James Dalton is a performer, a storyteller, and a musician. He’s someone who has managed to perform around the world based solely on talent and ambition. James was featured several times in my old Upstage Magazine and is still very much active today. In fact, he’s about to compete for the third time in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and will debut his new show, “Asbury Park & Me,” at the Brighton Fringe festival a few weeks later.
The International Blues Challenge takes place May 6-9 in Memphis. The Brighton Fringe (England’s largest arts festival) takes place May 6 to June 5th with James Dalton performing May 30 to June 5th.
James is representing the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation for the IBC and they are holding a Get Out of Town fundraiser on May 1st at Salty's (formerly Paul's Tavern) in Lake Como. The goal is to raise funds for James and the ShadeTree Mechanics, the band that will also represent the JSJBF in Memphis. James Dalton has also set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds for both trips. Considering costs include flights, hotels, and food for many days, he could use some help.
Let’s start with “Asbury Park & Me” - how would you describe the show?
Asbury Park & Me is a little bit of a celebration of my time learning about music and performing. It’s a little bit of remembrance, but also kind of an insider take. Even though I’m not really an insider in the traditional sense, I did work at clubs, I booked at clubs, I managed one of the clubs for a while, and I got to work with not only all the key local people, but with a lot of national acts as well. So, I got to see the business from the inside in Asbury.
Would you call yourself the Kevin Bacon of Asbury Park? Could people play the Six Degrees of James Dalton?
Actually, you could probably play a Kevin Bacon game with me and everyone in A.P. right now… maybe for the last 20 years even.
So the show is highlights of your career, things your remember, people you’ve bumped into, funny stories, and songs. Is that right?
It’s going to be a mixture of everything you just said. There are going to be songs that people will know that I’m going to sing. I’m clearly going to do some Bruce (Springsteen) and some other “Jersey Shore favorites.” But there’s going to be stories about how I learned those songs or about how I spent time at Asbury Blues or the Stone Pony. There’s going to be a mixture of just shooting from the hip and some prepared stuff.
You’re going to bring the Brighton audience to Asbury, eh?
I’m going to try and bring the audience to Asbury. Those fans of the Sound of Asbury Park and the “New Asbury Park” if you will - for fans of those sounds, I’m going to try to fill in some holes for them; answer whatever questions I can. I’m not coming from the bottom of the barrel, but the ground floor of Asbury at The Saint, the Wonder Bar, the Pony, and even beyond that. There are music venues in Asbury that I got to be a part of which had a major sway in the way that Asbury moved forward. Places like El Lobo Negro Art Gallery and Moonrock; obviously there are more as well, but those are a couple of places I spent a lot of time in and played a lot of music in. And those were pivotal places.
All I want to do with the audience is take them from Point A and bring them to Point B. I don’t know where Point B is, I just want to take them there.
The show will debut at the Brighton Fringe Festival, have you been to that festival before?
No, it’s a new experience for me. I have a few friends who have been involved in the festival. My friend Julian (Caddy) is the director and because he was there I was inspired to reach out to them. He ran some venues in Edinburgh when I was there in 2007 and that’s when I got to know him and some of his colleagues. We’ve continued talking since then and I met up with some of them in New York and Sweden and different places over the years. Finally I get the opportunity to go and return to the U.K. to do a theatre festival, it just seemed perfect to do Brighton this time.
Any plans to record audio or video of your performances?
Yes, I’m hoping to record all seven shows that I’m doing. If I get good audio or video content, I can release a video or an album. There might be a show live streamed by the festival as well.
This is show that's Asbury Park and me, it’s not just the insider story. It’s about what Asbury means to me as a town, as a place where I’ve played all this music since the 90s. There are songs and stories. I might do seven shows with new stories each night! I could make up a whole new show each night and I’m not saying I won’t do that. Who knows?
When I did “Shanghai to Memphis” in Edinburgh back in 2007, I started my show with an idea of what I was going to do each night. There was a plan for every night. It was going to be like what Springsteen did on Broadway. Bruce had his show written out. He told the same stories and played that same songs and that was great. I had that plan took, but as soon as I was introduced in Edinburgh, I cracked one little joke because I needed to tune the guitar quickly. I stepped away from the microphone a moment after being introduced. I stood away from the microphone, trying to put my foot on the floor in front of the stage and said, “Give me a second, I need to tune quick.” It was as if the show hadn’t really started because I wasn’t at the microphone any more.
