The Artist Previously Known As Jimi Gee

Written by Sande Caplin on August 7, 2013. Posted in Music.

If you ask Jami why he’s not Jimi anymore, it’s because in his head he’s ALWAYS been Jami. It’s just one letter different, but inside his heart and soul, Jami is who he always wanted to be. Jami thinks an awful lot. He’s got more friends than he can count, but he’s also got people who don’t understand him at all, people that fear what they think he stands for, and that’s just plain wrong. In my last article about Jami I explained, as he explained it to me, the meaning of G.I.D., or Gender Identity Disorder.

I will say, again, that after hearing it from Jami, as well as doing my own research, that GID is not a disorder that manifests in gay men. There are hundreds of thousands of men who in the privacy of their homes, and even in the outside world, wear women’s clothes because they make them feel comfortable. If you see a transvestite in a bar or on the street, you’ve got about a 100% chance that they have no interest in you, if you’re a guy, and more interest in most women, because they want to know where you got that dress or who does your hair. They don’t want to hurt anyone and they don’t want to get hurt, either.

Jami tells me how his life has changed since the first Gender-Bender article I wrote for the Sarasota Post. He has gotten letters of support, and verbal support from the Guitar Center, where he teaches and the kids adore him. Jami has gotten so many gigs that he smiles from ear to ear when he tells me what’s going on in his world right now. Every third Friday he plays at the Vineyard. Every Sunday he opens at Classico’s in Sarasota. Thursdays he is at the White Horse Pub, and this Friday he is at the Swordfish Grill Cortez. Saturdays Jami plays the British Open Pub, and back to Classico’s on Sunday. I cannot fail to mention that he has Kara Nally singing to his expert guitar picking, and if you have not heard Kara sing, you must, as soon as possible. She is beautiful, charming, and is a tiny girl whose voice fills the room. She is a natural singer and friend of Jami’s. Occasionally the electric violin / guitar prodigy, Savannah Brady will come to the stage and really amaze the audience as she just fits in and adds new dimension to the already crazy-good sound.

Jami is in an up-and-coming video clip called “Love Pops”. The September issue of SRQ magazine will cover that, as well as Jami, in depth. Since Jami knows I love his clothes and knows I want to hear all about his daring new change in style, he gave me the 411 on his latest acquisitions. Of course he’s an admitted fashionista, as well as a chronic shopper. My kind of people.

So I asked Jami about the changes in his heart, as well as his wardrobe. His heart is swelling to contain all the many loving and supporting gestures and letters he receives from fans. His wardrobe has been taken to a new level. Cocktail dresses, skirts, high heels (who the hell can walk in those?) and some low cut tops. I asked him what his closet looks like and he is sending me a picture from his phone. Tell me about it, I said. Well, he said, I added so many garments and accessories to my wardrobe that I made my dining room into my “walk-in-and walk-around closet.” I have to see this, for real. Hopefully I’ll be able to include that picture in this article.

I just wanted to say a few things from a personal perspective about my friend Jami. This is a very complicated world. A lot of us have wishes and dreams we want to make happen but are afraid of criticism, negative comments, and even physical fights in order to realize and experience those dreams. So we shut down, refusing to become that person we know we were meant to be. Jami is so much happier now. He is so meaningful to so many people, whether you talk to his students, the club owners where he plays, the parents of his students, or to me. He’s still my favorite Gender Bender and to know he is freer now, that he can play at a church and receive a ton of love, and just feel more comfortable being himself, is such a reward that few of us ever get.