This is the third and final installment of a three part conversation with James Lee Stanley. In the first installment (read it here), James talked about the process of songwriting. In the second (read it here), he discussed his approach to playing someone else’s music in a new and interesting way, as well as the importance of studying and learning from the greats.
One of the things that sets James apart from a lot of solo and/or acoustic performers is the combination of preparation and natural ease that he brings to his performances. To understand how he crafts a successful show, I probed a bit into his process – much as I did with songwriting and interpreting other artists’ music – as well as to draw out some of the emotional and aesthetic dynamics that arise between the performer and the audience.
I’ve tried to get out of James’ way, and to let him teach us a little something about three elements of musicianship – writing, interpreting, and performing – which all too often get overshadowed by technique. Technical ability is crucially important (it goes without saying), but it is the how, not the what (and certainly not the why), and it can distract from the core objectives of music: emotion, invention, and communication. So without further ado, a man who brings all of these elements to life.
James playing “Going Back to Memphis.” “I want to enrich [the audience] and, if I have any enlightenment to give them, I want to give it to them and I want them to feel good about themselves and good about the world and good about the possibility of a better world,” he says.
The AV: When we spoke before your show, you mentioned that you get to the venue a few hours beforehand and sit and play and focus in.
JLS: Yeah, I like to do that.
The AV: Do you drill?
JLS: No. I sing songs that I’m working on. Like, I haven’t done [Backstage at the Resurrection] yet – so I have been singing those songs because I’m trying to own them for live performances. I mean, I love my record of them but that’s a different palette than on the stage with one guitar. So I play those songs. And then as it closes in on it I pick the song I’m going to open with and sometimes I’ll play it for 20 minutes, just over and over again.
The AV: You talk about owning the song. What does that mean?
Read the rest of this entry »