Music
Press
June 18th 2008
Local rock/country crooner Jeremiah James has grown up a lot since Boise Weekly reviewed his debut release, Sounds Like Home, in 2005. He moved to Nashville, moved back, cut off his long ponytail and started sporting prescription specs. James' music has also begun to reflect a maturity and a comfort level that only comes with age.
With a new release, Idaho Cowboy (recorded at Project 7 Studios here in town), James pays homage to the Americana musicians who've come before him, singing about women, whisky and a life on the road, and solidifies his reputation as an honest singer/songwriter who pokes fun at himself and exacts a little revenge on a girl or two who's taken Cupid's arrow and busted it across her knees. "Stay Away (From Me)," is about an ex, an issue that James—like any good country singer—often works out in his music: "Don't come knockin' 'round my door, sugar / 'Cause I might just let you in. / I used to love ya / I still love ya / but stay away from me."
The title track of the album was written by local legend Pinto Bennett and co-authored by cowboy poet Baxter Black. And though he didn't write the song, it's a great representation of James' playing and singing style: "He's an Idaho cowboy / no Tennessee plowboy / wild as them Rockies he rides. / A cougar in the canyon / the devil's own companion / riding with a fire in his eyes."
Just because he needs glasses and wears his hair a little shorter, doesn't mean James has slowed down. He rocks the joint Wednesday nights at Pengilly's, and if you look close while he's singing about heartbreak and hooch, you'll see there's still plenty of fire in his eyes. -by Amy Atkins - Boise Weekly
June 18th 2008
Local rock/country crooner Jeremiah James has grown up a lot since Boise Weekly reviewed his debut release, Sounds Like Home, in 2005. He moved to Nashville, moved back, cut off his long ponytail and started sporting prescription specs. James' music has also begun to reflect a maturity and a comfort level that only comes with age.
With a new release, Idaho Cowboy (recorded at Project 7 Studios here in town), James pays homage to the Americana musicians who've come before him, singing about women, whisky and a life on the road, and solidifies his reputation as an honest singer/songwriter who pokes fun at himself and exacts a little revenge on a girl or two who's taken Cupid's arrow and busted it across her knees. "Stay Away (From Me)," is about an ex, an issue that James—like any good country singer—often works out in his music: "Don't come knockin' 'round my door, sugar / 'Cause I might just let you in. / I used to love ya / I still love ya / but stay away from me."
The title track of the album was written by local legend Pinto Bennett and co-authored by cowboy poet Baxter Black. And though he didn't write the song, it's a great representation of James' playing and singing style: "He's an Idaho cowboy / no Tennessee plowboy / wild as them Rockies he rides. / A cougar in the canyon / the devil's own companion / riding with a fire in his eyes."
Just because he needs glasses and wears his hair a little shorter, doesn't mean James has slowed down. He rocks the joint Wednesday nights at Pengilly's, and if you look close while he's singing about heartbreak and hooch, you'll see there's still plenty of fire in his eyes. -by Amy Atkins - Boise Weekly
Feb. 6th 2008
I have a friend whose birthday is Dec. 26. It fell on a Wednesday last year, and I went down to Pengilly's to help her celebrate. Not only because it was a Wednesday but also because it was the day after Christmas, I expected the place to be quiet enough to hear tumbleweeds rolling. When I arrived, the joint was rocking and there wasn't a single damn place to sit. I had forgotten that Jeremiah James plays at Pengilly's Wednesday nights and realized I might as well get used to standing.
Jeremiah James draws a crowd on just about any stage he takes to. His unique style pays homage to country roots but has a firm hold in rock. His honest songwriting, coupled with his bourbon-and-cigarette voice, makes listeners feel as though they're hearing a classic Americana song even if it's the first time James has ever played it.
