Red-Hot Smokin’ Blues to Inspire Your Appetite!

I'm Hungry

Lighting strikes, snakes are running and the good news is sounding as sweet as Al Green on Sunday morning. From the New Orleans street march of “Green Bananas” to the Sunday morning sound of “Pray for Me” “The Electric Rev.” speaks the language of the blues with a spirit that will touch your heart and soul.

The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher fifth studio project “The Electric Rev.” features some of Jimmie’s best song writing and guitar playing. In the vein of the Grammy award-winning release from Jonny Lang “Turn Around” Jimmie brings a performance that is both intimate and raw. “When the Blues Come” and “One Rock” express his love and respect for the blues. While the Dobro driven songs “Elijah’s Road” and “How Far Down” come straight from the soul of a man knows just how far down the bottom is.

“The Electric Rev.” is an experience! Jimmie recommends that after you purchase the CD “find a dark room with great sound, turn it up loud, turn off the lights, close your eyes, and let “The Electric Rev.” take you on a ride and let it speak to your soul.”

Buy The Electric Rev

The Electric Rev

Red, the third studio project in five years for Jimmie, has several noteworthy firsts on it. Jimmie was joined in the studio by his full band; this allowed them to capture the energy that they play with live.  Jim Gaines joined Jimmie at the helm to produce this CD, Jim is known for his work with Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughn, among many others. 

Jimmie seems to have found himself evermore comfortable in is own skin in fact he describes himself in this record in this way, “I really feel like this record is me being myself”.  That feeling is portrayed all through out the project Red finds a maturity and soul brought forth not only in Jimmie’s voice but in his guitar work as well, Jimmie found a new voice on “RED” and it is a voice that billows from deep inside him, as he passionately blurs the line between Blues, Rock and Jazz.

Buy RED 

Jimmie: 
Under a bridge on I-5 in Northern California, the 16-year-old sleeps. He’s looking for something and has no idea what it is. He’s left the warmth and provision of home and wanders, hoping to find whatever will fulfill the desires of his restless heart. That 16-year-old was me. 

I grew up in a wonderful home with loving parents and two older sisters. Yes, I am the baby and yes, I am the spoiled one. Growing up I had little respect for anything in my life, including our loving family. I thought I knew everything about everything when I knew nothing at all. It would take decades before I came to know the riches that were there in our home on 309 Grant Street in Liberty, Missouri, that I walked away from. Once I learned what I was really looking for, home would be what I longed for most. 

I know that many of us can’t go back home, yet we long for home in our hearts and I guess we will always carry those longings. Since we can’t go back, what can we do? My answer is this: I can create in my home NOW all of the love I felt in our home so long ago. I can create a home with the same atmosphere of love and safety that I felt at 309 Grant Street, and so can you!

Eric:
This one is a special one for us. We were having one of our weekly writing sessions and Jimmie said he had an idea for a song called “I Think I’ll Go Back Home” from the prodigal son story found in Luke chapter 15. At first, I was hesitant because I had already written a song using the parable as a framework. Jimmie said he wanted a song from the point of view of the younger son looking back and longing for the life he had in his father’s house. When we were finished with our session, I started thinking about what might be going through the mind of the young man remembering the love he knew but now felt he had lost. As I began ruminating on these thoughts, a song began to take shape. I knew a few facts about Jimmie’s younger days and tried to work them in so he could feel attached to the song. I contacted Jimmie and told him I may have a direction. He told me to go for it, so I wrote the song and recorded a demo so he could see what he thought. I was pleased when he said he liked it and wanted to put it on the record. 

One thing I do want to say is that I realize for many, looking back at their earlier days is a painful experience. I was fortunate enough to have had a wonderful, loving family and many great friends growing up. For me, looking back at the days in my father’s house elicits warm, happy memories. I understand how lucky I am and feel for those who didn’t have the experience I had. Looking back may be the last thing someone might want to do. This song is written from the perspective of the Prodigal Son and prodigals like Jimmie and myself.

Photo Credit: Patsy Bratcher, The picture is me at 12 years old. The 1958 Desoto in the background is the car that my dad would trade for my White Gibson SG Jr that I played on several of the songs on this album. 

Luke 15:17-18 NLT – When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you.” 


(c) Eric Stark & Jimmie Bratcher
(p) Ain't Skeert Tunes

The Road That Leads Home

For the past few years, I’ve been invited to be part of an event called “The Worship Wagon,” whose mission is to do a church service for the homeless and feed them all dinner. The venue is under a bridge at 1st & Grand Street in Kansas City, near the Missouri River. It was the people I met there that inspired this song. 

As I looked into their eyes, I could only imagine the pain they’ve experienced that brought them to this place. It was like their eyes were screaming at me, “What are you going to do about me?” Homelessness is a complex issue that needs a host of us working to find a solution and bring assistance to those who desire help in this community. 

