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Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...3/25/21

By Danny Coleman

originally published: 03/25/2021

Emily James began what is a very promising career by writing her first music at the tender age of just 10 years old. Claiming influences ranging from classic rockers like Bob Dylan and Fleetwood Mac to recent pop such as Adele; James is that rare combination of driven and passionate yet possesses a softness that makes her the real deal; genuinely likeable with innocence that draws one to her like moths to a flame. 

Moving in pursuit of her career from New York to Nashville and currently residing in Los Angeles, James has worked with Grammy Award winning producers Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves) and Jacquire King (Kings of Leon) and more recently Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Vance Joy). 

With EPs and full length CDs to her credit, along with a well-rounded support system; James has released another EP titled "Wanted You to Know, Pt.1" which debuted in February of this year. She elaborated on the new music, the troubling times and how they are both connected; not only to each other but to all of those who listen to the disc as well.

James delved into her inner-self with this particular effort and along with some co-writes has produced something she is very enthusiastic about; in part because she has also stepped out of her norm with one particular track.

"I'm really excited to have this out," she said excitedly. "The EP is kind of a collection of songs that I had created individually but I wanted to put them together because I felt like the common thread between them was me looking back reflecting on the past, meditating on the present and looking towards the future and that's why it's called, "Wanted You to Know, Pt. 1;" it's all just kind of some of the things that I wanted to say. So, yeah, "don't fall on me" was one of the collaborations; half of the songs were solo writes and half were collaborations and that one has a bit more of a rock sound than the others and it was kind of different than what I've done in the past; I thought I'd try something new."

 

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When asked how she crafts her material, she says that she uses an open-minded approach; especially with "don't fall on me."

"I think it's mainly about; I never really go into a song whether it is writing it or producing it with an intention; I want to frame the songs in the way they're it is supposed to be and treat each individually so that I can honor each song's unique personality. So, for that song I just wanted to make sure, because the content of the lyrics is kind of a battle between the dreamy blissfulness of falling in love but also the fear of not being able to get there with somebody or not being able to give them enough. So, I wanted the production to kind of reflect the angst and the fight between those two feelings."

"There is always a piece of myself in everything that I write," she continued, "It differs how much of that is in there for each song but again, I want the song to have its own life and for people to attach their experiences to it because once I release a song it's not mine anymore; it's the listeners and they are going to have their own life with it; I like to think of it that way. I just hope that my songs can kind of provide something for somebody; see me as a friend that they can talk to or one who is listening because sometimes we have feelings inside that are hard to express or find a way to relate to something and I think that music is so powerful; it's always there for us no matter what we are going through to help us through it. Whether it is a celebration or a heartbreak or feeling lonely; I would just hope that my music will provide that for someone to turn to."

During these COVID times recording artists have been forced to adapt to a seemingly ever-changing landscape. James was no different as she went about putting this EP together.

"It was a combination of recording it in my room and wherever the space was that I wrote the songs with my collaborators. There are six total tracks and I've released four of the songs as singles and then the other two came out when the EP was released on February 26." 

So, now that the EP is out and as the world begins to return to pre-virus normalcy; what are her plans as she looks to the future? 

"I want to create more and hopefully when it is safe to do so; I'd love to get back to performing live and travel to different places to perform. I'm just looking forward to trying out new things with my writing and production and keep creating and once things are safe again just get back to living. I hadn't made any plans to go out on the road yet but I'm hoping to in the near future and I feel very fortunate that even with the pandemic that I was still able to work and create and put out music. I think the hardest part is that I wasn't able to see family and friends that I wasn't living with but if that was my biggest issue I feel very fortunate."

To discover more about Emily James, please visit www.emilyjames.net. 

That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!

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This week's event listings

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Broken Goblet Brewing   
2500 State Road Bensalem, PA   
(267) 812-5653   
Thurs. 7 p.m. Mike Estabrook
Fri. 8:30 p.m. Oliver Dagum
Wed. 8 p.m. Open Mic w/ Cara Cartney 
All Shows 21+

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Championship Bar   
931 Chambers street Trenton   
(609) 396-5457  
Tuesday 8 p.m. "Jam Night" Hosted by Nikki & Caleb   
Ages 21+ 

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COARadio.com     
125 South Main Street Hightstown     
(609) 241-7103
Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Nick Ryan & Bella Liberati w/ Stacy Widelitz, Emilee Swartz

