With his warm, rich tenor and emotionally powerful songs, Brendan James
announces himself as an artist-to-watch on his dazzling debut album The
Day Is Brave. Rooted in the classic singer/songwriter tradition, with
its introspective lyrics and unforgettable melodies, the album is 11
tracks of stunning songcraft: elegant, earthy, and displaying a total
lack of artifice that is rare in the pop world these days.
Influenced by the understated simplicity of the Carly Simon, James
Taylor, and Carole King records he grew up with, James knew he wanted
his debut to sound natural and unaffected. "The phrase 'stripped-down'
is so overused, and 'bare-bones' doesn't really describe it," he says,
"but I wanted the simplicity of the art to come through. I wanted it to
have tasteful blend of folk and pop influences."
James, who grew up in Derry, NH, accomplishes all that and more on The
Day Is Brave, which was produced by Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Five For
Fighting, Augustana). Dominated by James' expressive piano playing, the
songs touch on a wide range of subjects, many of them autobiographical,
like "Green," about a former girlfriend that he met while working at
Urban Outfitters, who came from a troubled family and always wore
something green, and "Take the Fall," which ponders a person's
responsibility to others in these quickly changing times. That sort of
earnest reflection also finds its way into "Manchester," about the town
in New Hampshire where James spent most of his time after his parents
divorced, and the ballad "The Sun Will Rise" — a song so affecting,
the music supervisor of the hit ABC show Private Practice used it in a
particularly poignant scene in seasons final episode of 2007.
Another album highlight is "The Other Side," a playful tune James wrote
about not being cool. "I did not fit in in high school," he admits, "and
it's just about that moment when you wake up on the other side of life
and are like, 'Man, I don't have to deal with that anymore.'" Other
standout tracks include "Early April Morning," a deeply felt love song,
and "Hero's Song," a soldier's-eye view of the Iraq war that concludes:
"I cannot die this way, no I will not die this way" amid somber trumpet
tones.
"I don't really consider myself a storyteller," James says. "Arlo
Guthrie is a storyteller. But I do hope my songs encourage people to
feel, and to ask questions."
Though James was always told he had a powerful voice, he didn't begin
writing songs until his sophomore year at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. While at home in Derry on Christmas break, James
was approached by a local music teacher, Kevin Kandel, who had heard him
sing "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral for James' best friend's
mother. "Kevin said to me, 'I can't get your voice out of my head. You
have something very unique inside of you and I think you should learn to
play an instrument and try to write your own songs.' We then spent the
whole night listening to hundreds of records by classic artists like the
Beatles and Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, and he'd point out the phrasing
and songwriting style of each one. By the next morning, I was hooked. It
just fueled this thing inside me and I went back to school with a
brand-new fire."
James taught himself to play piano and took a year off from school to
spend time in L.A. writing songs. "I was so passionate about
songwriting, I wanted to get involved in the music scene and start
performing," he says. In 2002, he returned to Chapel Hill, graduated,
and moved to New York City, where he toiled at Urban Outfitters by day
and performed at open mics around Manhattan's East Village at night. To
gain access to a piano to practice, James would sneak into hotel
ballrooms around the city. "I'd dress to look like a guest at the Plaza
Hotel, so I could walk in there unnoticed," he says.
In 2003, James' manager was able to get a demo James had made to Carly
Simon at her home on Martha's Vineyard "just to see what would happen,"
James says with a laugh. Two weeks later, he received a call from the
legendary singer/songwriter, who told him that she couldn't get enough
of his voice and had begun singing his songs around the house. "It was
surreal," James recalls. "She was so complimentary, not only of my
voice, but of the songs. She told me I needed to keep writing." Simon
asked James to come to Martha's Vineyard, where the two recorded a
version of her Oscar-winning song "Let the River Run," for the 2003
Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
Encouraged by his new mentor, James continued to write and perform and
eventually caught the attention of Capitol Records, which signed him to
a recording contract in 2005. However, when the infrastructure at the
label imploded, James became a free agent. Seeing a golden opportunity,
he took the money from his termination agreement with Capitol and
recorded As Oceans Rise on his dime and his own terms, enlisting
producer Mikal Blue before James even knew how, or if, the album would
be released.
Blue, who would go on to score a platinum record with Colbie Caillat,
helped James capture the intimacy of his live performance. "I said to
Mikal, 'I've done a lot of shows over the last few years and I want to
give the audience as real and genuine a performance as possible when it
comes to the vocals and piano playing.' And what I like most about Mikal
is that he really listens to the artist and tries to figure out how to
give them what they want."
James finished tracking the songs on The Day Is Brave in June and
released a four-song digital EP via iTunes, entitled The Ballroom
Break-In in honor of his days sneaking into hotel ballrooms. The EP
reached 13 on iTunes' Alternative/Pop chart and the digital retailer's
editorial staff dubbed James a top singer/songwriter to watch in 2008.
Since then, James, who's played with Carly Simon, Joss Stone, Corrine
Bailey Rae, Robert Cray, and Keb Mo, among others, has kept busy
performing in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Chapel Hill as he
waits for The Day Is Brave to be released by his new label Decca/ Velour
Records.
"It feels great to make this record on my own terms," James says. "These
songs have been pent up in my mind for years and to get them finished
and out there for people to hear is extremely exciting. I'm looking
forward to playing for anyone that will listen."
Online Now!