The man in the song – who I named “Sinner”– has little hope or no hope left at all. He says, “I lost love for everyone a long time ago, and now I just won’t love anymore.” His heart is hardened and closed to the very thing that is the answer: to believe, receive and experience the love of God. Obviously, the organizers of The Worship Wagon and all the volunteers are there to show God’s love, yet love is still always a choice and has to be believed and received. My hope is that when all of us are shown the love of God, that love will break through our hardened hearts and allow us all to experience the love we were all created to know and experience. 

There is also another meaning to this song. It is a commission to all of us who are believers. We are the ones who know the cure (Jesus), and yet many times we hide in our stained-glass sanctuaries and we are not willing to show up in the messiness of others' chaos. We are the ones who know “The God of All Hope” and we are the ones commissioned to show His value and love to all that we meet. As you listen to “My Name Is Sinner” I hope it inspires you to see people who need hope and then do your best to lovingly flood them with hope until their hardened hearts crack, and the love and comfort that can only come from Jesus touches them. 

(c) 2023 Jimmie Bratcher & Eric Stark
(p) Ain't Skeert Tunes

My Name Is Sinner

Jimmie:
Sherri and I stand in front of thousands of men and women in prison every year. Every time I look into their eyes, I see a little boy or girl. I see someone’s mom or dad. Even though they committed horrible crimes, they are still someone's son, daughter, mother, father, brother, or sister, and God loves them. In spite of their crimes, they are still human beings, and they still have value. 

There are 2.4 million people who are incarcerated in America. That is 2.4 million fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. Making the prison population the fourth largest “city” in America, it’s like the entire population of Houston, Texas, is locked up. Yes, many are very bad people and need to be locked up. But here is something you may not know: Up to 97% of them will at some point be released back into our communities.

Those statistics are shocking and sad. What happened that we are the most incarcerated country in the world? Recidivism rates are as high as 68%. This means 68% of the 97% that will be released will re-offend and return to prison. We need a new plan. What we need is something that starts at the source. Something that starts in the heart of the criminal. We know who transformed our lives, and we know that He is willing to transform us all if we choose to believe and if we are willing. 

Eric: 
In life, we can often feel a weight that feels like chains holding us back from the life God wants us to live. Sometimes, these chains are literal chains, sometimes, they are burdens put upon us by others, and oftentimes, these are chains that we forge ourselves out of failure, shame, insecurity, and a variety of other things. This is a simple song that reminds us that our identity is found in Christ, and through Him, we can throw off these chains.

Matthew 25:36 – needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

(c)2023 Eric Stark
(p) 2023 Ain't Skeert Tunes

Chains

Jimmie:
This song is about a man who concedes that the chaos in his life is from his own creation. He built it and allowed it through his own decisions. He concludes, however, that he’s not a victim and somehow knows that he can no longer trust his own decisions. At this place, he knows that his ego, stubbornness, and pride are never going to bring him the life, peace, and happiness he craves. He understands that he has no power to correct the mistakes of his past or change his heart. Yet, somehow, he knows that he needs power that is beyond himself. So what can he do? He prays a very raw and desperate prayer, pleading to be saved from himself. 

One of the greatest revelations of my life happened when I understood that I can be my greatest enemy. The choices that I make can create chaos or peace, depending on which one I choose. At a point in my life, I had to concede my will and ask for help. The greatest help I’ve found happens at the place where I surrender in child-like faith, trusting God and taking Him at His word. 

After Sherri and I divorced and remarried (you can read our story in our book Granny Paid For Our Divorce), we both had to make some serious decisions. We could either stay the same and continue to destroy each other and our family, or we could make the decisions needed to bring about the changes that we both so desperately desired. It started slowly yet, one by one we chose to make decisions that many times flew in the face of our own selfishness. 

God is willing to help us when we ask, and it's been my experience that He will always meet us where we are willing.  Then, in His loving and kind way, He leads us and hopes to convince us to make the decisions that bring calm to our chaos. He leads us into the good life that He has designed for us to experience. From this newfound place of humility, and with the deepest cry from our hearts, Sherri & I prayed this prayer, “Can you save me, save me, save me from myself?” and His answer is always yes! 

Eric: 
As with “My Name Is Sinner,” Jimmie wrote the lyrics for this song and asked if I would be interested in doing some music for it. Of course, with great lyrics like these, I was very interested in seeing what I could come up with for the music. I’ve told Jimmie this may be my favorite song on the record.

Psalm 55:16 KJV - “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.”

(c) 2023 Jimmie Bratcher & Eric Stark
(p) 2023 Ain't Skeert Tunes

Save Me From Myself

Jupiter & Mars

Something Better & I See Red

2 Mercy

One Rock

Pray for Me

Livin' Here in Babylon

When Kingdom Comes

Bad Religion

Some of Jimmie finest music in this his 6th studio release. 

