Jim Eaton is the frontman of the Kansas City-based country group Outlaw Jim and the Whiskey Benders. The Whiskey Benders feature Jim Eaton on rhythm guitar and vocals, Mark Brown on bass and vocals, Frank Eaton on piano and vocals, Brent Wooden on drums and Cliff Smith on lead guitar.
The guys consider Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard among their influences with the likes of Southern rock and New Orleans funk rounding out their sound. They will make their Santa-Cali-Gon Days debut at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on the Main Stage between Lexington and Maple avenues. Just like all Main, Community and Gospel stages’ events this weekend, the show is free. Visit www.santacaligon.com for more information.
1 Outlaw Jim, tell our readers what makes you such an “outlaw.” I understand your birthday, April 3, shares an anniversary with the date Jesse James was shot and killed in St. Joseph – and you aren’t afraid of embracing this, correct? It’s a fun coincidence. I was tagged “Outlaw Jim” by Betse Ellis. She used to play with us before The Wilders made it big. About that time, I was having a whole string of problems with the law – mostly minor stuff – but she started calling me “Outlaw Jim” at practice, and it just stuck.
2 Describe the experience of sharing a stage with your younger brother, Frank Eaton. How does his musical versatility add to the band’s overall sound? It’s kind of like the Marshall Tucker boys – the Caldwell brothers all harmonized wonderfully. You can only get some of these harmonies by being genetically the same. It’s great having him up there – it’s like he’s my wingman. As far as the diversity to the stage, he’s trained classically and is a trained jazz pianist. He knows the paper side of things, and the rest of us just kind of fiddle around. We all can read music, but he’s just trained in it and understands why things work. We just know the ways of the street.
3 You guys have opened for some large musical acts, such as Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, John Michael Montgomery and Blake Shelton. Similarly, you’ll share the Main Stage this weekend with John Anderson, up-and-coming country duo Steel Magnolia, Conway Twitty’s son, Michael Twitty, and LoCash Cowboys. What does your band take away after sharing a stage with names like these? We’ve played with LoCash Cowboys several times, and I enjoy hanging out with guys like that. Sometimes, they have some sympathy for those guys like us who still have to load up their pickup trucks at 3 o’clock in the morning and drive home. They just shake their heads and say, “Oh, I remember that.” I think it’s fun to do that; it kind of gives us a little hope.
