Musician living toward goal of writing original songs

Jimmy Finn spends a lot of his time in a closet. A 4-foot by 12-foot space houses two keyboards, a computer, and a mixing board, with enough room left for Finn to create original songs. Laying one sound track over another, he is hooked up and able to compose big sounds in a confined area. He has written about 70 songs, including “Tomatoes,” “Beautiful Gift,” and “Find My Way.”

A San Diego transplant, Finn, his wife, Pam, and their five children have been in their Spokane Valley home for nine years. “I was in sales in San Diego,” said Finn, “I had customers who lived in this area, end of story.”

Finn has put down his roots here and gotten in the groove, playing music wherever he can.

Finn has been a member of the local group, Rhythm Method, for a year. They play all over town and are regulars at Caffe Liberte in Liberty Lake. Finn also plays solo at weddings, grand openings and office parties. Playing the keyboard, he mixes his original songs in with a long list of covers from any genre.

“Still,” he said, “you can only play ‘Great Balls of Fire’ so many times.” His goal is to write original songs, and make a living at it. One of his songs, “Tomatoes,” has the lyrics: “It’s killing me to see you this way but you’re not alone. Everyone needs some teardrops to help their garden grow.”

Another song, “Beautiful Gift,” was written for his wife for Mother’s Day. The heartfelt words include, “Sometimes I drive you crazy. Sometimes it feels like we’re strangers in the house. Sometimes I know I can be lazy; I don’t take the time to talk it out. But sometimes when you’re sleeping, I pull back your hair, whisper in your ear and say, ‘What a beautiful gift you are to me.’ ”

His song “Find my Way,” was inspired by Finn’s sudden realization that a 9-5 job wasn’t working for him and that music was his calling. He sings, “I’ve been searching in all the wrong faces. Nobody’s gonna clear a path for me. I’ve got to dig inside to find where my game is, and with a little help from above, I pray… I’m gonna find my way.”

Finn has been a musician for 33 of his 43 years. He still has his grandmother’s piano, where he sat as a child and sang while his mother played.

Finn created the now defunct Inland Northwest Songwriters Association and said he’s learned from the experience and plans on giving it another try. “We lacked delegation and organization,” he said.

Lately, his time is spent in and out of his closet writing and playing music on a regular basis. He also teaches piano and guitar and has 14 students on his roster.

“It’s like connecting the dots,” Finn says, “taking an idea to a fully conceived song.” Good metaphor for whatever goal one might be reaching for.