Leading the charge on acoustic guitar, he shares Pengilly's Wednesday night stage with Rob Hill on bass, Dave Manion on pedal steel, Low-Fi's Mike Rundle on drums and Johnny Shoes on electric guitar. The newly nonsmoking Pengilly's, a venue that lets time just pass it by, is the perfect place to hear James lament on the troubles a country boy can find when he gets mixed up with cheap women and even cheaper whiskey. Just wear comfortable shoes. -by Amy Atkins - Boise Weekly
Feb. 6th 2008
I have a friend whose birthday is Dec. 26. It fell on a Wednesday last year, and I went down to Pengilly's to help her celebrate. Not only because it was a Wednesday but also because it was the day after Christmas, I expected the place to be quiet enough to hear tumbleweeds rolling. When I arrived, the joint was rocking and there wasn't a single damn place to sit. I had forgotten that Jeremiah James plays at Pengilly's Wednesday nights and realized I might as well get used to standing.
Jeremiah James draws a crowd on just about any stage he takes to. His unique style pays homage to country roots but has a firm hold in rock. His honest songwriting, coupled with his bourbon-and-cigarette voice, makes listeners feel as though they're hearing a classic Americana song even if it's the first time James has ever played it.
Leading the charge on acoustic guitar, he shares Pengilly's Wednesday night stage with Rob Hill on bass, Dave Manion on pedal steel, Low-Fi's Mike Rundle on drums and Johnny Shoes on electric guitar. The newly nonsmoking Pengilly's, a venue that lets time just pass it by, is the perfect place to hear James lament on the troubles a country boy can find when he gets mixed up with cheap women and even cheaper whiskey. Just wear comfortable shoes. -by Amy Atkins - Boise Weekly
March 8th 2006
In a world filled with disposable, three-minute pieces of eardrum stimulation, music often becomes a type of sonic wallpaper that is always in the background. Technological innovations like iPods may have taken away a bit of the texture involved in listening to music. There is no longer the physical act of putting a record on a player and sitting down to listen to it. Nostalgic? Maybe. In light of this, a lot of the tunes being made today will not find an ally in time. The pop-hits of yesterday are the kitsch of today.
Not Jeremiah James' songs.
James is a local, country-styled musician making music he believes in. You probably wouldn't guess it if you saw him on the street but James is a walking encyclopedia of rock and country music history. With a little prodding, he'll gracefully tell you where and how the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street was made, what's become of Clarence White's beloved Martin HD-28 guitar, or all about the mystery surrounding Hank William's death. And, sometimes, bits of this kind of information get injected into James' songs:
Sometimes I wish, it was 1955/on my radio--feeling so alive/Hank was already gone--with The Beatles yet to come/at 706 Union Avenue they made records/in the sun.
The reference, of course, is to Sun Records. It was at Sun Records where owner/producer Sam Phillips helped launch the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B. King, among others. Phillips was portrayed in last year's Johnny Cash and June Carter biopic Walk the Line. In the movie, Phillips (played by Dallas Roberts) asks Cash "If you had one song to sing for God and all the world to hear about your experience on earth--what would it be?" And, although James and Phillips will never cross paths, James sings and writes all of his songs as though Phillips' question is tattooed on his arm. James writes each song as if it's the only one, and even though he has only been writing for a year and a half, he's got about 40 tunes. His catalog reads like an encyclopedia of human experience.
"I sing about stuff that is real to me," says James. "I'm really not interested in topics that can't be felt or experienced."
Sun Records is, for the most part, long gone. Since its demise, James feels that country music has seen itself get packaged into a presentation that prefers sentimentality over substance. James says there have been a few exceptions that have slipped past the Nashville gates: Steve Earl, Robert Earl Keen and Todd Snider. But for the most part, the country dial is filled with singers who rarely even write their own songs. This notion was the inspiration for two of James' first songs: "Honkytonk Heroes are Gone," and "Songs on the Radio." The first song is a reference to great songsters who are no longer with us, most specifically, Hank Williams.
All my honkytonk heroes are gone/no more shows and no more new songs/just pictures and records, and old memories/Lord, give them my thanks if you please.
