St James
Interview 6 June 2004
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Your CD, your website, your lyrics, your songs, your poetry all the imagery indicates something peaceful, nomadic, nature loving, spiritual. Is that really you and what you're trying to portray, and where you feel the most comfortable.
I am a very free loving spirit and individual. I grew up in the country in Northern California; I love nature and consider it my home. I am, however, also a person made up of many dimensions. I am very complex and extremely versatile. So one week you may see me with my shoes off running through the grass and the next you may see me stomping through the city streets in my combat boots. The only thing I portray to my audience, is simply who I am. What you see is what you get, a person made up of many elements but that is always come from a place of peace and love.
And there is an urban content too - the city meets the country?
Yes I am a country girl at heart with a kick ass city twist!
You talk of pain, and personal experiences. How do your personal life things, and all your musical influences, fuse together to create your output.
My music starts with the words first. I am best at expressing myself with words. I have had a lot of pain as most people have; I express that pain through my music by saying things we all feel but sometimes never say out loud. I start by writing a song with however I am moved in that particular moment. It may be a melody that inspires me, it may be an expression, for example the song -People-Start Livin' in Love- was inspired by a movie I caught a glimpse of on television. There was a graffiti wall that had the words 'Political System' on it in the movie. Seeing that image of those two words is what provoked the thought and the emotion to write that song.
The St James Experience is your first album; tell me about how it all came together. When was it finished, how long has it been out and how is it doing.
I met Sony Music writer/producer Bruce 'Automatic' Vanderveer who produced the music on the album and read to him my book of poetry. He was inspired to work with me on creating music from my poetry. The St. James Experience started off as a demo project. I was just going to record a few songs to try and shop to major record labels and try to get a deal. I decided to just continue recording because I had things from a creative and artistic point of view I had wanted to experiment with for a long time coming. The album has been out for almost a year and is very popular overseas and is beginning to catch on in the States. I really love this album because its like art to me, you get from it what ever you choose to.
What reactions are you getting from around the world?
People really love the lyrics, and they love the uniqueness and the individuality behind the music. It's a fusion of sounds, it's fresh and it's new.
You're very poetic, is that where you start with the lyric, and who and what inspires you?
I consider myself to be a poet first, a singer second. Singing is just a way for me to express the things I have to say. I'm inspired by my daily existence. It's the little things that move me these days, however sometimes it takes an earthquake to motivate me as well.
And what artists both in the past and now
My early inspirations were Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton, Janis Joplin. I love all types of music. Right now in my stereo you will find artists such as Common, Amel Larrieux, Eminem, Prince, Pink, Nelly Furtado.
How difficult is it being independent, and what 'team' do you have around you to make things possible.
Things are only as difficult as we make them to be. But yeah, shit is pretty hard being independent. You got to keep yourself motivated, you are the one that has to have the drive to push your music and get it out there to be heard by the masses. My 'Team' consists of myself. I handle all the aspects of what goes into my music and the business side of it all. My fans help to spread the word as well and for that I'm very grateful.
And the second album What did I do is now ready - still the same people involved?
Yes, same producer as The St. James Experience.
How does this one advance on the first? Seems a bit harder to me but I prefer it, the beats are heavier.
What did I do? is a more commercially driven album.
'The St. James Experience' was music that was coming from a more artistic point of view. You still get that on this album, but it has more songs that are for radio. I wanted to give people something that they could enjoy and didn't have to think too hard about, yet still stimulate them to a certain degree. I felt like dancing a bit more and having more fun with the music this time around, adding the more hip-hop elements to the music, cuz I'm a big fan of hip-hop.
Lyrically it's also harder eg People.Has this been shaped by recent world events
Yeah, like I was saying earlier 'People' was inspired by the words 'Political System' on a graffiti wall in a movie I happened to look up and glance at on television. I have always been a believer in peace and love in our human existence here on this planet and promoting those two things. With all the insanity going on in the world today I needed to express my desire for us to love one another. I hope that comes through in the song. I hope it inspires people to live more in a place of love.
What are you doing to promote ' are you gigging, do you have a band. What's your show like?
I'm doing what I can on a 'Food Stamp' budget right now. I'm promoting by getting my music on indie radio stations, the internet, my street team. The band is being put together and I'll be playing out live soon. Coming from a background in the theater, my audiences can expect to really have more than just a concert but a show, a real musical experience. I love to perform live, that is where I really live well, is on stage.
I think you've been in Japan, maybe still are, what's happening out there. What do you think about it over there, how long were you there?
Japan is off the hook. I love the Japanese people and I love the culture. The Japanese know the true meaning of respect. They love urban culture, they embrace it and they live it to the fullest. I'm out here now, trying to promote and putting together the band. It's here in Japan that I will begin my live performances.
Give me some background, you were born in Miami but moved North and now largely California. What made you move around, what's your background - you're fathers South American isn't he, where do you like best. Are you settled or is the nomad still in you.
I have an incredible diverse family background. My mother is a Russian Immigrant and my Father is from South America. My parents met in Israel where my brother was born. I was born in Miami and raised in Northern California. I've always been a gypsy though. I began traveling and performing internationally on my own since I was only twelve years old. I've lived all over the world from New York City to Italy. I am truly a Gypsy. My base is in Los Angeles, but I survive best when I'm carrying a suitcase.
And at what point did you realize that you were musical, and at what point did it take over.
My father was the one that got me started singing. He would play the guitar and we would sing the Calypso music of his home country. One minute we would be singing songs like the 'Coconuta Woman' and the next song would be 'Eleanor Rigby'. I started singing at three years old with my father. By seven I was on stage performing live for audiences in local theater. By twelve I was touring the world doing Musical Theater professionally.
What other things have you done, your first things in music, and then up to the first album. You were a musical theatre director - where was that and what were you involved in.
I started off doing talent shows and musical theater as a performer. I trained as a ballet dancer for a short while and I was in choir and drama in high school. When I graduated at sixteen I knew I wanted to be a recording artist. A few years later I ended up in New York City where I trained as an actress and a dancer, after a year in the city I booked the European Tour of the Musical 'FAME' based off the movie and television show. I then returned to the states and originated the role of 'Rusty' in the Broadway First National tour of the movie musical 'FOOTLOOSE' I sang Denise Williams Let's Hear it for the Boy- eight shows a week across America for over a year. I ended up in Los Angeles and continued working as an actress and a singer, when fate found me meeting with Bruce 'Automatic' Vanderveer and then recording 'The St. James Experience'.
And what made you want to do your own thing. And how does Bruce Vanderveers fit in to all this because he's been integral to what you do hasn't he.
I always wanted to do my own thing. Always. I had to pay the rent though and the bills and I was blessed enough to be one of the lucky ones to make a living as a performer. When I met Bruce Automatic Vanderveer I was still trying to make it as an actress, with the hopes that it would be that path of acting that would lead me into the recording studio. Auto just really loved what I had to say and really felt the world needed to hear it. He pushed me to record the album and release it indie. He has really understood where I am coming from as an artist.
And what can we expect from you in the future, both short term, and the bigger plan.
Wow, who knows what the future will bring. I'm just gonna keep making music for now. I hope to capture a larger audience worldwide someday; I hope to be a part of something really beautiful that helps to make this world a more peaceful and loving place to exist in. I just desire for folks to go out and buy the albums and have a chance to experience something new and refreshing.
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