JIM OVEREND started playing guitar at an early age in the 1960s, influenced by bands such as THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES and THE BYRDS.
Jim was particularly interested in soloists such as CAT STEVENS, DON MCLEAN, PAUL SIMON and NEIL YOUNG. This was to prove telling in future years.
Following the demise of the band days, Jim pursued a solo career which allowed him more freedom and a chance to more intimately interact with the audience. During this time there were residencies at The Bellevue Hotel on a Friday and Saturday night which drew capacity crowds and started the careers of many artists who were to become household names in the Newcastle music scene (Jus Gordon, Tony Johns, Neil Bidner & U J Neil) to name a few. Other residencies included The Cambridge Hotel, The Lucky Country, The Bel-Air Hotel & The Gunfighter Rest.
In 1992 Jim won the NEWCASTLE STAR/ COMMONWEALTH BANK Soloist of the Year award. This led to a massive increase in work – Playing 4 to 5 nights a week was not uncommon.
In 1995 Jim followed fellow Newcastle musician, Jus Gordon, and extended his talents overseas by performing at the RED GARTER NIGHT CLUB in Florence – Italy (A favorite haunt of the famous Contiki European tours). This often meant playing 6 nights a week to hundreds of people in a smoke filled venue full of Aussie, New Zealand, South African & British tourist who only had one aim in life. PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!!!!
Jim is still in demand & continues to play throughout Newcastle, The Hunter Valley, Central Coast & Mid North Coast and maintains the KISS formula (Keep It Simple Stupid). Backing is kept to a minimum with just Jim’s voice and guitar entertaining the punters.
Regular venues include, Murrays Brewery, The Northumberland Hotel, Kotara Bowling Club, Belmont Sporties, Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, Absolute Thai Restaurant, The Beauford Hotel, Club Lemon Tree, Telarah Bowling Club, Port Stephens Holiday parks, The Shaft Tavern, Harrigans @ Harrington, The Railway Hotel plus many, many more. With a repertoire of over countless songs by artists such as REM, ERIC CLAPTON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BEACH BOYS, THE EAGLES, BRYAN ADAMS, PAUL KELLY, GREENDAY, THE BEATLES and THE DOORS, Jim can handle most audience requests. “The most pleasing thing about playing live is the great feedback from the crowd and the ongoing friendship of both the people who come to listen and the great camaraderie between Newcastle musicians”.