Call On Me

Green Bananas

Pray For Me

When The Blues Come

Verse 1
Woke up this morning with crazy vision
Thought it was heaven but it was bad religion
It messed up my mind made feel so mean
Drove everybody crazy made 'em want to scream
My words cut sharp just like deep incision
I was killin' my friends with my bad religion 

Verse 2
Who’s that talking on my television
Some mean old preacher with his Bad Religion
Why’s he yelling and screaming getting red in the face
Oh, he better be careful he might pop a vein
No matter what he says I don’t feel forgiven 
Somebody help him please he’s got some Bad Religion
 
 Verse
I’ve been Fussin' and fightin' and then praying all night
I argued and screamed  and I had to be right
Beat up and run down I was ready to quit
I met a man called Jesus who ended my fit
He told me bout' love and I made a decision
My old man died and buried my bad religion


Can I tell you a story from not too long ago
About a man whose life was wrecked, he couldn’t take it any more
When it seemed that all was lost one night down on his knees
With no place left to turn this is what he said 

Is there anyone that you know who would care for a sinner like me 
One who life is all undone full of pain and misery
If there someone there would you please answer me right now
Then from deep inside these words seem to comfort him somehow.

Chorus
There’s Mercy, mercy, for you 

A single mom on her own, babies by her side
Lost at love, now she’s fights just to get by
She does her best but it seems at times her best Ain’t good enough
On her knees at night in prayer she finds Everlasting Love

Chorus
There’s Mercy, mercy for you 
When it seems that all is lost and there’s no place you can go
There is one who is always there, forgiveness He will show
If you look you’ll see his arms are waiting for you now
With the kindness in his voice you can hear Him shout

Chorus
There’s Mercy, mercy for you 



Mercy

Verse 1
Colors hues and distant views trying to, shape my vision

Perceptions change my views they range from my, human condition

It’s never easy never sane it’s, all so complicated

It may look like a rainbow, but the color is the same 

Verse 2
I want to see the way God’s see, as He looks down upon us

The cloud of our humanity rolled away, through the seen of His promise

Between the view of me and you, He sees divine provision

It may look like a rainbow but the color is the same, I See Red

Verse 3
When He looks at you He sees us through, the price that been given 

The Crimson flow the scarlet tide of Jesus Blood bought provision

Fully Man fully God on the cross that day 
                                                   
Crying out it’s finished the price has been paid I See red


I See Red

I have forgotten what it means
Been too caught up in the game
Chasing cobwebs from my mind
And things better left unsaid
But today I have awaken
Like a dreamer from the night
With eyes wide open now I realize
Just what it means to be alive

I see you dancing in the puddles
That the showers left behind
And you bid me to come join you
I feel the life that’s in your eyes

Dancer Dancer you have made me
To dance like I have danced before
And in this moment now I realize 
Just what I’ve been living for

So come on and dance with me 
Let’s forget about the clouds 
let’s for get about the rain
Come on and dance with me
Remember that it’s good to be alive
Come on dance with me

You know I always will remember 
The way we danced that day
It was only for a moment
Forever in my mind will stay

Dancer Dancer you have made me
To dance like I have danced before
And in this moment now I realize 
Just what I’ve been living for

So come on and dance with me
Let’s for get about the clouds lets forget about the rain’
Come on and dance with me
Remember that it’s good to be alive
Come on dance with me
Dance with me


Dance With Me

Drive

Jimmie’s second release is a bit more aggressive than its earlier predecessor, Something Better embraces a colorful array of soulful melodies and hard-hitting rhythms, but still holds true to the root of blues.

Something Better

Get Out The Boat

Scarred King

I've Been Born Again

Insight into the first and last words from Jesus. 

God Screams

05 - Government Cheese - Jimmie Bratcher

04 - Baby, I Like What You're Cooking - Jimmie Bratcher

03 - Bacon Is On My Mind - Jimmie Bratcher

02 - Mama Won't Fry No Chicken - Jimmie Bratcher

01 - I Love Her Name - Jimmie Bratcher

Musician, Writer, Husband, Father, and Grandfather.
Kansas City, Missouri

From the Sturgis Bike Rally to Supermax Prisons and Churches, Jimmie Bratcher has been Preaching the Gospel and Playing the Blues for over 20 years.

His latest 2021 album release; “I’m Hungry” spent 7 weeks in the top 10 Contemporary Blues Charts. His accompanying cookbook “I’m Hungry” has stayed at the top of dinner table recipes for even longer.

In 2021, Jimmie, along with Jessica Strong released “The Little Girl Wins”; their deeply personal story about meeting as Father and Daughter after 38 years apart.

You can learn more about Jimmie, his Music, Preaching, Family, and Books by following on Social Media, seeing him Live, and subscribing to his Newsletter.

Jimmie Bratcher

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