Singer and songwriter
Jimmy Gnecco first burst onto the music scene as the leader of the group
Ours, releasing a handful of critically acclaimed albums before moving on to a solo career. Born in 1973,
Gnecco was raised in New Jersey and developed an enthusiasm for music at an early age, particularly classic soul from the likes of
Marvin Gaye,
Smokey Robinson and
the Jackson 5. As a teenager,
Gnecco began taking piano lessons and writing songs; he also picked up the guitar and started performing with a number of local rock bands. In 1992,
Gnecco formed the band
Ours; in interviews, he's likened the group to
Nine Inch Nails in the sense that he works with other musicians and presents
Ours' music in a band format, but he's been the band's creative voice from the beginning. (
Gnecco has also cited
Nine Inch Nails as a musical influence, as well as
Radiohead,
U2 and vocalists like
Frank Sinatra and
k.d. lang.) During
Ours' formative days,
Gnecco struck up a friendship with
Jeff Buckley, and the vocalist would become a major influence and mentor to
Gnecco prior to his untimely death.
Ours developed a loyal following on the East Coast music scene and several major labels made offers to sign the group; in 1997,
Gnecco struck a deal with DreamWorks Records and began work on his first album under the
Ours rubric with producer
Steve Lillywhite. The process of making the album proved long and complex, and it wasn't until the spring of 2001 that
Ours'
Distorted Lullabies was finally released; while reviews were strong, sales were disappointing, and a tour of Europe was canceled after September 11, 2001. A second
Ours album,
Precious, was released in late 2002, but
Gnecco was soon at odds with his record label, which left him in limbo for several years. During the interim,
Gnecco sang on a track with
Queen guitarist
Brian May for the soundtrack of the 2004 film
Spider-Man 2, produced an album for the band
Neverending White Lights, and continued to perform new songs in concert, which he encouraged fans to record and trade among themselves. DreamWorks folded in 2005, and in 2008, the third
Ours album finally appeared. Produced by
Rick Rubin,
Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy) was released through American Recordings. While not abandoning the
Ours format, in 2010
Gnecco opted to record a solo album; The Heart was written and produced by
Gnecco, and released by the independent Bright Antenna label in the late summer of that year. The Heart X Edition -- featuring a full band -- was released the next year. In 2013,
Gnecco issued the crowd-funded fourth
Ours record, Ballet the Boxer 1. ~ Mark Deming