Where's Jimmy?

The four members of Where’s Jimmy moved from Orange to the big smoke ofNewcastle on Boxing Day 2021 to pursue their musical dream.“It was appealing, a bigger city,” guitarist and songwriter Jed Pratten says.“Coming from a small town, it’s got that small town feel but big enough to dowhat you want to do.”Now the quintessentially Aussie rock band, with livewire singer Hugh Westcottleaping about the stage like a heavily caffeinated Peter Garrett, is one of the bigdrawcards of the Newcastle music scene. And, armed with their fourth single, Kickin the Head, the four-piece intend to make the rest of Australia take notice.In 2024, Where’s Jimmy – which consists of Westcott, Pratten, bassistJames Pansini (the ever-elusive “Jimmy”) and drummerNick Worrad – will release more new music and play watering holes across thebreadth of this sunburnt country.“Keen to play many shows to many people in many places, have many good timeswith many good friends and make many fond memories,” Worrad says.Where’s Jimmy’s genesis can be traced back to about 2010,when Pratten and Worrad were classmates at Orange’s independentKinross Wolaroi School. Pratten had considered playing drums in high school, butadmits his focus turned to the guitar when he realised Worrad’s prowess behindthe kit. The pair took cues from classic rock and punk, and the tunes theycomposed all those years ago remain in their setlists.“The songs we play now are songs we played in high school, just with lyrics and asinger,” Pratten says.Worrad adds, “Me and Jed have been playing together since year eight or nine.But we were looking for a singer for a couple of years.”The solution was under their noses. Westcott and Pratten were long-time friends,growing up on neighbouring properties 15 minutes outside of Orange.With Pratten’s father himself a keen musician, live jams and performances werewoven into the social fabric of their childhood.“I knew Hughy could sing, he sang at parties,” Pratten recalls. “He sang at mysister’s engagement party. Had women twice his age swooning. There wasanother party, a 21st, where Hugh pretended to be a gorilla. Everyone waswatching this dude act like a gorilla. I thought, ‘F*** me, he’s the man for the job– he could front a band.’”Where’s Jimmy’s first-ever live show can be seen on Youtube, recorded in April2020 at the “4 on the 4loor” showcase at the Victoria Hotel in Orange – justbefore the first Covid-19 lockdown was enforced. This early footage clearly showsWestcott’s emergence as an animated frontman.Cut from the same cloth as AC/DC and Midnight Oil (Westcott’s father is an Oils“fanatic”), Where’s Jimmy havesince armed themselves with songslike Powerstance, an undeniably catchy and playful call-and-response anthem.Then there’s the six-minute Summer Street, named after Orange’s main drag, abold rock statement on outgrowing your hometown.Flash forward three years and the band have recorded their debut five-track EP,recorded with Central Coast-based producer Jack Nigro. Now the goal is torelease another singlefrom the EP and tour throughout the rest of 2024.The four-piece has already played far and wide, their music energeticallyembraced by audiences in Katoomba, Bellingenand Sydney. Where’s Jimmy knowwhat works.“The more we’ve played, the more we’ve been encouraged to play faster andharder,” Worrad says. “We realised early on that people just love to get down tosome classic rock.”Kick in the Head is out now on all streaming services.