An Interview with "the other" Canadian Crooner: Adam James As he launches his new CD, Adam James Since his success with the Montreal group, Panache, and their three CD releases in the 90's, Adam traveled the world while working on his new recording, Adam James. "I wasn't waiting, I was listening, writing and re-writing," says Adam, referring to the gap of eight years between recordings. "I lived and experienced more of the world, and I have distilled it into a lot of songs." With five originals that sound like classics and five covers that have been given fresh breath, Adam provides a nice balance between his experience as a writer and as an accomplished interpreter of the writers he admires. "I am a singer and songwriter but not in the classic folk/pop style that is usually associated with that title. My influences are Cole Porter and Irving Berlin fused with Sting, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor. I was raised listening to my parents' folk and pop music, but in high school, I discovered my grandfather's collection of jazz. Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra’s records shaped my singing style and gave me a love for the standards. When I started college in Montreal, I became a crooner and had a lot of fun recording CDs with Panache while playing in jazz clubs and concerts all over the place. We opened for Ray Charles at the Montreal Jazz Festival which was a great career endorsement. We even won the Jazz Report Award for Best Vocalist with Group the year that Diana Krall won her first vocalist of the year." Adam’s early success through Panache prepared him for his lifelong dream of living and performing in New York. On September 1, 2001, he moved to Manhattan where his talents quickly spread internationally. "Moving to New York just a week before 9/11 challenged me to become a better writer and a more complete artist. I became more interested in the world outside my own window, and I wanted to pursue a deeper understanding of other cultures. I traveled to Brazil and recorded some of my original material with musicians in Rio. I jammed with players in Havana and discovered that language is unnecessary to communicate. Your music can speak for you." When not travelling, Adam’s skills as an on-stage performer earned him star roles in two off-Broadway shows and numerous jazz club appearances. Through these varied experiences, his approach to music gradually began to change. "New York made me an entertainer, not just a musician. I realized that my contribution was going to be writing music by day in my teeny-tiny apartment and then performing for very savvy audiences at night. New Yorkers have seen and heard it all, so I learned from watching the best performers in the Broadway, cabaret and concert business in very intimate venues. I often saw the glitz and glamour of the business stripped down to the honest and bare art form. I learned that the great performers take the great risks. In New York, you have to face risks to be noticed." Over time, Adam developed a successful Pops show which has toured North America, performing with Symphony Orchestras and Big Bands as diverse as The Freese Brothers Orchestra in Concord, New Hampshire to top tier orchestras like The Detroit Symphony. "There is nothing like singing with all those strings and the power of a symphony behind you - such energy." As his touring would take him from his home in New York for long stretches of time, Adam decided to switch his home base back to Toronto, after a five-year absence from Canada. Adam’s focus changed in 2004 at the arrival of Dave Pierce. Often referred by the media as "Canada's next David Foster," Dave recruited Adam to co-write original songs for The Calgary Stampede's Grandstand Show AKA, "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." Adam was also tapped to sing, dance, act, and lead the cast of 300 performers in the 10-night extravaganza. "Writing with Dave became a perfect fit. I would start an idea for a lyric, and we would bend the melody around while he harmonized and recorded the song on the computer. The process was much more efficient than I had been used to when working by myself." It was with Dave that Adam began to formulate his first solo CD, Adam James. "When we started writing songs for the CD, we both brought different and varying styles to the project - ballads, funk, soul, big band swingers. We decided to just write songs that worked for me, regardless of sticking to one musical style. We wanted to see what we ended up with when it was time to put the CD together as opposed to confining it to the pop/jazz style only. The CD also includes some Motown inspired sounds and a bossa nova; these were the styles of music around which I had grown up. This new album recording essentially sums up my singing history." Pierce and James have most recently collaborated on original songs performed in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of The Vancouver Winter Olympics for which Pierce won the Emmy Award. Their newest collaboration is their Symphony Pops show Dance of Romance which debuts in January 2011 The album’s original single, "Someone Like You,” captures in its first line a glimpse of Adam’s lifestyle for the last five years: "Ain't got a key on my ring." “I’ve been traveling so much that I realized I didn’t actually carry keys anymore to any specific lock. They were always hotel key cards or I would stay with friends and family. It was at times kind of liberating, and at times accompanied by a feeling of homelessness– but in a good way. I also like the double meaning of "Someone Like You." It describes someone I am searching for while also communicating that I am just as you are.” When asked how Adam gets the inspiration for his songs, he describes that most are inspired by his daily conversations, and interpretations of his surroundings, namely his observance of relationships and how people communicate. “The key to writing a song is keeping it simple for the audience to understand and feel. This can be a challenge when trying to explain a complex issue or subject,” Adam explains. Being a drummer, Adam also hears music through rhythms and writes his songs and melodies based on the rhythm of words. “I will use classic devices like forms and rhyming schemes, but I am always looking to make interesting sounds or invented words.” In the midst of Adam’s day-to-day, now based in Hollywood, he is often seen writing a line or two on post-it notes, mini notebooks, or even through audio recording on his cell phone. “Thousands of ideas will be turned into a few thousand songs of which a few hundred will be finished, and only the best will be recorded by myself or occasionally by other artists.” When on stage in front of an audience, Adam has learned that being comfortable with himself as a performer is key to having an audience feel comfortable enough with him to entertain them. “When I sing to an audience, we are having a conversation, both energetic and emotional. I respond to the energy coming from a crowd, share in it, then give the energy right back. This requires more than just musical talent, but an emotional vulnerability from both the performer and the listener. Here the performance becomes a conversation, and the audience’s response is overwhelming. It’s a great feeling,” says Adam. With the world at Adam’s fingertips at the new release of his latest CD, "Adam James" Adam’s goal is to continue to share his original music with audiences everywhere through live performances and recordings. He defines success not merely in his role as a performer, but in the positive recognition of peers and colleagues through their appreciation of his songs. Adam’s CD is available now online everywhere. Visit him online at www.adamjames.us