Life & Work with Jim Wilpula of Clinton Township

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Wilpula

Hi Jim, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I began forming my band in 2007. It took awhile to find the players I wanted and to write the arrangements for the band. We finally began rehearsing weekly in June of 2009 and we played our first show in January of 2010.

A lot has happened the past 14 years. Mainstreet Soul has been nominated for Detroit Music Awards in 2011, 2013, 2014 & 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and we were the Detroit Music Award winner in 2016 for Best Urban Recording for our original song called In Detroit. We’ve performed at local venues, private parties, festivals, weddings and even in a movie. Mainstreet Soul secured a part in the film “Salvation Boulevard” starring Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear, which was released in 2011. The band also recorded an original song entitled, “Little Black Dress”, which was used in a Quicken Loans commercial and starred Magic Johnson that aired nationally on TV & radio in the fall of 2011. The positive response and big-screen exposure surely place Mainstreet Soul among the ranks of the best cover bands in Michigan.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. With a band such as mine, every once in awhile you have members leave the band for various reasons. When this happens you have to look to find a replacement that is at least as good as who is leaving. Sometimes that can be tricky.

Some of the of the other struggles that we’ve face the past few years is that we’ve seen our private events drop off a bit. Some of this I attribute to the economy, and some of it is the oversaturation of the market with bands,

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a saxophonist and primary arranger for my band, Mainstreet Soul. My band has been in a movie and in a national ad for Quicken Loans. What I’m most proud of though if the fact that all of the clients that we serve tell us that we made their event or their wedding something that they and their guests will remember for a lifetime. Hearing people tell us this never gets old and certainly makes you proud of what you’ve built by making music with some of the best musicians and singers in the area.

What sets us apart from other bands in the area is that we actually rehearse and have arrangements for everything that we play. This guarantees quality, as we play the songs the same way every time, and it’s extremely useful for when we have a substitute musician or singer perform with us. This also helps to guarantee that we give our audiences our best performance every time, as opposed to our first or worst.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
As far as Covid is concerned, I don’t think that I learned any important lessons. At this point, covid is a non-issue.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mainstreetsoul.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mainstreetsoul
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mainstreetsoul
• Twitter: https://x.com/mainstreetsoul
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mainstreetsoul
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mainstreetsoul