Jimbo Mathus

Jimbo Mathus
Mathus playing guitar with the Squirrel Nut Zippers in San Francisco, 2008
Background information
Birth name	James H. Mathis, Jr.
Also known as	Jim Mathus, Jas Mathus, James Mathus, Hambone Mathus
Born	August 1967 Oxford, Mississippi, United States
Genres	American music, Jazz, Blues, Country
Occupation(s)	Entertainer, singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, tankerman
Instruments	Guitar, bass, drums, piano, trombone, mandolin, harmonica
Years active	1980s–present
Labels	Merge, Mammoth Records, Hollywood, Hill Country Records, Memphis International, Knockdown South, 219 Records
Associated acts	Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, Squirrel Nut Zippers, North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, Knockdown Society, Knockdown South, Buddy Guy, South Memphis String Band, Tri-State Coalition

James H. Mathis, Jr. (born August 1967), known as Jimbo Mathus, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers.

He was born in Oxford, Mississippi to Jimmy Mathis and Jeanella (Malvezzi) Mathis. His genealogy is of Scottish and Italian origin. His early life was filled with music, as his father and relatives were skilled instrumentalists and singers. He began joining the family musical circle at an early age and by age eight was proficient at mandolin. By 15, Mathus had been taught the rudiments of guitar, piano and harmony singing. The family's repertoire consisted of hundreds of folk, bluegrass, country blues and pre-recorded songs passed down through the Mathus and Byrd families. His father was an avid outdoorsman, traveler and also raised hunting dogs and horses. Thus, Mathus' early life consisted of hunting and fishing in the Corinth, Mississippi, area.

Mathus was involved in rock and roll in Corinth High School and was recorded first in 1983 at Sam Phillips Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee, in a group called The End. He also helped found Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, which was one of the first punk rock/experimental noise bands in the state of Mississippi.

He left home at age 17 to study philosophy at Mississippi State University and began writing songs and performing in the Starkville, Mississippi, area. He was recorded and records released in the mid-1980s under the name Cafe des Moines. In 1987, Mathus joined the Merchant Marines working as a deckhand and tankerman for the Canal Barge Company on the Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee Rivers. He used his shore leave to travel the country, usually alone, camping and sleeping in his pickup truck. Upon a chance trip to North Carolina, he decided to move to the Chapel Hill area and began his music career in earnest.

Educating himself in the libraries of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mathus learned Latin, studied theater, poetry, First Peoples culture, literature and medieval alchemy, as well as music. It was during this time that he changed the spelling of his last name from "Mathis" to "Mathus," to reflect his respect for his and his mother's Latin studies. He was first known in this area as a drummer, with his group - Metal Flake Mother.