Pat James - Interviews



By JB - AZNightBuzz - August 11, 2006
www.AZNightBuzz.com

AZNightBuzz: Please tell the readers something about your musical background

Pat James: I didn't have any professional musicians in my family, although my mom sang and played a little guitar and piano as a hobby. My dad had probably the best singing voice I ever heard, but rarely shared it with anyone. I asked for a guitar when I was 9 so I could play rock 'n' roll with my friends. By the time I was 14 I was strictly country, and learning to sing and play Hank Williams and Marty Robbins songs.

AZNB: Who are the members of your band and how long have you been playing with them?

PJ: Danny Sneed plays pedal steel and has been with me about 15 years. I tell people the only compliment ever from him is that he's been with me that long. He's the best. I'll take it.
Larry Bailey has been my drummer for probably 12 years, and my favorite one for sure. He has great feel, energy, and awesome vocals. Randy Guinn is the new guy on bass. He rolled into town a couple of years ago and found me at the perfect time. He's a great guy. Best bass player/singer I ever had. This is the best group by far I've ever had. They all know country music, and make this job so easy.

AZNB: I saw you last night at the Buffalo Chip Saloon. How long have you been playing there and can you tell us something about the bar and its history?

PJ: I've been there for 13 years. The building is very old. I hear it was a bait shop. It was later the Maverick Saloon. About 16 years ago it became the Buffalo Chip and was owned by Marla McGee (daughter of Green Bay Packer legend Max McGee). For the last 6 or 7 years it has belonged to Larry Wendt, whose catering company cooked steak and fish on the porch weekend nights before he purchased the place.

AZNB: Is the place family-owned and operated? Have you had the pancakes? They looked awesome.

PJ: Yeah, I would say Larry's a hell of a good family guy - as far as owner/operators go. The pancakes are awesome. The late night breakfast is a new thing. Good home style cooking starting at midnight Fridays and Saturdays and going all night. It's the only real food you'll find in the area at those hours. Just about anything you would want.

AZNB: In your bio on your Web site you talk about the idea of "true country". What is it and why are you so drawn to it? Is there an era of classic country you play most often?

PJ: Country to me is just real music - real instruments, real singers, and real stories. It's not old or new. There was bad, pop-sounding old stuff just like there is horrible crap being called country these days. They used to say Buck Owens was rock 'n' roll because he had drums. I think he's country as hell! I don't get in those silly arguments. When you hear a country song, you should know it before the intro's done.

AZNB: Name a few favorites (artists or songs) and why they are special to you.

PJ: Marty Robbins - maybe the greatest overall talent - singer, songwriter and performer. Gene Watson is another hero of mine. I always mention him because I think he is the most under recognized country singer ever. He can sing a country song like no one can.
I like so many. I go on kicks. I'll listen to Buck Owens until I run out. Then it might be George Jones. Oh! I can listen to Bob Wills almost for forever. Merle, various Mels, old Willie, Waylon, Hanks, Faron Young, Ray Price, etc.

AZNB: I know this is a broad and difficult topic, but why do you think radio country is so terrible?

PJ: I kind of touched on it earlier, but it has no identity. Nashville is trying too hard to be the coolest kid on campus. The desire for mass appeal will never result in quality country music. Find a new name for it then let country producers produce country for a country audience. Too many demographic studies or something. Maybe it's just the videos. When's the last time the Horizon Award (a type of "best new artist" award from the Country Music Association) went to a skinny, ugly kid that looked like a wing nut, but sang his ass off?!

AZNB: Do you write your own music? If so, do you play them live or stick to covers?

PJ: I do. Well, I used to. I quit writing a few months ago. It wasn't as hard as it sounds. But, I do mix in my originals. I really enjoy when people request my songs by name - like, "number six off the first CD." I get all proud and think to myself "Yeah, I wrote that!"

AZNB: On your site it mentions a couple of experiences in Nashville. What made you go out there and what brought you back?

PJ: I was taken there twice by different producers to record demos. Both times I backed out of the deal. Maybe I was stubborn. Maybe I was stupid or smart. Either way, I probably wasn't ready. I am so much better at this then I was then.

AZNB: When we spoke you mentioned Harlan Howard, writer of many notable songs including "I Fall to Pieces," gave you a song. How did that come about and what did you do with the material?

PJ: One of those producers introduced me to him, and we had lunch two or three times. He listened to a couple of songs I did and liked my voice. So, he gave me a song to add to the demo, but it went in the trash with everything else from those sessions.

AZNB: You also talked about Waylon, who came out to the saloon shortly before he passed and checked out your set. Did you guys hang out?

PJ: Yes. I was always afraid to approach him but he would send someone to get me. He was very easy to talk to. He made me feel comfortable. I told him my dad had known him years ago and said he was an asshole. Waylon laughed and said "Yeah, I probably was." The last time he was in, he wanted to sing with us. He had had a couple of strokes, and they told me I might have to help him with the words. I was nervous for myself and him. It was almost spiritual. He was sharp as could be. He told jokes and sang perfectly! It was Waylon's voice in his prime coming through my PA. It was the greatest four-song show ever. The word got out quick. By the end of his first song, it was standing room only. You wouldn't believe the energy. And he was smiling and nodding at me to take a guitar solo. The highlight of my life. I was later told that ended up being his last show.