"Songs on the Radio" is a reference to the counterfeit songs that James feels are filling today's radio playlists,
"I was driving around listening to the radio one day--country radio. Don't ask me why I was, I just was. It sounded like hip-hop. I mean hip-hop is all right--just not on a country station," laughs James. He took his disillusionment home with him and penned the following lyrics:
Songs on the radio don't help me today/they all sound too pretty; they got nothing to say/people are looking sexy; but that won't last long/don't seem like country; I could be wrong.
James' first started writing songs in December of 2004. The songs started pouring out of him and within a few months, he played his first gig at The Bouquet. By the summer of 2005, he was recording his first album, Sounds like Home with the help of locals Ben Burdick, Rebecca Scott and others. "It was a great experience. I really didn't know what I was doing. Ben just sort of took me under his wing and helped me make a CD," says James. From there he was featured on KBSU's Music From Stanley radio series, opened for Robert Earl Keen and earned a spot in the singer/songwriter round of Bravo Entertainment's Quest for the Best, where he played a rollicking set with bassist Rob Hill, guitarist Dan Costello, Dobro player Mike Rodgers and hand percussionist Vinnie Mirese.
Wait, a hand percussionist playing with a country player? "Vinnie is my kind of hippie," laughs James. "He plays this tuned Cajon, which is basically a big wood box that sounds like a snare drum. He gets that train rhythm going and I just want to play all night."
While James' professional career was gaining steam, his personal life fell apart. "Let's see, my girlfriend got mad and ended up breaking my prized Maritn--my only guitar--into splinters. Then we broke up and she moved across the country only to get engaged to some guy from the East Coast," recalls James. "It was good, though. I gotta a couple of - Boise Weekly
March 8th 2006
In a world filled with disposable, three-minute pieces of eardrum stimulation, music often becomes a type of sonic wallpaper that is always in the background. Technological innovations like iPods may have taken away a bit of the texture involved in listening to music. There is no longer the physical act of putting a record on a player and sitting down to listen to it. Nostalgic? Maybe. In light of this, a lot of the tunes being made today will not find an ally in time. The pop-hits of yesterday are the kitsch of today.
Not Jeremiah James' songs.
James is a local, country-styled musician making music he believes in. You probably wouldn't guess it if you saw him on the street but James is a walking encyclopedia of rock and country music history. With a little prodding, he'll gracefully tell you where and how the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street was made, what's become of Clarence White's beloved Martin HD-28 guitar, or all about the mystery surrounding Hank William's death. And, sometimes, bits of this kind of information get injected into James' songs:
Sometimes I wish, it was 1955/on my radio--feeling so alive/Hank was already gone--with The Beatles yet to come/at 706 Union Avenue they made records/in the sun.
The reference, of course, is to Sun Records. It was at Sun Records where owner/producer Sam Phillips helped launch the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B. King, among others. Phillips was portrayed in last year's Johnny Cash and June Carter biopic Walk the Line. In the movie, Phillips (played by Dallas Roberts) asks Cash "If you had one song to sing for God and all the world to hear about your experience on earth--what would it be?" And, although James and Phillips will never cross paths, James sings and writes all of his songs as though Phillips' question is tattooed on his arm. James writes each song as if it's the only one, and even though he has only been writing for a year and a half, he's got about 40 tunes. His catalog reads like an encyclopedia of human experience.
"I sing about stuff that is real to me," says James. "I'm really not interested in topics that can't be felt or experienced."
Sun Records is, for the most part, long gone. Since its demise, James feels that country music has seen itself get packaged into a presentation that prefers sentimentality over substance. James says there have been a few exceptions that have slipped past the Nashville gates: Steve Earl, Robert Earl Keen and Todd Snider. But for the most part, the country dial is filled with singers who rarely even write their own songs. This notion was the inspiration for two of James' first songs: "Honkytonk Heroes are Gone," and "Songs on the Radio." The first song is a reference to great songsters who are no longer with us, most specifically, Hank Williams.
