Page 36 - Black Velvet Issue 88

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exploring a variety of emotions and subject mat- got two children and he’s married. He’s 47 years
ter. Some songs are personal, some are opinion- old and he’s been in many, many bands before. He
ated, some are political. James says the album is joined us three years ago now. To leave his young
“not as autobiographical as ‘Renegade’ was. kids… and I ring him up sometimes, “Are you
‘Renegade’ was really autobiographical, the first available tomorrow to go for two or three weeks
one. This one is more of my interests and out- on a tour?” That’s how the industry is at the mo-
looks in life compared to personal stories.” ment, for a band like us, if we get an opportunity
In ‘Living In A Moment’ James sings, ‘don’t to support somebody, and he does it. That’s just
you ever stop reaching for the top’. He says ‘Liv- one example. The other guys are younger guys
ing In A Moment’ can be seen as an inspirational and all they want to be in is a rock band. My
song. “My personal life has been successful in brother-in-law’s the guitarist in the band, so he’s
one thing and then having to start from the bot- pretty easy because he still lives with his mother.
tom of the ladder again and all the difficulties of But yeah, the time and dedication and the practice
that, psychologically. There are times when we all that the boys put in for me; I pay them a weekly
think “Let’s just jack it, it’s too much,” or what- wage, so they’re hired musicians, but I still appre-
ever. It IS a message of ‘just keep going and al- ciate the time that they do put in.”
ways aim high’. ‘Living In A Moment’ is definitely
that song on trying to keep the encouragement e tells us again that it’s a hard industry to
up. Always keep believing.” Hbe in. “Nothing’s given,” he says. “There
Title track, ‘Cradle The Rage’, also has a mes- aren’t many hand-outs. You have to earn your
sage of ‘just keep going’. James says, “It was so stripes, especially in the rock world. You’ve got to
tough in the beginning to get the band to some- go out there and do a certain amount of grafting
where where I could actually envisage that it and get some dirt under your fingernails before
could be a success on a level that we could all do the industry and the fanbase really do welcome
it as a career. That interim period is so bleak you into the rock family and the rock team. But I
sometimes for young bands. But the best piece of like that challenge. I’ve enjoyed that side of it. I’ve
advice I ever had was from Toby, which was, ‘the enjoyed how people in the industry and the fan-
ones that don’t make it, stop’. You can’t get any base have steadily grown with the band as we’ve
simpler than that, can you? We’ve just got to keep moved forward. It’s not just been a massive tra-
our heads down and carry on.” jectory of success. It’s just been chipping away
James thinks the life of a musician in 2016 is and chipping away. A band to just have one album
pretty tough. “It’s very difficult to get radio play is just one of something but I’ve noticed now,
because there aren’t many radio stations that play doing the second album, the amount of material
guitar-driven rock these days. We’ve got Planet that we’ve got now, and the show that we put on,
Rock and Team Rock and a few others but it’s on the industry knows how hard you’ve worked for
a fairly small scale compared to the national sta- four or five years to earn those stripes. I’m feeling
tions, the Radio 1s and 2s etc. It’s all about play- a little bit more accepted now with the band,
ing live and building the audience in a traditional which is great. It’s been a great process, not easy
way, starting from the clubs and working your way at times, but you know what it’s like backstage
up. But touring’s very, very expensive. We’ve just and performing in front of not many people at first
come back from a European tour with Black Stone and the expense and trying to pay for the band
Cherry and that was really expensive to do but it and musicians and the van and the hotels and
was so worth it because for the first time we were booking the hotels, sharing the room with 2 or 3
able to perform on amazing stages with great pro- other guys in the band… There are some long
duction. Their audience is such an up-and-com- days and nights but at the end of the day, when
ing, new music-loving fanbase that it went down we do perform the music that I’ve done, I really do
really well, but it is expensive for a young rock love it. I’ve just got to keep going.”
band to do that in this way.” The moments on stage definitely make it all
James tweeted that he drove 6430km during worth it. James says, “Now I’ve got the material
the Black Stone Cherry tour. He says he did all the on the second album, on ‘Cradle The Rage’, I re-
driving himself. “Every mile. Or every kilometre! ally feel that we’ve got a body of work for a 90-
Sometimes when it was a long distance – we did minute show, a headline show, that really does
Paris to Zurich one time and that was a long, long showcase what we’re capable of doing as a live
way – as I was planning the hotels I knew I had to act. And to get the reactions, now these are our
drive two or three hours that night after the show headline shows, ‘cause we’ve been supporting
to be able to get to the next show on time – so it quite a bit, and when you’re trying to win over a
was pretty intense. I’m not sure I’m going to be brand new crowd that’s there for somebody else,
able to do that again, that was pretty intense. The it’s pretty tough sometimes. Now we’re doing our
last show was in Hamburg so from Hamburg to own headline shows and we’ve actually sold out
London was about 8 ½ hours drive, so as well as a third of this tour, when we go out and every-
doing the shows, the driving was pretty intense. body’s singing along to the words because
Again, you’ve got to put the work in at this level.” they’re actually there for us, it’s a big boost for us.
He says he did all the driving himself so his It’s amazing. When you hear people singing your
bandmates (Zurab Melua, Roger Davis, Ed Bram- songs and really enjoying themselves… We
ford and Joe Yoshida) could have a good time on played Brighton and Cardiff the last two nights
the tour. “It was such an experience to have our and it’s been amazing to be back with our crowds
first European tour and they were getting on so again, having a fantastic time on stage.”
well with the Black Stone Cherry guys, they’re
such nice guys, that all the band were having a n ‘Puppet On A Chain’, James sings ‘not a
few beers after the show and enjoying themselves Idry eye in the house’. Black Velvet asks him
and I don’t drink so much. I do have the occa- what has been the most emotional moment so far
sional drink but I thought, I’ll let them have a real in the band. He replies, “We headlined the Ram-
good time on this European tour and I’ll do all the blin’ Man Fair festival last year, which was our first
driving and do it that way, but it WAS pretty tough. main stage appearance at any festival, in front of,
By the end of it I was pretty shot but all the hard I think, about 15,000 people, and that was the first
work was worth it.” time I ever really got the jitters and the adrenaline
rush of anticipation. And I had that weekly with an
ames thanks his bandmates for their sup- old job I used to have. And it was the first time in
Jport and belief in the band. They’re as ded- music that I had exactly the same rush and nerv-
icated to it as he is. He tells us, “The bass player’s ousness – so that was a nice moment. But every
TOSELAND