Shotgun Jimmie aka Jim Kilpatrick has been laying low for the past few years— musically anyways.
He’s been busy working on his BFA at Brandon University in his new home town.
But he is excited to record a brand new album in Halifax with a very well known Canadian singer songwriter after his latest tour, which comes to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, June 4.
While he will be backed by two 
separate bands on this tour including Winnipeg band Human Music, in Lethbridge he will be playing solo with Open Channels sharing the bill.
He was born in Toronto and lived on the East Coast for a dozen years before moving to Brandon approximately three years ago for school and change of scenery.
“ I love it out here. It’s great,” he enthused, adding part of the reason he moved was to shake up his album release cycle.
“I usually work on a two year cycle of writing, recording and touring. On this album I’m taking my time. It will be three years.
The band will be warmed up by the time I record this one,’” he said.
“ I’m taking my time this time and I’m going to be better prepared,” he said, noting he has been spending a lot of non-school time writing new songs.
“ It seemed like I fell off the map, but I just went to art school at Brandon University. I went to art school. I’m still working on my MFA,” he said.
“ I’m learning about art history and painting,” he said, adding that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be designing his own album artwork.
He said the new location means his new music has a new sound.
“ It’s like early Elvis Costello. Not to say I sound like Elvis Costello. But it has an early punk sound,” he said, adding lyrics have also been influenced by his studies.
“ So there’s some songs about painting and art,” he said, adding there are also new songs about moving out west as well.
“ There’s also a lot about nostalgia for a simpler time,” he continued.
He is excited to record in Halifax, though he can’t comment on who will be producing the album.
It will be the first CD since 2013.
“It will take about a week to record,” he said.
He has a lot of fond memories of Lethbridge.
“I remember we played with the Moby Dicks and I played two shows at Henotic both upstairs and downstairs. Both were killer shows. I also played the Slice in 2005. And I played another show upstairs, though I don’t know if the venue exists anymore,” he related.
He is excited to be playing music again.
“ After all of this time I spent at art school, it’s nice to return to just be making music again,” he said, though he has another year to go on his art degree.
After the Canadian tour and the recording he will be touring overseas again, mostly in Germany and France into the second week of September.
“ I’ll be missing the first couple weeks of classes. I love touring Europe. I’d like to get back to Vienna again. i always have great shows there,” he said.
Shotgun Jimmie plays the Owl Acoustic Lounge, June 4. There is no cover for the show.
