Two Guys Named Jim

Every now and then, life throws you a wild crossover episode — in my case, it was small-town country boy meets Madison Avenue meets The Forum in L.A.

Back in 2018 and 2019, my ad agency RPM Media was riding high — some of the best years we ever had. We were active all over the country placing ad campaigns, when out of nowhere, an invite lands for iHeart’s Alter Ego — one unforgettable night celebrating alternative rock at the legendary Forum in L.A.

I had no idea what to expect. Would it be a chaotic mash-up of bands, or a night that actually lived up to the hype? Either way, it felt like one of those rare moments where your love of music and your “grown-up life” collide in a weird, awesome way.

The inaugural show was January 19, 2018, featuring Mumford & Sons, Spoon, Walk the Moon, Dashboard Confessional, The National, Beck, and Cage the Elephant. My wife loves music too, but alternative isn’t her lane — so I called my buddy Jim. He was all in, and just like that, the “Two Guys Named Jim” tour was born.

2018 Stage

The night was epic. The Forum holds so much history — from championship banners to legendary bands — and you could feel it in the air. The show was excellent and both of us came away buzzing about The National, and it was our favorite set of the night. It was my second time seeing Beck so that was cool. Still, when you do something for the first time, you always walk away thinking how you’d do it better next time.

VIP lounge with past concert photo murals

We left half-deaf, totally wired, and already talking about round two. Could we go back?

Fast-forward to January 2019 — iHeart comes through and Two Guys Named Jim return to L.A. for Alter Ego Part 2. This time, we were ready to go big. The lineup? The Killers, Muse, Twenty One Pilots, and Weezer. Even iHeart had tightened things up from the first go-round.

I’ve loved Weezer since The Blue Album — “Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Buddy Holly,” “Say It Ain’t So.” They’ve always had that mix of garage grit and pop perfection — timeless, funny, and unapologetically weird.

Could I find The Blue Album on vinyl? I’ve been hunting it since I got the new turntable. With my job at Howard Hanna Allen Tate, I’m in a different city almost every day. Thursdays are my Durham days, and my rock-n-roll brother Matthew tells me right down the street is Chaz’s Bull City Records on East Main. I stopped in, flipped through the bins, met Chaz himself, and there it was — a new press of Blue. Snatched it up. Now it’s spinning in the groove den, taking me straight back to L.A.

iHeart put us up in this gorgeous boutique hotel in Santa Monica, right across from the beach. I’ve been to SoCal many times, but for me, that place never gets old — the sunshine, the energy, the ocean. One of the funniest moments came when we borrowed bikes from the hotel to cruise the paths along Muscle Beach. It was picture-perfect… until a tourist on an electric scooter lost control and plowed straight into the other Jim’s bike. Bodies went flying. We were laughing so hard we could barely get up. To this day, every time we meet up for beers, that story still comes up. And in true L.A. fashion, at brunch the morning after the concert, Arnold Schwarzenegger is at a table across the room - bigger than life.

Showtime. Back at the Forum, The Killers tore it up — The Man, Mr. Brightside, Human, When You Were Young — the crowd was on fire. Twenty One Pilots was great as well.

Then Weezer hit the stage, and the place exploded for the hometown band. Rivers had the whole sold out arena singing — Undone, Island in the Sun, Buddy Holly, Hash Pipe, Say It Ain’t So, and their surprise hit of the moment: the Toto cover Africa from The Teal Album.

Jim and I cracked up — it was the second time that month we’d heard Africa live, after catching Yacht Rock Revue just weeks earlier.

Two Guys Named Jim. Two nights at The Forum. One unforgettable soundtrack that takes me back every time that blue vinyl spins.