Jimmy The Robot
Encyclopedia
James Randall Briggs is an American musician, best known for his dual role as keyboardist
and saxophonist
for the Orange County
rock band The Aquabats
, of which he performs under the stage name
and persona of Jimmy the Robot.
), first recording on the band's breakthrough album The Fury of the Aquabats!
. On the group's subsequent release, Briggs changed his stage name to simply "The Robot", before settling on his current title in the early 2000s.
With the Aquabats' transition in sound from ska
to New Wave
/pop punk
in the late 1990s which entailed the dissipation of their horn section
, Briggs' primary role in the current line-up is playing the keyboard and synthesizer
, playing solo sax on select songs at the band's live shows.
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
for the Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
rock band The Aquabats
The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...
, of which he performs under the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
and persona of Jimmy the Robot.
Biography
Briggs joined The Aquabats as their saxophonist and occasional keyboardist in 1996 under the pseudonym of "Jaime the Robot" (an homage to the character of Hymie the Robot from the 1960s television program Get SmartGet Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
), first recording on the band's breakthrough album The Fury of the Aquabats!
The Fury of the Aquabats!
The Fury of the Aquabats! is second studio album by American band The Aquabats, released in October 1997 on Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings.-Overview:...
. On the group's subsequent release, Briggs changed his stage name to simply "The Robot", before settling on his current title in the early 2000s.
With the Aquabats' transition in sound from ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
to New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
/pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
in the late 1990s which entailed the dissipation of their horn section
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, Briggs' primary role in the current line-up is playing the keyboard and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, playing solo sax on select songs at the band's live shows.
Discography
- The Fury of the Aquabats!The Fury of the Aquabats!The Fury of the Aquabats! is second studio album by American band The Aquabats, released in October 1997 on Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings.-Overview:...
(1997) - altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
s, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocals, ClavinovaClavinovaThe Clavinova is a long-running line of digital pianos created by the Yamaha Corporation. They are similar in styling to an acoustic piano, but with many features common to other digital pianos such as the ability to save and load songs, the availability of different voices, and, in more recent...
, MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death! (1999) - woodwinds, keyboards, vocals
- Charge!!Charge!!Charge!! is the fifth studio album by American band The Aquabats, released on June 7, 2005 on Nitro Records.-Album overview:The album was very similar in sound to the previous year's EP, Yo, Check Out This Ride!. Sonically, the band had lost nearly all of the horn sounds from earlier albums...
(2005) - keyboards, vocals - Hi-Five Soup!Hi-Five Soup!- Personnel :The Aquabats*The MC Bat Commander – vocals*Crash McLarson – bass, backing vocals*Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk – guitar, backing vocals*Jimmy The Robot – keyboards, backing vocals*Ricky Fitness – drums, percussion, backing vocalsAdditional musicians...
(2011) - keyboards, backing vocals