I literally tried to do an off the mic moment and the whole audience, for some reason, thought it was hilarious. At that very moment, it felt so good to get such a spontaneous, natural laugh. In that instant I said, ‘Fuck my entire show, fuck my plan; I’m just going to be spontaneous for the next 15 nights and hope for the best!” The minute I said that, things just felt better - more right. That attitude changed not only what the show was going to do, but it changed who I became actually. I was not afraid to say I’m going to do whatever I want on stage and feel good doing it. It led to the show getting four stars from two different papers.
You’ve said that you don’t want to do the show in New Jersey, but could you see it combined with tour dates elsewhere in the future?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m hoping to do a tour in Europe this Fall. I’d like to pair Asbury Park & Me with some concerts in Scandinavia or Italy. I can do the show in America in places distant from New Jersey… like states where Jersey seems like a foreign country.
Let’s move on to Memphis. Do you remember when you played the International Blues Challenge (IBC) before?
I was in the IBC twice. This is the last time I’m allowed - you’re only allowed three times now. So, this is my last hurrah.
I won the regional in 2004 and flew to Shanghai. Worked the bar at Shanghai for a few weeks and then flew from Shanghai to Memphis to compete in the 2005 competition. I did the competition again with Arlan Feiles as a duo in 2008.
What kind of set do they have you do? It is all originals? A mix? Anything goes?
Well, the International Blues Challenge wants you to be original or as original as possible. Meaning they want you to do original work, but if you do a cover song they want you to do it your way. They don’t want 100 guitar players to show up trying to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan. If you’re going to do a cover song, they want you to do it in an original way.
What do you think you’re going to do?
Well, I’m representing the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation… I’m definitely playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. I’ll play both of them together, but I’ll also do something that’s kind of a signature thing of mine where I’m stomping my foot, playing harmonica, and I’m shouting and singing and stuff.
I have a very special song planned. I’m actually doing a blues version of a Springsteen song because I am from New Jersey after all. I’m going to be going down there and playing against all these Southern blues people. I can’t just go down there and try to sound like a Southern guy… it’s not going to work. So, I’m going to be a Jersey dude doing Jersey stuff; bringing a Bruce Springsteen song to the mix and turning it into a blues song.
I was going through some of the music you’ve released in the past decade and came across “Sweet Son of Mine.” That’s definitely one of my favorites.
I don’t know if you know the story behind that or not… It was literally written the very next day. My son was born in the Long Branch hospital. Obviously, the hospital wants parents to stay there for a couple of days. My son was born just after midnight on the 21st - like 12:26am or something like that. So, the following day, my son was sleeping in his crib, I had my guitar with me, and I literally started writing the song.
You wrote it in the hospital?
In the hospital… I was plucking around to him while he was asleep. That’s the context of the song. It’s a lot more than me at home remembering the day he was born; it was me with the very first day I had him.
That song was from 2015. Seven years later, how has raising your son changed you as an artist and changed your outlook on life overall?
Well, I’m not sure how many people say this, but my son is really the only purpose worth having. When I was a little kid, music was my vehicle to get me around the world. That was literally how I thought - if I played music, I could run around the world. And years later, that’s what I did.
Now, it’s not necessarily about me getting around the world playing music, it’s about getting around the world building the bridges that will get him around the world next. I’m not saying he’s going to turn into a musician, but all the people I meet, all the networking I do, and all the contacts I make is like a little black book that I’m compiling so I can hand it to him one day and say, “Call any one of these people around the world; they’ve got your back.” That’s what I’m trying to build now and music is the way I can build that.
I ain’t going to have any money to give him, so I’ve got to give him something. I’m broke and I’m going to stay broke, but at least I can give him a really good rolodex of people that will take care of him.
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation's "Get Out of Town Fundraiser" will take place on on May 1st at Salty's (1705 Main Street in Lake Como at 2:00pm. There is a $10 suggested donation.
To contribute to the James Dalton GoFund campaign, click here.