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Cooper's Riverview 
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton 
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 7 p.m. Time Peace
Fri. 7 p.m. Kickbax
Sat. 7 p.m. Led Zeppelin Tribute w/ "The Flying Circus" 
Sun. 11 a.m. "Sunday Latin Brunch" 
Mon. 7 p.m. "Sunny Monday Blues Jam" and Country Music Night
Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ Karen and Mark
All Events Ages 21+

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Dog & Bull Brew House     
810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.     
(215) 788-2855     
Fri. 4 p.m. Skylar Love
Sat. 6 p.m. Tyler Kingsley
Sun. 4 p.m. Eddie

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Eddington House Bensalem
2813 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA
(215) 639-1220
Fri. 8 p.m. Fight Back Home Acoustic Duo
Sat. 8 p.m. Rachel & Ty

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Greenhouse  
90 South Main Street New Hope, PA  
(215) 693-1657  
Thurs. 8 p.m. "Musicians Night Out" Hosted by Lovelight 
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Sam Ryan
Wed. 8 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Dwayne Dunlevy

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Hopewell Valley Vineyards     
46 Yard Avenue Pennington     
(609) 737-4465     
Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. DJ Darius The 1st
Sat. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. The Strange Brew Crew
Sun. 1 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Gian Galiano

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Killarney's Publick House     
1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton    
(609) 586-1166    
Thurs. 5 p.m. "Girls Night Out" w/ Radio Fiction

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Laurita Winery     
85 Archertown Road New Egypt     
(609) 752-0200   
Fri. (6 p.m.) Pasta Night "All You Can Eat." $29  (7:30 p.m.) "Yeast Coast Comedy Night at Laurita" feat. Helene Angley / Tom Mongelli. Doors open at 7 p.m., $25 (Reservations for tables of 2-6 people required)
Sat. 11:30 a.m. "Wine and Friends Weekend" $11
Sun. 12 p.m. "Wine and Friends Weekend" $11

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McGuinn's Place     
1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence     
(609) 392-0599    
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke      
Ages 21+     

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New Egypt Flea Market Village
933 Monmouth County Road Cream Ridge
(609) 758-2082
Sun. 8 a.m. "Chocolate Walk" 
Mon. 5 p.m. "Full Moon Market" (Worm Moon)

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New Hope Winery    
6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA   
(215) 794-2331   
Sun. 1 p.m. Stranger Things

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Newtown Brewing Company
103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8609 
Fri. 7 p.m. Ryan Shubert
Sun. 11 a.m.  Local Artist Fair

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Pasquale's Sports Bar
9078 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(267) 202-6268
Fri. 5 p.m. Happy Hour feat. (TBA)
Sat. 7 p.m. DJ or Live Band Entertainment 
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Quizzo
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic

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Patriots Crossing     
1339 River Road Titusville     
(609) 737-2780    
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night
Wed. 7 p.m. "Quizzo"   

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Ralphie's
2295 2nd Street Pike Newtown, PA
(267) 491-5408
Fri. 7 p.m. Shameless

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Recklesstown Farm Distillery
2800 Route 206 North Columbus
(609) 784-8046
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Trivia

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Revere Restaurant
802 River Road Ewing
(609) 882-6365
Wed. 7 p.m. David Boyd

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Rosedale Mills
101 Route 31 North Pennington
(609) 737-2008
Sat. 1 p.m. Outdoor Line Dancing. $10 (Rain date Sundays 12 p.m.)

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Sav'Aged Designs
110 South Main Street New Hope, PA
(609) 937-6104
Sat. 10 a.m. "Grand Opening" feat. The Art of Adriana Groza

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Temperance House     
5 South State Street Newtown, PA     
(215) 944-8050     
Thurs. 7p.m. "Blues Night" w/ Steve Guyger 
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney 

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TGI Fridays
3535 U.S. Route 1 North #275 Princeton
(609) 520-0378
Fri. 5 p.m. Kim Yarson w/ Joey Yarson

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The Buck Hotel
1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA
(215) 396-2002
Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk

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The Cool Cricket     
216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro     
(609) 291-9110     
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke     
Sat. 8 p.m. Kindred Spirit

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The Irish Horne Bar & Restaurant
882 2nd Street Pike Richboro, PA
(215) 942-4000
Sat. 8 p.m. Stage Left

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Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)     
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.     
(215) 862-8300     
Thurs. 8 p.m. Trivia   
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Stage 
All shows 21+   

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Working Dog Winery     
610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown     
(609) 371-6000 
Sat. 1 p.m. Acoustic Road
Sun. 1 p.m. Bud and Maggs

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WWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio
MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor
Jazzon2.org
Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues" 

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Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 7:000pm EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.

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