Does the name David James ring a bell? Probably not.
Even though you’ve never heard of him, if you’ve turned on a radio, watched TV or been to a concert in the last twenty years, you probably have heard him. During the course of his career, David has performed live to over a million people all over the world, made hundreds of TV and radio appearances, sang on five top forty records, appeared in six major music videos, and recorded over twenty albums. Throw in jingles, even karioke tracks, you’ve heard his voice, guitar and bass.
And then, there’s the songwriting. David established himself as a staff writer at the legendary FAME Music in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in the mid 1990’s and is currently writing for Encore / Warner Bros. Entertainment in Nashville. He has had over fifty songs recorded by various artists, including the Grammy nominated "Certified" for Grammy Award winner James Cotton, the hit single "Lie To Me" for rhythm & blues great Dorothy Moore, and cuts on the latest CD's by Michael Burks and country-rock super group POCO.
As a solo performer and with his band Fish Heads & Rice, David toured the world and released three albums for Milan, Italy’s Appaloosa Records before recording an unreleased album for Sony/Columbia Records in Nashville. He recently finished his second solo CD titled "Eisenhower High" for Troppo Forte Music.
Wanting a simpler life for his family, and the chance to perform as a musician again, David has now made St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands his home. In a recent interview, David was asked about the move to St. Croix, a look back on his career so far and some thoughts on the future. Here’s some of what he had to say:
"The move to the Virgin Islands comes from a lot of things, a better place for my family, a new adventure and the chance to get back to playing music again. It's gone really well, in just a couple years I've played on all three U.S. Virgin Islands and shows with Dr. John, Mavis Staples, Jonathan Edwards, Henry Paul and Henry Gross. My last few years in Nashville got so corporate that I really wasn’t even playing much anymore. Writing, meetings and sessions but very little actually playing music in front of people, you know, having fun with the crowd. On our first three records for Appaloosa, we had complete creative control. Got to make eclectic albums with a mix of Rock, R&B, Country, Cajun, Soul, Blues, all the great music I’ve always loved. With Sony it turned into marketing meetings and radio focus groups. No one ever talked about the music, strictly business. Anyway, it really started to get me down on music altogether, so I needed a drastic change. With these latest CD's (Clean Getaway & Eisenhower High) I’m back to making music again and playing around the islands, I’m really glad I did it.
"As far as looking back, wow, a lot can happen in twenty-five years. Off the top of my head I’d say some highlights would be meeting and playing with Jerry Lee Lewis. He goes wide open all the time. I met him right when he got out of the hospital and he was still running full tilt boogie. Getting to write with guys like
Peter Frampton, Mark Selby, Keith Urban and Craig Fuller (Little Feat) would have to be high up on the list. Playing the Grand Ole Opry the first time, actually every time was really special, but the first time really stands out. It’s one of the few times I can ever remember having stage fright. Doing Hee-Haw was a
gas and I’d have to say being featured in an article in Bass Player Magazine was an honor.
Fish Heads & Rice opening shows in Europe for B. B. King, Ry Cooder, and Keb Mo was very cool. Playing for, writing with and just knowing Jo-El Sonnier the past six or eight years has been great. He’s the real thing, I mean nothing but pure musical energy, it’s great, no filters, no nothing. Man, there’s a bunch of stuff. Playing with Albert Collins, Billy Joe Royal, Gene Parsons. I’m sure I’ll leave someone out. Opening shows and meeting Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. Russell Smith from The Amazing Rhythm Aces, he’s a trip, but what a gas to work with. We had a couple of great tours, great music, big fun. I don’t know, there’s a whole lot more, but I don’t need to sit here going down memory lane and bore you to tears. Let’s just say it’s been pretty good so far and leave it at that.
"What’s in store for the future? Who knows, I mean anything can happen. I finished my latest CD (Eisenhower High) and a tour in the states plus a live CD (Live in Massachusetts) with Jonathan Edwards and another European tour with Paolo Bonfanti. Now Paolo and I are recording a new CD and will continue touring together, so I guess I'm staying busy as ever.
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