Jimi Yamagishi
- Actor
Producer, Sideman, Recording Engineer and more. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Jimi's
cross-cultural influences from teriyaki to tortillas gave him a broader
perspective & appreciation for the world around him. Rapping trip-hop
to a thousand seat theater or sharing an intimate moment with acoustic
guitar in hand, he's known to try something new almost every time he
plays. As the current director of the SongNet, Jimi brings over two
decades of life in this industry to the table, helping other
songwriters make those crucial connections with organizations like
JPfolks, LAWIM, Songsalive! Circle of songs, and many others. You'll
also find him actively playing the circuit to keep current, and
releasing his own material across several other labels he helped create
to provide access to other artists as well. A veteran session musician
with a wide variety of genres in his pockets, his solo material
features lyrical wit similar to Michael Franks, smooth James
Taylor-esqe guitar lines, with a lil' spiritual sauce on the side. He
wants to getcha grinnin'! A super 8 & some friends in highschool
started him on a parallel path to visual production, with both award
winning photographs & some typical slapstick shorts. A call to be an
extra in Rob Reiner's "North" in 1994 rekindled his interest in film, &
he soon started putting together music videos, including a jab at
"Vista 64" posted to Youtube during that operating system's ill fated
attempt to capture Apple's market. He has made dozens of appearances & cameos
in other productions, & videos of his own music performances.