be tough at times, but when you write something you like, you feel good about it. I’ve always felt that I have something to express musically.  I still feel I have something to say.

What was the last song you listened to?

Last song listened to, This Train by Joe Bonamassa.  Great tune, great artist.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

Yes, there certainly is a lot of music out there.  That’s great for the listener, good for the artist as an access factor, more challenging in many ways.

How do you stand out and get attention when there is so much out there ?  I try to put out a quality product and promote it as well as I can.  From there, it’s up to the listeners to decide what they like.  So far, the music seems to have found an audience.  Not setting the world on fire, but not getting ignored, either.

Do you gig, tour or perform through any live streaming services? Where can music lovers see you perform?

As far as gigging (performing live, etc.), I moved from Mpls, MN to San Diego, CA 2 years ago. I have been playing live in cover bands for many years.  At some point, my present band is called Event Horizon.  We are a cover band, but intend to record a new CD (of my music) at some point.

After that, we may play some shows.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

You can connect with me online at facebook  and my website.

My music is available on over 50 streaming services, including youtube, rhapsody, I tunes, Spotify, 8 tracks, Amazon music, etc.  You can hear me on soundcloud, also.  If you would like to purchase a download or a hard copy of my CD, please go to CD Baby.

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

Last thoughts, if you love music keep at it.  Don’t get down.  Your worst critics will be the ones that don’t know and don’t understand music and creative people.  Be true to yourself and feel good about being you.  Nothing is ever accomplished by quitting, keep going.

I’d like to send a shout out to every musician and singer that I ever played with.  You have all been part of the journey and have influenced me more than you know.  Special mention to the singer on this CD (Jim Menzel Project “Midnite Shadows”) Danette Daniels; my favorite singer !

Also thanks to the great bass playing of Gary Lickness and the drumming of Vaughn Link. Thanks to Tommy Tousey for his record engineering.  A big thanks to my wife (Sandy Menzel) for encouraging and helping me and for great pictures on the CD, (she took them.)

Take care and keep on rockin,

Jim Menzel