Tristan James

Artist Information

Biography

Tristan James has been performing nationally since 2001. Aside from is work as an entertainer, he is a community organizer and educator, as well as a music producer and recording engineer.

Tristan, 25, was born in Canada and has lived in London, LA, Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago. Tristan grew up in the rave scene performing throughout the Midwest. As a kid, his clashes with the law drove him into politics and social awareness. He grew determined to get an education at any cost. He is now a classically trained musician/composer and also has a bachelor's degree in audio and engineering and a graduate degree in arts management. Thanks to his past influences and study of politics, philosophy, and music, Tristan now strives to provide entertainment as a revolutionary artist and writer, while spreading the message of liberation and creating real social change.

Tristan James is also a founding member and artist at Proletariat Productions, Chicago's socially conscious record label.

Tristan also helps manage an online music journal called United Front and publishes a globally distributed PodCast. He interviews musicians, artists, activists and others, in an attempt to understand and promote the revolutionary artists movement.

Instrumentation

Aside from singing, Tristan often plays a variety of instruments in his live shows including trombone, piano/synths, guitars, didgeridoos, and harmonica. He also plays percussion with found objects and plays non-traditional instruments. He often performs with a collective of talented Chicago musicians but can also perform solo shows in smaller venues. His flexibility in show production allows his show to transition between a quiet coffee shop and larger surround sound, laser light and video projection easily.

Talent Roster:
Tristan James – Trombone, Piano/synth, Guitars, Didgeridoos, Harmonica
Celine Z – Vocals, Synths
Syntax – Vocals
Avery R. Young – Vocals
Ines Kembel – Vocals
Matthew Muniz – Piano
Dan Godston – Trumpet

Discography

LEAVES FALL
(Released Feb. 2, 2007) Debut album of Tristan James. A fusion of trip hop, industrial, gospel, jazz, and rock.

STATE OF EMERGENCY (2006)
A compilation produced by Proletariat Productions as a fundraiser for World Can't Wait - Drive Out The Bush Regime. Tristan also produced many of the songs on the album which includes artists such as Pulitzer Prize winning author, Studs Terkel, Radio Mango, Mind's Hideaway, and Avery R Young.

THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN - EP(2005)

Radio & Television:
Tristan James' music has been featured on
The Wizard, from Northeastern University: WZRD 88.3 www.wzrdchicago.com
Radio Arte: WRTE 90.5
WCRX - Chicago Underground
CAN-TV

Official Website

http://www.proletariatproductions.com

Audio

• UNITED
  Listen   Download
• WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD HATES YOU
  Listen   Download
• PREACHING TO THE CHOIR
  Listen   Download
• COWBOY
  Listen   Download
• WE DEMAND CHANGE
  Listen   Download
• SOLITUDE
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• UNITED
• WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD HATES YOU
• PREACHING TO THE CHOIR
• COWBOY
• WE DEMAND CHANGE
• SOLITUDE

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• mind's hideaway [+ Show ]
  

  Mind’s Hideaway: going nowhere Blending a soulful mix of Green Day, Incubus, Sublime, & Jimi Hendr...Mind’s Hideaway: going nowhere
  Blending a soulful mix of Green Day, Incubus, Sublime, & Jimi Hendrix, the foursome have transcended stylistic conventions & found a sound that just, well, rocks.
  ~Nick Bajzek, Staff Writer, Concert Preview www.mindshideaway.com
  

• avery r. young [+ Show ]
  

  well there’s one thing that i know, the bush regime has got to go... avery r. young: eyes on the pri...well there’s one thing that i know, the bush regime has got to go... avery r. young: eyes on the prize
  A feature on HBO, BET, MTV, he has won poetry slams across the U.S. He classifies his writing & performance as, “urban hymns you find at a Sunday mornin’ juke joint.”
  www.x-bout.com/aroma/feature.html
  

• Chicago Benefit for Victims of Police Brutality [+ Show ]
  

  "...Performing at the benefit were Tristan James and AJ Viola from Proletariat Productions and Bagwi..."...Performing at the benefit were Tristan James and AJ Viola from Proletariat Productions and Bagwis, a Filipino pro-people folk rock group. Tristan James is a versatile artist who combines hip-hop, jazz and modern rhythms to deliver a message of resistance and revolution. Bagwis is a powerful ensemble that advocates for the liberation struggle in the Philippines and for immigrant rights here in the U.S. AJ Viola’s spoken word, accompanied by Tristan James on trombone, was a poignant meditation on the source of violence and oppression in U.S. society..."
  
  

Setlist

Tristan James can perform with several production levels ranging from small bar/coffee house sets or lager stage productions with lighting, video projection, and surround sound audio.

His usual set is very dynamic and keeps crowds on their toes with ambient, down-tempo songs, transitioning to raging electronic music, then shifting into exciting dance rhythms. TJ blends many genres while interspersing his more popular songs like "Cowboy," United," We Demand Change," "Preaching to the Choir," and "Solitude."

Set times are flexible (45-120 min), but should be scheduled in advance as the show requires some preproduction programming.

Sample Set List:
Eros 3:53
Preaching to the Choir 6:01
I'll Take You There 4:02
Acceptance 4:22
Are You Aware? 2:26
What I Am Thinking 2:21
Solitude 6:27
Leaves Fall 4:59
The Guns of Brixton 5:02
Cowboy 6:14
Our World 0:47
When The Whole World Hates You 5:26
United 5:35
We Demand Change 4:26
Falling Like the Rain 4:56
Let it Burn 6:56

Basic Requirements

Calendar