Jim the Mule is a four-piece band from the Iowa & Illinois Quad Cities that blends the gritty rock and roll textures birthed in the late sixties and early seventies with a modern pop-rock sensibility. Their take on the classic rock-song structure appeals to music fans far and wide. A testament to this, the band was voted Best Local Rock Band for the third year in a row and Best Local Musical Act of 2005 by readers of the River Cities' Reader in their Best of the Quad Cities Poll. Jim the Mule has also been called “one of the best practitioners [of rock and roll]” by local media. If you appreciate tight musicianship delivered in an original and energetic package, Jim the Mule is your band.

Tom Swanson ••• Guitar, VocalsOriginally hailing from Southeastern Minnesota, Tom Swanson always wanted to be a drummer, but contends his parents weren’t too keen on the idea of the noise, and price was definitely a factor. As an alternative, his mother suggested he “start on the guitar.” Coincidentally, she had a circa ’64 Sears Silvertone acoustic with what Swanson describes as “some wicked Johnny Cash-looking black sunburst finish. It was a bitch to play.” He took lessons for 3 months, and has been playing ever since. Tom met Jason and Ryan while learning his craft in college. He claims that his largest influences include Slash, B.B. King, Duane Allman & Dickey Betts, Trey Anastasio, Jerry Garcia, and Eddie Vedder. With an intuitive sense of rhythm and spacing, Tom’s playing serves as the underlying melodic current, often defining JTM’s songs, and his vocal melodies become the “hook” that inhabits the character of the pieces. “We want to create music that feels good and is timeless. I love the stuff that my grandfather loved, and I want that to be what Jim the Mule’s music becomes for someone down the line.”Jason Gilliland ••• Bass, VocalsGrowing up between the small towns of Alexis and Gerlaw, Illinois, Jason Gilliland has been exposed to music for as long as he can remember. His father was in a band and “played music constantly” – from the Beatles, Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the Beach Boys to Badfinger and The Gatlin Brothers. Jason began taking piano lessons in elementary school, played tuba and sang in the choir in high school as well as being involved in most of the performance groups available at St. Ambrose University. He eventually got serious about Rock n’ Roll after college. Influences include genres ranging from Classic Rock and Country, Bluegrass, Funk, and Blues. Gilliland’s playing is rock-solid and serves as an anchor to JTM’s rhythm section. He sits back and plays simple rhythm parts that support the beat, then steps up and lays down tight melodic lines with the guitars and vocals - often in the same song - and his playing always succeeds at rounding out the sound as a complete package.Dan Videtich ••• Guitar, VocalsA common theme with JTM members, Dan Videtich has been around music since before he was conscious it was there – whether it emanated from a mono television speaker cranking out the early offerings of MTV or the bellies of his brother’s Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath albums. Originally from South Elgin, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, Videtich picked up the guitar at age 13, while falling in love with Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. Once the instrument was in his hands, The Allman Brothers Band, The Rolling Stones, the Band, Little Feat, and Uncle Tupelo shaped his playing. He met Tom at a Blues jam in 2002 and soon after began bringing those influences to the table in JTM. Dan adds the sweet spots to the nooks and crannies of the music and inserts much of the icing on the cake, noting that “our sound is a refreshing reminder of how great music has brought the modern scene to where it is now…especially for those who feel that Rock 'n Roll is all but forgotten.”Ryan Koning ••• Drums, Percussion, VocalsAlthough a lifelong listener and appreciator, Ryan Koning didn’t become a serious music-maker until later on in life. After growing up in Lanark, Illinois, Koning ended up attending St. Ambrose University along with the other two founding members. Despite experimenting with a fair amount of trombone and a little percussion in his early school years, he was about 21-years old before he began learning and playing on a “serious level.” Ryan met up with Tom and Jason while in college and they began playing in a variety of “loose” bands together – the three have cooperated in some form or another almost ever since. Ryan employs a loose, rootsy drumming feel influenced by blues, early Rock n' Roll, the old school styles of Charlie Watts, John Bonham, and Levon Helm, and more recent groovesters Russell Simmons and Stanton Moore. Content in making the groove first priority, Ryan still succeeds in adding some fresh flavors to the Rock n’ Roll mix.

2006 started with another high profile gig when JTM had the distinct honor of warming up a packed house for the Legendary Holmes Brothers at The Rocket Theater in Rock Island, IL. The exuberance of that show was wearing off just as the results for the Best of the Quad Cities 2006 poll were released. Jim the Mule, for the third consecutive year, was voted Best Local Rock Band. This third title continues to solidify Jim the Mule’s influence on the Quad Cities area music scene. The band was also voted, for the second time in three years, Best Local Musical Act. These numerous accolades have to raise the question, “Just how far is this band capable of going?”

Preparing to answer that question with more energy and drive than ever before, the band parted ways with drummer, Steve Merritt, and took stock of its mission. In April of 2006, with Ryan Koning moving from percussion to drum kit, the band began gigging with a fresh approach to the material and a rediscovered musical instinct.