Between having several of his songs praised in international songwriting competitions, to seeing his music landing on streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, songwriter Jim Piper is garnering increasing attention for his blend of alternative, classic, and adult contemporary rock. A native of Syracuse, NY now living in The Triangle area of North Carolina, Jim’s musical influences include the likes of Coldplay, Pink Floyd, and R.E.M. Learning to play the piano in the early 80s, Jim found a creative outlet and connection to songwriting. During his high school years in the mid 80s, Jim met a fellow songwriter, Mike Smith, and they quickly became friends. Over the next 20 years, they wrote over 60 songs together under their moniker Desert Rain for the simple enjoyment of creating music and sharing it with family and friends.
But suddenly at the age of 38, Mike passed away. Distraught by the loss of one of his closest friends, Jim lost the passion to write new songs. After several years had passed, Jim decided he wanted to honor his late friend by publicly releasing several songs they had written together. In 2015, Jim chose five songs he had written with Mike and then worked with a professional music producer – StudioPros, Inc. based in Los Angeles, CA, to get the songs re-recorded, mixed and mastered. At that point, Jim founded Different Moon and released the debut EP Desert Rain to pay homage to Mike and their 20 year friendship.
After the Desert Rain EP released in November 2015, three of the five songs received international songwriting accolades, including placing in the finals of the 2015 Hollywood Songwriting Competition and the 2016 American Songwriting Awards. Encouraged by the songwriting honors, and also creatively re-inspired by accomplishing the goal of honoring his friend through music, Jim regained his passion for songwriting and decided to continue sharing his songs with others. Jim quickly set out to write six new songs and worked with StudioPros again to produce a new EP. Seven months later in May 2016, Jim released a second Different Moon EP, Hourglass, featuring a mix of alternative, adult contemporary, and soft rock music. Four songs from the EP went on to receive honorable mentions in songwriting competitions, including Without You, which reached #1 on the Alt-Rock Broadjam Music Chart in December, 2016 and remained at the top of the chart through May, 2017.
Away from the world of music, Jim enjoys the introspective essence of nature trail running, which he credits for helping fuel his creative songwriting process. These reflective qualities often manifest themselves in his lyrics and melodies to make a connection with listeners. Most recently, Jim finished writing five new songs for the third Different Moon EP, Edge of Invisibility, which released on June 9, 2017. The EP veers slightly more into a mainstream adult alternative rock style.
Different Moon is on radio rotation with the tracks “Under the Shadow” and “A Face in the Crowd”, both taken from the EP Edge of Invisibility
