Musical Albums | Michael James

Expression through music is a very personal thing and I am thankful for the privilege of sharing something from my heart and soul. I am so excited to present my music. I hope that everyone will find something they like in each of the songs. With the help of Mike Demus, Dennis Holt, Gary Lunn, Sam Levine, and the incredible Tim Akers this project is by far the best thing that I have ever been a part of. I am extremely pleased with the outcome. Confidant is an EP with six songs that I have written over the years and I know you will enjoy them.

Definition: "one to whom secrets are entrusted" (merriam-webster). I wrote this song while on vacation in South Africa in 2016. The panoramic beauty of the ocean, the cyclical rhythms of the waves and the water, and its calming presence inspired the simple melody that became the hook, and the concept of the ocean as a Confidant. The simplicity of this song captures my simplicity as a musician and I love that. I can't yet do fast and fancy licks, so I rely heavily on trying to write a beautiful melody and interesting chord changes. The simple three note hook in the melody is catchy and I hope it is a good illustration of how to take the little you have and try to make something beautiful out of it. I noticed Dennis whistling that melody a couple times in the studio after the B&D tracking, and that made me smile because it hinted at validation.

I was not sure what to call this song. In an early version I put a note of “work in progress” in the mp3 tags. A friend of mine saw that and asked if that was the title of the song and I said, “That’s a great idea!”. That title is a metaphor for all my music, my journey as a musician, and my life and development as a person. The song has a catchy hook and a simple but cool chord progression. In the latter half of the song I take the rhythm and sound back to the sound of my South African roots. It is fun to hear a bunch of southern dudes from Nashville getting down with a South African jive.

Definition: "the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance" (merriam-webster). This song is my expression of experiencing life through the eyes and mind of my son Nathan who has Down Syndrome. He is a blessing to everyone he encounters, and helps me view the world, life, and his purpose in this world with a proper perspective. He brings joy to everyone he interacts with, and I believe he is destined to do great things. This song is very personal to me. I wrote it over many years as I spent time watching Nathan while he played. It has a great melody and some interesting sounding chord changes. I am still moved when I hear this song, and I know I am biased, but I think it is beautiful.

The title of this song refers to the combination of sweet and sour chords flavored with "butter notes" and dissonance. It is a "twelve-bar smooth" in the style of a twelve-bar blues (eight measures plus a four measure turn around). Although the basic progression is simple the solos provide variation, and highlight the amazing skill and taste of the musicians who lent their talents to this project. Apart from my guitar work it features fretless bass, B3, and sax solos. This is one of my favorite tunes on the album. I hope you like it too!

I wrote this song as a teenager in 1986 initially thinking about race relations in South Africa, but as I wrote it realizing there is more to it than that. We don't choose our parents, where we are born, how we look, or anything else that influences people's perception of us. In part the song reflects on how I wish people would see beyond outward appearance and see the person inside each one of us. The song also talks about how we sometimes hide our true feelings, including pain and suffering, using our outward façade. The essence of this song is captured by the phrase "…under all of this, there is me."