Biography
James' music has been described by others as being a mixture of such diverse artists as John Fahey and Robbie Basho meets Erik Satie. His music can range from uplifting to haunting, inspirational to gothic. It reaches across many different genres of music and appeals to a wide range of listeners.
Drawing his inspiration from individual experience and inner reflection, James’ debut album Reality of the Fantasy is a deeply personal affair, and much of it has an air of melancholy, anger and the regrets and frustrations of everyday life. At the same time, Reality of the Fantasy is a collection of songs that is a quest to find harmony in a world of dissonance and discord, creating a calming, soothing yet hypnotic quality to the music for the listener to experience.
Written over a crucial time in his life, James wanted to musically express something with a different depth and meaning that was a true representation of what was happening to him at that particular time. The stress, pressures, inner revelations and questions about the what-ifs in one’s life all play an imperative role in the nature of his music. Also underpinning this particular body of music is the battle and struggle his younger brother George faces after being diagnosed with an aggressive and crippling form of MS, a theme that hangs deeply over the nine heartfelt compositions like a dark portrait.
Originally James had been working and recording an album that was a more primitive, psychedelic, rock acoustic guitar-oriented sound. The album was scrapped and put away in lieu of the more heartfelt and personal compositions. Although the songs were put aside, James does perform some of these songs live from time to time. Reality of the Fantasy was crafted in collaboration with Grammy-award winning producer/engineer Corin Nelson at Will Ackerman’s Imaginary Road Studios in Brattleboro, VT.
James has been playing multiple dates around the New York area, sometimes playing 2-3 hour sets, which allows him to freely improvise and expand on a lot of ideas comfortably on stage. James recently showcased his upcoming debut album Reality of the Fantasy with a performance on a live international webstream festival with proceeds going to the MS Society, featuring 19 cutting-edge performers from around the world. The festival raised its target goal for the MS Society and was viewed by many around the world.
James was born in the Bronx, raised in Queens, NY and Miami and currently resides in New York. Aside from playing and writing music, he teaches private guitar lessons. James has traveled extensively throughout the United States and played with several bands. A graduate of the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, Ca, he has studied with many well-respected instructors including G.I.T. award recipient and author of Metal Method Pete Greenfield, bassist and author of In Search of the Groove & Bass Playing for Dummies Patrick Pfeiffer and Riot guitarist Mike Flintz.
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