I Want More (Jim Eno & Public Hi-Fi tribute) benefiting Project Traction

Jim Eno’s moving away – back to his homeland of Rhode Island. With that, Spoon’s cofounder, drummer, and occasional producer ends a remarkable and multi-faceted three decade run in Austin that might sometimes go overlooked due to his low-key, behind-the-scenes nature.

First off, he must be the only human to successfully quit electrical engineering to be a full-time rock drummer. The flagship band, which he started with Britt Daniel a year after moving to Austin in 1992, has built a discography so invariably solid that they remain one of the greatest contemporary bands from Texas (and now, I guess, Rhode Island). Eno’s drumming – precise and penetrating – is a big part of Spoon’s sonic signature.

Out of a west Austin residential property that surely will soon be found on Zillow for an eye-bugging figure, he’s also operated one of the city’s most highly regarded recording studios. Eno’s production credits include bands like !!!, Future Islands, Bright Eyes, and Har Mar Superstar, along with Austin acts like the Strange Boys, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, and Dana Falconberry. Out of Public Hi-Fi, Eno curated Spotify’s first producer-in-residence partnership, yielding – over several seasons – sessions with acts including Courtney Barnett, Father John Misty, HAIM, and the Shins. Also in the streaming world, he’s helped helm the inventive Song Confessional podcast with Walker Lukens. As for volunteer work, he’s an advisor for Sonic Guild and founder of Project Traction, boosting the careers of women and nonbinary music producers.

The latter program is the beneficiary for a goodbye party on Monday. It’s being thrown by Eno’s friends and he doesn’t know who is playing, though I’d wager he knows one band that’ll perform. The send-off’s title, I Want More, references a song by Krautrock heroes CAN… and so does the name of a band that Eno plays in.