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Brendan James
By Brett Leigh Dicks 05/07/2009
Shades of a singer
While Brendan James may have adopted several different musical guises (B Willing is his solo moniker and Be Willing James is his new trio), it is Shades of Day that first delivered him to our attention in no uncertain terms. When the band retreated to an old barn in Ojai to record MAYDAY!, it delivered everything it had promised in the live arena and more. Shades of Day is back in the studio recording a new album, and this time around they are testing new musical waters. They have forsaken the sacred surrounds of their favorite red barn to work with producer Michael Dumas of Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams fame.
Barn storming
Having spent the early days of their musical incarnation bouncing from rehearsal space to rehearsal space, when an old barn in Ojai became available, James and his Shades of Day colleagues jumped at the chance to roll up their sleeves and turn it into a creative space. They pushed out the antique farm equipment, fitted an interior and moved in the audio equipment. The Barn has since been the ensemble’s refuge and its inspiration. Not ones to keep a good thing to themselves, members of Shades of Day made The Barn available to others, and it’s recently served the recording needs of local duo Antara and Delilah.
Living the dream
While James et al are 100 percent focused on the recording task at hand, they aren’t letting the undertaking diminish their live forays. The band has racked up some very impressive supports, including Snow Patrol and Blondie (that experience had them trying on clothes with Debbie Harry). At the West Beach Music Festival last year, they shared the bill with the likes of Jason Mraz, Natasha Bedingfield and Ziggy Marley. Shades of Day will repeat the festive celebrations when they play the Ventura County Fairgrounds at Seaside Park on June 20.
Ready, Willing and able
When Shades of Day released its 2006 full-length album MAYDAY!, the buzz that surrounded the band was nothing short of electric. Even though the rest of his band mates were unable to commit to a tour at the time, James was so charged over the release that he toured the album solo. For three months, he criss-crossed the country on “The Great Couch Tour.” While in Nashville with some time on his hands, he made a subsequent record, The Breakup Sessions. James was so enamored of the recording process and the troubadour lifestyle that he decided to take to the road and do it all over again. Keep an eye on the schedule at places like Café Bella and Zoey’s for Brendan’s solo performances.
Three’s company
Upon meeting at the local singer-songwriter enclave of Zoey’s a little while back, James MAVRIC award-winner Jenny Alpert and Shades of Day drummer Rick O Shay were sufficiently inspired by their burgeoning union that they hastily decided to pull together a gig. After taking to the stage of Room 5 in Los Angeles, the chemistry that flowed uninhibitedly from the stage has since seen them exhibit their rustic musical yearnings and soaring vocal harmonies under the moniker of Be Willing James everywhere from Hotel Café to SxSW. Given the collective’s genesis, it seems only fitting that it should be at Zoey’s with The Northstar Session where, on May 15, the release of their debut recording will be celebrated accordingly.
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