All my honkytonk heroes are gone/no more shows and no more new songs/just pictures and records, and old memories/Lord, give them my thanks if you please.
"Songs on the Radio" is a reference to the counterfeit songs that James feels are filling today's radio playlists,
"I was driving around listening to the radio one day--country radio. Don't ask me why I was, I just was. It sounded like hip-hop. I mean hip-hop is all right--just not on a country station," laughs James. He took his disillusionment home with him and penned the following lyrics:
Songs on the radio don't help me today/they all sound too pretty; they got nothing to say/people are looking sexy; but that won't last long/don't seem like country; I could be wrong.
James' first started writing songs in December of 2004. The songs started pouring out of him and within a few months, he played his first gig at The Bouquet. By the summer of 2005, he was recording his first album, Sounds like Home with the help of locals Ben Burdick, Rebecca Scott and others. "It was a great experience. I really didn't know what I was doing. Ben just sort of took me under his wing and helped me make a CD," says James. From there he was featured on KBSU's Music From Stanley radio series, opened for Robert Earl Keen and earned a spot in the singer/songwriter round of Bravo Entertainment's Quest for the Best, where he played a rollicking set with bassist Rob Hill, guitarist Dan Costello, Dobro player Mike Rodgers and hand percussionist Vinnie Mirese.
Wait, a hand percussionist playing with a country player? "Vinnie is my kind of hippie," laughs James. "He plays this tuned Cajon, which is basically a big wood box that sounds like a snare drum. He gets that train rhythm going and I just want to play all night."
While James' professional career was gaining steam, his personal life fell apart. "Let's see, my girlfriend got mad and ended up breaking my prized Maritn--my only guitar--into splinters. Then we broke up and she moved across the country only to get engaged to some guy from the East Coast," recalls James. "It was good, though. I gotta a couple of - Boise Weekly
January 18th 2006
Robert Earl Keen (pictured below) turned his show at the Big Easy into a big party. The night kicked off with local outlaw country musician Jeremiah James. Backed by bassist Rob Hill and lead guitarist Dan Costello, James brought a new respect to local openers. James' tunes featured solid song writing and his timeless bass croon. There was a second opener, Stephen Claire, who is currently on the road with Keen. He had a great voice and well-crafted songs, but he got a bit overshadowed by James' strong performance.
When Keen took the stage, ... -by Ryan Peck - Boise Weekly
January 18th 2006
Robert Earl Keen (pictured below) turned his show at the Big Easy into a big party. The night kicked off with local outlaw country musician Jeremiah James. Backed by bassist Rob Hill and lead guitarist Dan Costello, James brought a new respect to local openers. James' tunes featured solid song writing and his timeless bass croon. There was a second opener, Stephen Claire, who is currently on the road with Keen. He had a great voice and well-crafted songs, but he got a bit overshadowed by James' strong performance.
