I was born and raised in Derry, New Hampshire (spending
the weekends at my dads in MANCHESTER), and went to college at UNC
Chapel Hill. For the better part of 3 years I have lived in NYC trying
to 'live the dream' and get my music out to the rest of the world. My
day (and night) job was working at urban outfitters at 72nd & B'way,
which was great...well kind of :) Now, I do music full time, which is
pretty amazing. I hope that I can make as many new friends to share my
music with as possible. My full length record "The Day is Brave," is due
out this Spring but for right now you can check out my EP, "The Ballroom
Break-In," produced by Mikal Blue (his discography includes the very
talented Colbie Caillat, Jason Reeves, Augustana, and Five For
Fighting). The EP is available on iTunes and it features 3 songs from
the full length record. If you enjoy it, pass it on...
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 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 The Day is Brave 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 BallroomBreak-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,” James says
with a smile on his face.
Listen out for Brendan James and The Day is Brave in spring 2008.
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. 
