Jim Fleming became a musician for the same reason every teenage boy joins a rock band — to get the girl. The year was 1968, and a 14-year-old Fleming, who now spends his days as a sales consultant for Eden Advanced Pest Technologies in Olympia, Wash., was interested in a girl in the drum and bugle corp. So, Fleming started playing the drums.
Jim Fleming has always had a passion for music, and he’s found a way to keep it a huge part of his life.
“No, I didn’t get the girl,” he laments. “I don’t even think I got a kiss out of the deal.”
But Fleming did fall in love with music, playing professionally from the time he was 17 years old until he turned 30. He played in a number of bands, including Blue Sky and Lee Malone.
“We toured with Hall & Oates, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Journey and Rare Earth,” Fleming says about his days as a touring musician.
Long days on the road began to take their toll, and while on tour in Texas, Fleming, who has Crohn’s disease, decided he had enough of being a touring musician.
“I was getting burned out,” he says. “I played six nights a week.”
Fleming was so sick he couldn’t play in a band for almost 15 years. Even so, he wanted to stay in the music business. He became an agent and booked bands for United Service Organizations (USO) tours. Then came the grunge era of music, which started in the Pacific Northwest. Many musicians Fleming worked with decided they wanted to join the new music movement, which left him with fewer bands to send on USO tours. He recognized he needed a more traditional job.
Fleming had an uncle who worked for Terminix in San Francisco. For the past 19 years, Fleming worked as a pest management professional (PMP) — the first few at Terminix and now at Eden Advanced Pest Technologies. But he always pined to return to the drums. Along the way, he learned to manage his Crohn’s disease and was able to start a new band.
“I’m healthy now,” he says. “So I started playing drums again with an original band. I love playing music because it’s great getting people to enjoy themselves.”
Playing original music was satisfying, but with a lot of great music already out there, Fleming decided he would rather play in a cover band and joined a group called Triple Shot, which plays local clubs, casinos, corporate parties and other events. While playing at a local Seattle club, the daughter of one of the buyers for First & Goal Inc., an organization that oversees the building in which the Seattle Seahawks football team plays, saw the band playing and suggested the group play for the team.
After some discussion, the group was invited to play as part of the pregame festivities on Dec. 2, 2013, a Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints, which the Seahawks won 34-7.
“We played outside,” Fleming says. “I never played outside in December before. It was fun.”
The six-piece band played for an hour and in return received tickets to the game, food, beverages and parking, as well as publicity. Triple Shot, which practices a few times a month, usually plays a few gigs a month on weekends.
Fleming is quite content with the state of his career as a musician and PMP.
“I’m perfectly happy just to be breathing and playing,” he says. “This is perfect for me. We’re playing all the top clubs. I can’t ask for anything more than that. It’s awesome.”
And while that first girl might have gotten away, Fleming is now with a girl he met through music who is special to his heart.
Dan Jacobs is a contributor to PMP. Contact him at jacobs3927@gmail.com
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