Welcome to the online home of Jim Knable, playwright, singer-songwriter, fiction-essay-review writer, hailing from Sacramento, California, now living in Brooklyn, New York.
His plays have been seen all over the country; his songs have been heard all over the world. He also writes articles, profiles, and reviews.
WHAT IN THE WORLD HAS JIM KNABLE BEEN UP TO? REVIEWS ARE COMING IN FOR THE NEW ALBUM: "Jim Knable and his longtime backing band, The Randy Bandits, are a New York institution, having been knocking around the vicinity for over twenty years. PALE FIRE is the band’s fifth LP together, and finds their brand of light and easy Americana in fine form. In some ways the music reminds of the sort of timeless and placeless music that was frequently featured on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” with elements of country, folk, blues, soul, and pop. Acoustic and electric instruments cavort together, including guitars, fiddle, bass, drums, and piano. I enjoy the mix of indie pop melodies and down home twang, exemplified by the opening track, “American Antihero,” a song about not fitting in, something many of us are proud of. “Between” has a lovely jazz vibe, with pretty electric keyboards, plucked acoustic guitar, and brushed drums. The 6/8 meter gives the song a kind of swirling sound which is quite nice. “Burned” proves you can play power pop songs with a countrified arrangement, while “California” has a nice light touch, mixing doo-wop, folk, and a hint of island calypso. The title track leans the heaviest into rock, leaving behind country twang for a growling guitar, power organ, and heavenly backing vocals. But, “heaviest” is relative to the rest of the album. The song isn’t heavy rock itself. It’s more like introspective pop rock, with a bit of a pensive sound. The soulful “Sun Rises and Falls” closes the album with a song that mixes light jazz and country, and is the closest thing you’ll get to “A Prairie Home Companion” without a time machine set to land in St. Paul, Minnesota. Simply charming”" - Paul Silver, Jersey Beat "Jim Knable's emotive storytelling and the Bandits rich instrumentation weave a tale that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable." - Last Day Deaf "Songwriter Knable shares his hopes and dreams, as well as his doubts and uncertainties in plain language. He is brutally honest, with his band providing a safety net of folk, rock, blues, country and soul. Musically it is a trip down memory lane, especially the early 70s, but do listen carefully to the lyrics and there is no mistaking that this a 21st Century album." - Hans Werksman, Here Comes the Flood
Watch Jim singing and dancing with the band at Porch Stomp 2024 on "People Change"
Check out the surprise YouTube hit
"Ladies of New Jersey" is a song by Jim Knable with a slide show music video by Joey Yow, music engineering by Jay Buchanan, created for Luna Stage Voting Writes Project, 2020
JIM KNABLE SONGS OF YORE BLUE REUNION, the fourth Jim Knable & The Randy Bandits studio album came out in 2020-21 and features almost all original group members and the hit single "I'm Not a Bad Guy" GOLDEN ARROW, the second Randy Bandits album with songs written and mainly sung by Jim Knable is available for free/suggested donation download now! REDBEARD, the first full length Randy Bandits album now streaming on Bandcamp. Enjoy for the 1st or 501st time! THE LOST JIM KNABLE AND THE RANDY BANDITS ALBUM SURFACES. Discover GREEN MAN! PEOPLE INTERVIEWING JIM
LONG AUDIO INTERVIEW FEATURING 6 SONGS ON "Give and Take" with Scott Jones.
PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH SONG PERFORMANCES: Scott Jones of Mockingcast interviews Jim about songwriting, playwriting, and everything else, featuring 4 songs performed live in the studio. INTERVIEW: Adam Szymkowicz interviews Jim Knable about his current projects, childhood, and heroes. A PREVIEW and INTERVIEW in the Orange County Register for the 2016 GREEN MAN production. RADIO INTERVIEW: Jim Knable's interview on the Franklin Raff Radio Show in Chicago about Leonard Cohen, The Randy Bandits, and his various masks.
Golden Arrow, by The Randy Bandits, out now.
”Bouncy and brave, Golden Arrow finds the Bandits in all their awesome glory. With songs written by vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Jim Knable and arranged by the rest of the crew, this is a record that is boundlessly fun to listen to and impossible not to clap along with.“
—Jordan Richardson, Blogcritics Magazine
