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Photo Credit: Matt Eich

river james

Last month, I was driving home and listening to Out of the Box with Paul Shugrue when I heard, for the first time, of a band called River James. Shugrue mentioned  a few things that caught my ear: a story about a band going on a canoe odyssey to seek inspiration on the water, and the fact that the band brings together talent from several other successful bands (he mentioned that Jacob, the drummer, was formerly of Mae).

Nothing caught my ear more, though, than the music itself. "Arlington" is a beautiful, lilting song with a good hook and powerful lyrics. After it was over, I turned the radio off and repeated the name of the band and their song over and over in my head for the rest of the drive home (although, embarrassingly, my voice recorder was sitting in the passenger seat next to me).

I wanted to make sure I could investigate the rest of the band's music, only to discover that there was a pretty limited amount of information about River James right now; however, I'm also thoroughly convinced that by the end of the year, this will not be the case. At any rate, I decided to do my small part to help get the word out there about this extremely talented band, who are doing their part to keep soulful music alive.

an interview with river james

River James brings together talent from several other fairly accomplished acts. Will you tells us briefly about each of your members and what he brings to the table?

We're very excited about this new chapter, and about River James. We see it as a fresh new start, and I'd like it to be seen for what it is, not necessarily colored by anything that's come before. It seems to be the life of an artist, huh? Always looking forward. River James is four people - Jacob, Scoops, Tyler, and Vintz (myself). And I really believe that the band is greater than the sum of the parts. We've got a genuine chemistry, love, musicianship, & friendship that is unlike anything any of us has experienced previously. If I were to use one phrase to describe each person in the band, I'd say - Jacob: devoted dreamer, Tyler: accidental prodigy, Scoops: crazy glue, Me: inner war general.  

I think it's also fair to say that River James is offering a different package than, say, anything that MAE or Army of Me offered in the past. What type of sound or product do you hope to create?

We're hoping to create something that is honest, raw, engaging, & organic. Sometimes, when you have a full band, with drums & electric guitar, it's easy to lose the intimacy of the song, and the connection with the lyric. That's something we're trying very hard to preserve and create sonic space for.. In the end, we hope people find something moving & inspiration in the music. I hope it makes people think about their lives, how they want their lives to be, how we are gonna make it through the tough times, and how beautiful love can be.  

For anyone who hasn't heard it, the song, "Arlington" is a beautiful dirge that showcases, among other things, the lyrical talents of the band ("You act like love and suffering / are two strangers that just met"). What inspired "Arlington"?

I think you latched on to a key lyric in the song. It's the idea that real love invariably will involve sacrifice & suffering. It's tempting to want everything to be easy & feel good all the time. But love really requires vulnerability & giving of self, which is scary. The courage that it requires can be painful, but also heroic. We're all capable of greatness in that way. 

Let's talk about your creative process. Which members of the band write the lyrics? The music? Is there a particular way that you like to take a quiet room and turn it into a new song?

Well, for the two songs that we have available, I've written the lyrics. For those two songs, the quiet room that we turned into a new song was a metal storage space that we were using at the very beginning. If you can make a song sound good in there, it's quite a feat, I believe. 


We hear that you guys took an interesting canoe trip (As kayak enthusiasts over here, we'll try not to hold that against you). It sounds like a pretty amazing time, that I'm sure your fans would like to hear about. Do you have any fun anecdotes from that journey?

You will have to stay tuned on this... We're planning to make a short film about the canoe trip. One funny & cool anecdote: The night of our very first show in Norfolk, VA, I was sitting down in the back of the venue and someone approached me to introduce Earl Swift. For anyone reading who don't know, Earl Swift is the author of "Journey On The James" about his canoe trip along the entire James River. He's a big inspiration for us, and happens to live down the street from the venue in Norfolk. He saw our bio in the newspaper, which mentions him, and he stopped by to say hi. We were totally & pleasantly surprised to meet him.

Being a literary blog, we've got to ask each member of the band: what's your favorite book?

There's a stack of books on my desk that keeps getting higher! I'm currently reading a book that Jacob recommended - Concerning The Spiritual In Art by Wasily Kandinsky, one of the first abstract painters. I'm also reading U2 by U2, a huge coffee book table about their story, told by the band themselves. And one of the most influential books I've ever read was one called The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck.


Ad Hominem predicts this year will be a big one for your band, and we certainly wish you the best. What's next for River James in 2011?

Thank you! We're currently in the studio recording what we plan to be an EP to be released this Spring. In March, we will be playing more shows, including residencies (same night, same venue, each week for a month) in NYC, DC, & Boston, and more to come as we begin to tour. We hope to see you on the road! You can keep up with our schedule on http://www.riverjamesmusic.com/tour.html

Want to know more about River James? Check out their website, facebook, or twitter.

You could also check out what their fellow Virginia musician Paul Curreri has been up to, oOr see what's going down with Mike Doughty.

Ad Hominem Art and Literature Review. 2011.