03/13/08 Stubbs - Austin, TX
03/13/08 Hilton Garden Inn - Austin, TX 03/14/08 Four Seasons Hotel - KGSR 03/25/08 Living Room Show - New York 04/09/08 Rockwood Music Hall - NY 04/14/08 Gerrard Hall - Chapel Hill, NC 04/16/08 Rockwood Music Hall - NY 04/19/08 Bakertree Music Festival - GA 04/23/08 Rockwood Music Hall - NY 04/24/08 Wheelhouse - Narragansett, RI 04/26/08 Acoustic Cafe - Rockaway NJ 04/30/08 Rockwood Music Hall - NY |
With Saint Patrick's Day coming up on Monday (officially it's today, Saturday the 15th), my next couple of entries will be Irish-related.
Although Brendan James' biography lists him growing up in Derry, New Hampshire, and currently based in New York, I can't help but think he's Irish based on his photographs and singing style. I'm probably wrong, of course.
Anyway, I spent all day on Friday listening to his to-be-released album, The Day is Brave, and reading the press material that came with it.
Some of the interesting things I picked up about James, was when he was a struggling musician, his manager somehow got James' demo in the hands of legendary singer/songwriter Carly Simon. She loved the music and singing so much that she asked James to sing a duet with her for the song "Let the River Run" at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies in 2003.
I was taken by what I've read, that he spent his days working a meaningless job at Urban Outfitters and used to sneak into hotels to practice his piano playing.
I'd dress to look like a guest at the Plaza Hotel, so I could walk in there unnoticed.
His 2007 EP was aptly named The Ballroom Break-In EP. All four tracks will resurface on the full album, so you can wait for it or get the EP now on unrestrictive MP3s via iTunes.
The Day is Brave is mostly piano-driven with that Irishy vocals from James, sounding very clean and polished.
The album starts off with "Green" (which you can hear on his myspace) seems to be about a green clothed girl who he loved, and sets the atmosphere for the rest of the songs to follow.
The songs seems very personal, I'm not sure if he's writing fictional characters ("Hero's Song"), but I suspect that most of these songs are from his experiences.
This is evident in his "The Other Side" song, about him growing up: "I'll always remember, the kids and how mean they'd been/Eleven years old and I could not fit in/But I made it through high school and college according to plan/where pressure was never greater to become a man."
On "Early April Morning", he wakes up one April morning realizing the love that he's found. I wasn't quite sure if April was her name (I don't think he ever mentioned who the woman was), but the lyrics "That was then, and she is now/I once was lost with her I'm found" is pretty catchy.
Recently, his song, "Hero's Song" was chosen as the lead-in song on Eddie Vedder's soundtrack project for the movie Body of War. This is a 2-CD soundtrack, featuring major acts such as Bright Eyes, Tom Waits, Bad Religion, John Lennon - basically all the artists we like on W♥M.
I couldn't be more honored to be part of, "Body of War". Tomas Young, the soldier that the film is centered around, is quite possibly one of the strongest individuals I have ever spoken to. His words and his life are an inspiration to me. I hope his message can open the eyes of many around the world. I hope it sheds some light on the life of a U.S soldier, and brings some humanity to the political circus that this war has become.
Watch for The Day is Brave to be released on June 6th, 2008, under the Universal/Decca records label, and available at most major outlets. Look for Body of War next week and limited theater listing, see bodyofwar.com for additional details.
03/15/2008 19:26:46
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