When you take your music seriously, sometimes it helps to get a reality check.

I recently did a fantastic photo session with my #1 picture guy, Miri Stebivka from Mirifoto. We had a good time as we always do, and got some fantastic pictures that can be found in both the Press Gallery and the Cool Photos Gallery.

But there was one small problem.

It seems that when I am playing my instruments, I look too serious for good candid photos. Luckily, Miri had a solution at hand. As we were coming to the end of our session and trying to get some more fun shots, he called to his wife Darka and said, “Can you come in here and sing a silly song to get Jim to laugh?” And like a true sport, she got out her accordion and we played a rousing duet of “Pfft! You Were Gone” from Hee Haw. It worked like a charm! We were laughing and singing and Miri was happily snapping away. And no, there aren’t any recordings of it–be glad of that.

There are so many things to keep track of when you’re playing music, and I have to admit that my facial expression is not at the top of the list. It’s another in the long list of things to work on. Being a visual thing, I tend not to think about it as much as I do other things. I hope that the joy I feel when I play comes through in the music, because that always makes me happy! Even if it doesn’t look like it during the more difficult parts.

Still, I’ll never hear this song quite the same way again, and I am grateful for all those who helped make the above photo possible. It was well worth the effort!  And I totally get Kingston Trio vibes when I wear this shirt.  You can’t miss with good influences like that.