When Keen took the stage, ... -by Ryan Peck - Boise Weekly
8/22/08
IDAHO COWBOY
Jeremiah James
After a short stint in Nashville in 2007, honky-tonker Jeremiah James returned and recorded this album, realizing that Idaho is home (a natural epiphany for a cowboy with a song called "Meat & Beer"). It's been among the top sellers at the Record Exchange for several weeks. -by Michael Deeds - IdahoStatesman
8/22/08
IDAHO COWBOY
Jeremiah James
After a short stint in Nashville in 2007, honky-tonker Jeremiah James returned and recorded this album, realizing that Idaho is home (a natural epiphany for a cowboy with a song called "Meat & Beer"). It's been among the top sellers at the Record Exchange for several weeks. -by Michael Deeds - IdahoStatesman
August 27th 2008
...Music in the Park will begin with legendary Idaho country musician Muzzie Braun,... and then the Jeremiah James Gang. Jeremiah James is an Idaho singer/songwriter with a new take on an old style. He calls his music a "blend of honkytonk, folk, Americana, roadhouse, and country." The Jeremiah James Gang are regulars at Pengilly's in Boise, and most weekends at the Kasino Klub in Stanley. Besides James, the band consists of Rob Hill on bass, Shakey Dave Manion on lead guitar and pedal steel, Tony "Digger" Lemon on fiddle and Ben Brault on drums. They most recently played at the Northern Rockies Folk Festival in Hailey to enthusiastic crowds. -by Dana Dugan - Idaho Mountain Express
August 27th 2008
...Music in the Park will begin with legendary Idaho country musician Muzzie Braun,... and then the Jeremiah James Gang. Jeremiah James is an Idaho singer/songwriter with a new take on an old style. He calls his music a "blend of honkytonk, folk, Americana, roadhouse, and country." The Jeremiah James Gang are regulars at Pengilly's in Boise, and most weekends at the Kasino Klub in Stanley. Besides James, the band consists of Rob Hill on bass, Shakey Dave Manion on lead guitar and pedal steel, Tony "Digger" Lemon on fiddle and Ben Brault on drums. They most recently played at the Northern Rockies Folk Festival in Hailey to enthusiastic crowds. -by Dana Dugan - Idaho Mountain Express
July 30th 2008
Jeremiah James Gang
This Idaho band rocks the house on every outing. A little bit outlaw country with a dash of folk storytelling, the Jeremiah James Gang plays original material as well as covers of everything from Hank Williams to Hank III. Some of their influences are Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Gram Parsons. -by Dana Dugan - Idaho Mountain Express
July 30th 2008
Jeremiah James Gang
This Idaho band rocks the house on every outing. A little bit outlaw country with a dash of folk storytelling, the Jeremiah James Gang plays original material as well as covers of everything from Hank Williams to Hank III. Some of their influences are Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Gram Parsons. -by Dana Dugan - Idaho Mountain Express
Discography
"Sounds Like Home" released in 2005
"1955" EP limited release in 2006
"Idaho Cowboy" released in 2008
Band has been featured on the NPR show "Music from Stanley". Songs from "Idaho Cowboy" are in rotation at Boise State Radio.
Photos
Bio
Jeremiah James never performed his own music until he was 26 years old. The defining moment for him was when his best friend died in a tragic car accident. Realizing that life was too short to not pursue his dream, he wrote his first song, about his friend, then sang it at an open mic weeks later. He hasn't had a "real" job since. He's continued to write and perform his songs, influenced heavily by the music he heard as a kid. Simple, straight forward songs that people can relate to. Those old country songs about living hard and loving fast(and vice versa) were more than just melodies to Jeremiah, they were a way of life. He committed himself to being as honest in his songs as he could stand. No personal subject was off limits; a father who left, losing a friend, leaving a woman. Blessed with a booming baritone voice, that draws comparisons to his heroes, and his natural(deceptively simple) songwriting, he soon attracted some of the hottest players in Idaho. In a years time the Gang had a steady following around southern Idaho. To date they have opened or shared the stage with Sara Evans, Robert Earl Keen, Shooter Jennings, Eilen Jewel, Dale Watson, Train Wreck, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Shurman, Reckless Kelly, Tift Merritt, Mickey & the Motorcars, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and many more. The band consists of "Shakey" Dave Manion - known as the honkiest, tonkiest guitar player around. He's earned his chops playing in bars since he was 16. Bernie Reilly - a multi instrumentalist and talented singer/songwriter. He has performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ben "Tank" Brault - first played drums with the Kings of Swing at the tender age of 12 and plays like the next Richie Albright. Rob Hill - one of the few people in Idaho to get a bachelors degree in electric bass. And it shows. The Jeremiah James Gang have set themselves apart with personal songwriting, hot playing, an energetic and entertaining live show, and that certain intangible thing you hope feel when you see a new band.
Jeremiah James Gang
518 Pierce St.
Boise ID 83712
701-721-3627
Links