AZNB: You are a native of Arizona, as I am, and I think I gathered you grew up in the area of Cave Creek. Why did you stay in the area and how has it changed since you were a kid?

PJ: I grew up in northwest Phoenix (now known as Phoenix). I moved to this area about eight years ago. It's my favorite settled area in the world.

AZNB: Your music has taken you all over the world. What was a fun/strange experience you had in another country?

PJ: A lot of it was fun and strange. We played some big stages and shows, but somehow we got booked in a French bowling alley one night. Yes, we bowled free afterwards.

AZNB: You have a couple of albums. Are the songs on the record covers or originals? Who released them and how is the most recent one doing? If someone wants to buy one how can they?

PJ: I do. The first one is mostly all originals (Some Like It Country), and the second has more covers (It's My Life). You can get them at PatJames.net. They are also on iTunes.

AZNB: Besides loving and playing authentic country and donning boots and a hat onstage, you also enjoy real cowboy stuff like calf roping and occasionally compete. How did you get into this and have you ever worked as a cowboy?

PJ: I wasn't born into it, but always wanted to be a cowboy. I was lucky enough to know a lot of people who were kind enough to share their knowledge with me. I love calf roping, but some of my favorite memories have been cowboying outside. My favorite being catching wild cows with my old partner.









By Stan - Music Box Radio - (excerpt of the interview recorded in July 2005)


Stan: I'd like to introduce you to my "coup de coeur" of this summer. I was lucky enough to meet him in Luxemburg, at the end of his 3rd tour in Europe. Here is Mister Pat James.
Where are you from, Pat ?
Pat: I'm from Phoenix, Arizona. Born and raised.

Stan : Country music, why ?
Pat : When I was very young, I was listening to Hank Williams, Marty Robbins... I guess it was unusual for a kid but that's what I did. And I was learning old songs. I love George Strait's older stuff, when he added western swing, when he brought back the old western swing, Bob Wills music, to the main public.

Stan : What do you think of the European public ?
Pat : This is my third trip to France and everybody has been very nice to me. And I appreciate greatly what the radios people have done for me. I hope I'll come back !

Stan ; When will you record your next CD ?
Pat : Next year, I hope !







By Bernard Dagorn - Country-France - December 2004
www.country-france.com

BD: It is your first album. For how long have you been thinking about this project?
PJ: I'd been thinking, or dreaming rather, of recording an album for most of my life. Actually being able to do it was a different story. When the opportunity and invitation to do it was given to me, I really started thinking about it.

BD: Is "Some Like It Country" a personal choice for your album's title?
PJ: Yes. It just came to me.

BD: The first song is "Bud's Pearl". Is it a song you wrote for Bud and Theresa Pearl Benson? These people seem to have a strong influence on you. Why?
PJ: There are several reasons. Bud is one of the best all around cowboys on the planet. He taught me more about cowboying and horses than anyone. They are both great horse people, and I admire them both for that. More so, I admire their relationship. They are perfect together.

BD: "Doggone Cowboy", a tribute to Marty Robbins. Why this song and this artist? Is there any particular reason?
PJ: I would like to do more of a tribute to Marty Robbins. If I had to pick a musical hero, it would be him. He was the greatest singer/songwriter/performer combination ever, in my opinion. That song was simply a great, little known song I thought I should record. (Big hit with the dancers also!)

BD: And for "Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart" by Liz Anderson?
PJ: Again, a forgotten song that I loved singing.

BD: You sing a Rick James' song, are you related?
PJ: Yes, he is my younger brother. He shares the same love of country music that I have. Songwriting is his outlet, or maybe more appropriately, his way to contribute to it.

BD: Did you write songs especially for the making of your album or were they already written?
PJ: One song (Just Fillin' In) was written well before the album. Another song was start of the album. I was asked by my future manager at the time, Isabelle Pierson, to write a song for a film project. I had never written on demand before, but by some miracle, I came up with "City Lights". Pleased by the song (I think), she encouraged me to keep writing and to record an album. I said "O.K". Thank you Isabelle.

BD: Marty Robbins, Eddy Arnold, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Buck Owens, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Faron Young, Webb Pierce. Are these artists your inspiration, do they influence your music and songwriting?
PJ: Definitely. These people and more. I think anyone that is going to sing a country song, or try to write a country song, should beforehand be totally saturated with music by these true country greats.

BD: Danny Sneed, your pedal steel guitar, has been with you since the beginning of your career. It's more than friendship, now is there any complicity between you?
PJ: Yes, we are friends, but I'll always consider him a mentor whether he likes it or not. I tell people that the greatest compliment he's given me is that he's still playing with me. he and his family have so much talent and history in country music, it's an honor to be on stage with him.

BD: Your album was released in 2001, do you think you'll release another one soon?
PJ: Yes, early spring 2005.

BD: Do you have a message for readers and listeners?
PJ: I really appreciate the way everyone has treated me over there. I look forward to meeting more of you next year!