Exposed Vocals Inteviews ‘Little James”

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

 I grew up in place called Carlisle in the north of England. I always had an interest in music from an early age and started to learn the piano when I was a teenager. In my early Twenties I studied music and sound engineering while also playing in various bands as a keyboardist. I then changed direction and went to drama school and have been a professional actor ever since leaving. The last few years I got back into writing and producing music.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

 

 Originally it was meant to be a one off project to release a charity record to raise funds for the kidney Federation uk (NKF). This was due to raise awareness of  friends son condition who was called James. I thought “Little James” would be a good name for the project. During the process I found I actually enjoyed making music again and decided to stick with the name as my musical guise for future releases.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

I think online music sharing is a good idea and gives you as an artist a lot my control. There are pro’s and cons to this but giving it away free at the beginning of your career can help get you more noticed and cut through a lot of red tape without labels being involved

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

When I played in my band years ago we used to gig almost every night. I think the game has changed now and social media is the way forward to getting your foot in the door. There are so many brilliant artists out there that you have to try to think outside the box. I once heard of a band sending a demo on a answer machine(this was the 90’s) to the record company, which lead to them getting signed. There is far more completion now with social media so really as an artist you have to start being innovative when trying to get noticed. Break the rules!!

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

 It usually starts with me coming up with a melody on the piano then lyrics. But sometimes I will come up with a phrase in my head and work a melody out from that. I do tend to recycle old ideas/lyrics. For example the charity track I released “My Redemption” was first wrote in my early twenties but never recorded. When I decided to make  a charity single I rewrote the second verse around my friends son and how a parent feels about there child etc. With my latest track I wrote it with Stacey Bland(the vocalist) in mind. She is a great no nonsense woman with attitude and I wanted to reflect that in the lyrics and style.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

I do have a band website littlejamesmusic.com and I like to keep it simple as I hate going on to other artist websites and being bamboozled by different pages etc. I also use platforms such as soundcloud, reverbnation . I will also post links on my personal twitter, instagram and facebook

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

 I would live somewhere hot in a house with a grand piano, gym and beach!

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

 I use the usual social media platforms but also will send links with a press release to music magazine sites. As I tend to do more dance based stuff I send mp3’s to various club dj’s

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Acting wise I’M touring in a play I performed in London last year called “F***king Men” which is heading to Dublin in May. Music wise I’m back in the studio to do two more tracks. One with a great jazz vocalist I met in a club a year ago which will be a urban/dance ballad vibe which I’m excited about. I also would like to remix the charity single to give it a different edge and look at re-releasing it towards the summer. Presently I will be promoting the new track “Do You Really Love Me” which is coming out the end of March

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

I’m lucky because I get to be an actor as well, so I suppose I would just be an actor or maybe something to do with animals. I have just been to South Africa and visited a lot of animal sanctuary’s. I have so much admiration for the work the people do in these places.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Its tough as I have to juggle acting, music and a regular income when there is no music or acting work. I’m a great believer though that you only have one life so take every opportunity you can. Make it work!!

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

More music coming out throughout the year. The beauty is I pick different vocalists I like to work with so hopefully my music can keep reaching different audiences.