Randall James Briggs, Jr. (born February 27, 1978), credited professionally as James R. Briggs, Jr., is an American musician, best known as the

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

for the California rock band

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. ...

, of which he has been a member since 1996 under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

and persona of Jimmy the Robot. Briggs also portrayed this role on The Aquabats' 2012-2014 television series ''

The Aquabats! Super Show! ''The Aquabats! Super Show!'' is an American action-comedy musical television series which aired from March 3, 2012 to January 8, 2014 on The Hub Network and resumed as an independent YouTube web series in September 2019. The series was created ...

'' and again on its 2019

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

revival series ''The Aquabats! RadVentures!''.

Biography

Briggs joined The Aquabats in 1996, at the age of 18. In addition to keyboards, Briggs also contributed

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

to much of the band's music, up until the departure of trumpeters Catboy and

Prince Adam He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

in the early 2000s led to the band's decision to continue without a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

, transitioning Briggs' role in the band entirely to keyboards and synthesizers, performing solo saxophone parts only on select songs for The Aquabats' live shows. Briggs' original stage name, as credited in the liner notes for ''

The Fury of The Aquabats! ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Aquabats, released on October 28, 1997 by Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings. Overview Much like their debut album, ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is dri ...

'', was "Jaime the Robot", "Jaime" being a Spanish-language twist on the name Jimmy, given to him by fellow Aquabat Catboy. In 1998, while The Aquabats were developing a television pilot with

Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

'' character Hymie the Robot. Briggs kept this title until 2004, when it was changed to his current stage name. Outside of his work with The Aquabats, Briggs has contributed saxophone to several albums by the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band Bikeride featuring former Aquabats members

Adam Deibert Adam Deibert (born August 12, 1976) is an American musician and voice actor, known for his work as a member of The Aquabats from 1994 to 2004, where he played guitar, trumpet and keyboards under the stage name of Prince Adam, and as the bass guita ...

and Charles Gray, as well as having contributed saxophone to the

Rx Bandits Rx Bandits are an American four-piece band based in Seal Beach, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valle ...

1997 debut ''

Those Damn Bandits Rx Bandits are an American four-piece band based in Seal Beach, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Val ...

''. Outside of The Aquabats, Briggs works for his family's rare coin store, Coop's Coins, in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

Discography

The Aquabats

*''

The Fury of the Aquabats! ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Aquabats, released on October 28, 1997 by Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings. Overview Much like their debut album, ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is dri ...

'' (1997) -

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, vocals,

Clavinova The Clavinova is a long-running line of digital pianos created by the Yamaha Corporation. The name is a portmanteau of the two words ''Clavier'' meaning 'keyboard instrument' and ''nova'' meaning 'new'. It is similar in function to an acoustic ...

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

*''

The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death! ''The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!'' is the third studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on October 26, 1999, on Goldenvoice Records. After the success of ''The Fury of The Aquabats!'', ''Floating Eye'' found the band m ...

'' (1999) - woodwinds, keyboards, vocals *''

Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 ''Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2'' is a compilation album by American band The Aquabats, released on May 17, 2000 by Fearless Records. The album is a collection of studio outtakes, b-sides and miscellaneous unreleased tracks ...

'' (2000) - keyboards, woodwinds *''

Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP ''Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP'' is an EP by American band the Aquabats, independently recorded and released by the band themselves in 2004. Overview After being dismissed from Goldenvoice Records in 2000 and subsequently failing to find another ...

'' (2004) - keyboards, backing vocals *''

Charge!! ''Charge!!'' is the fourth studio album by American comedy rock band The Aquabats, released on June 7, 2005 by Nitro Records. Following a nearly six year semi-hiatus which resulted in numerous line-up changes, ''Charge!!'' was The Aquabats' fir ...

'' (2005) - keyboards, vocals *''

Radio Down! ''Radio Down!'' is an EP single by American band The Aquabats, released on November 9, 2010. Overview In early 2010, The Aquabats announced plans to release their next studio album by the end of the year, eventually confirming a tentative relea ...

'' (2010) - keyboards, backing vocals *''

Hi-Five Soup! ''Hi-Five Soup!'' is the fifth studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on January 18, 2011 by Fearless Records. Overview In interviews leading up to ''Hi-Five Soup!''s release, lead vocalist Christian Jacobs (The MC Bat Commander) ...

'' (2011) - keyboards, backing vocals *'' The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One'' (2019) - keyboards, lead and backing vocals *'' Kooky Spooky...In Stereo'' (2020) - keyboards, saxophone, backing vocals

Bikeride

*''Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America'' (1999) - tenor sax (as Randall J. Briggs) * ''Summer Winners, Summer Losers'' (2000) - saxophone (as Randall J. Briggs) * ''Morning Macumba'' (2002) - clarinet, saxophone, backing vocals (as Randall J. Briggs)

Miscellaneous

* The Pharmaceutical Bandits - ''

'' (1997) - saxophone (as Randy Briggs)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, James 1978 births American rock keyboardists American rock saxophonists American male saxophonists American male television actors The Aquabats members Living people Musicians from California 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American saxophonists