James Reams & The Barnstormers
Litchfield Park, Arizona, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
James is such an inspiration to watch. He truly feels his music, and sings from his very soul…. If James is ever within your area, he is a ‘must see’ bluegrass icon.
- Jerry Paul (former editor)
Review of "One Foot in the Honky Tonk" released in 2011: “With a voice like Del McCoury's, Reams has captured the feel of old honky-tonk jukebox music. ‘I Can't Settle Down’ is a great example of what Reams and the Barnstormers can do. ‘Snake Eyes’ is an original Reams tune about bad luck and gambling, with clean instrumentals and surprising harmonies on the chorus… Reams' style turns even this topic into a song you might dance to on a Saturday night.” - JP Tausig
“James Reams and the Barnstormers have built a solid reputation for lively, spirited, soulful, no-frills-added bluegrass with a nice mix of traditional numbers, covers and originals. Fronted by his rustic and rural lead vocals, they dish up exciting bluegrass in a classic old-school style of yesteryear…A honky tonk is a tawdry bar, nightclub or dance hall, and this album has plenty of songs that belong on today's jukeboxes and ipods.” - Joe Ross, Reviewer
Review written 3/28/12: "A friend and I recently headed up to Altadena’s “Coffee Gallery Backstage”…to catch the one night only, original bluegrass musical stylings and “down home” humor of Arizona-based solid front man (vocalist/guitarist) James Reams & The Barnstormers… As a bonus treat, Grand Ole Opry musician and legendary bluegrass fiddler, Blaine Sprouse, was featured the night we went… This accomplished band’s music and collective onstage effort is easy, breezy, and fun lovin’. Great pickin’, meaningful songs, and plenty of spontaneous chatter…color their set with country style. They combined tasty vocal harmonies, good clean fun, and instrumental skill, throughout their infectiously likeable set." - Pat Taylor, Nite Lites Column
Review of One Foot in the Honky Tonk, 2011 “[James Reams and the Barnstormers] have been around almost two decades, playing their own style of music. James’ music is hardcore traditional bluegrass and acoustic music. There’s no indication that he feels bound to the Monroe tradition and you’ll hear some old-time sound in his music, but if he isn’t in the same vein of coal with Monroe he’s certainly in the same coal mine.” - Larry Stephens
Discography
To date, James Reams has released eight CDs including a special DVD documentary of the band. His original songs (alone and co-written with Tina Aridas) are important additions to the bluegrass repertoire, keeping this tradition alive with contemporary issues and new sounds.
“One Foot in the Honky Tonk” was released in 2011. In a review of this CD, Larry Stephens of Lonesome Road Review wrote: ““[James Reams and the Barnstormers] have been around almost two decades, playing their own style of music. James’ music is hardcore traditional bluegrass and acoustic music. There’s no indication that he feels bound to the Monroe tradition and you’ll hear some old-time sound in his music, but if he isn’t in the same vein of coal with Monroe he’s certainly in the same coal mine.” David Teplyske, Fervor Coulee Bluegrass, stated ““[James Reams &] The Barnstormers' 2011 release ‘One Foot in the Honky Tonk’ was one of the finest bluegrass albums of last year and certainly one of my favorites… It is a bluesy album, one that is every inch bluegrass but dripping with the blues and country sounds that informs it.”
Other releases include:
•Wild Card ~ James Reams, Walter Hensley and the Barons of Bluegrass, 2006
•Troubled Times (CD + DVD) ~ James Reams & The Barnstormers, 2005
•James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass (self-titled), 2002 (Nominated by IBMA as Recording Event of the Year in 2002)
•Barnstormin’ ~ James Reams & The Barnstormers, 2001
•The Mysterious Redbirds (1992-1998) ~ James Reams, Tom Paley & Bill Christophersen), 2000
•The Blackest Crow ~ James Reams, 2000
•Kentucky Songbird ~ James Reams, 1993
Watch for the upcoming 2013 release of the documentary film “Pioneers of Bluegrass Music” scheduled to coincide with James’ 20th anniversary as a band leader.
Photos
Bio
James Reams formed the Barnstormers in 1993. Coming from a family of traditional singers in southeastern Kentucky, James has played both old-time and bluegrass music since he was just a little sprout.
James’ guitar playing has been highlighted in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine's “Masters of Rhythm Guitar”. In article for RAMagazine, Jared Morningstar wrote "Reams is a wonderful bluegrass vocalist and delivers each song with a voice straight out of the 1940s." In her book Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass, Stephanie P. Ledgin singled out James as an artist to watch. She wrote “James Reams and the Barnstormers rely on early country material and originals written in authentic style. The results are a virtual history of the music and its roots, played in a clean, heartfelt manner that is somewhere between Monroe’s and the Stanleys’.”
His dedication to and deep involvement in the thriving bluegrass and Americana music community has earned him an "Ambassador of Bluegrass" title. He is also the organizer of the Park Slope Bluegrass Oldtime Music Jamboree, an annual music festival he started in 1998 that attracts musicians and fans of traditional music to its workshops, jamming and concerts - the only event of its kind in or around New York City.
In 2013 the band will be promoting its’ 20-year anniversary with a Coast-to-Coast Celebration featuring special guest performances and reunions with previous band members. To coincide with the Celebration, James plans to release another documentary, Pioneers of Bluegrass Music, in which he interviews first generation bluegrass musicians about life on the road in the early days, capturing and preserving forever this tasty slice of America’s musical pie for the future.
When James Reams and legendary fiddler Blaine Sprouse play together it’s like seeing bluegrass history come alive on the stage. Both men have made significant contributions to preserving the roots of bluegrass while also bringing musical sparks through their own compositions that ignite and keep today’s bluegrass burning hot. Blaine is teaming up with James Reams & The Barnstormers at selected venues.
Blaine Sprouse performed on the Grand Ole Opry for over 15 years. Blaine has toured nationally and internationally and recorded with a stunning array of legendary bluegrass and country artists, among them, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, Charlie Louvin, Alabama, Randy Travis, Glen Campbell, and the Osborne Brothers. His solo recordings are available on the Rounder and Cumberland Record labels.
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