Over the last 37 years, James Lee Stanley (www.jamesleestanley.com) has released a meager 24 albums of original material. As I’ve explored his music, what’s impressed me most is that he’s continued breaking new ground with each project. For example, what you’ll hear on Live at McCabe’s (1986) – see the I Lose You Win video below – has a very different character than the tunes that comprise his most recent album, Backstage at the Resurrection (2010).
So needless to say, the man knows a thing or two about songwriting. He’s also a funny dude, a pleasure to talk to, and generous with his time, wisdom, and vast experience writing, performing, and producing music. In fact, for the past several years he’s been running a website – www.datamusicata.com – which is his platform for sharing ideas and experiences about all elements of his craft. There are some vital insights there for any musician and/or performer.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time chatting with James. We had met before – at his show a few days earlier – so we weren’t strangers when we sat down to talk. He had played at the Triad Theater, a small, sit-down venue in New York City perfect for a stand-up comedian or singer-songwriter. James is both.
So much of what he had to say is so interesting that I decided to break it up into several pieces so I could share as much of it as possible with you, loyal readers of The Acoustic Version. This is the first installment of three – check back each of the next two Sundays for parts 2 and 3.
A James Lee Stanley show is an emotional roller coaster ride. One moment you’re rollicking with laughter, the next you’re completely transfixed by the music. “I give [my audience] a window into everything I’ve got,” he says.
The AV: Let’s talk about songwriting. Can you tell me a little bit about your approach?
JLS: I like to orchestrate the song, and I do it with one guitar so that no one ever goes “Hey, wait a minute! I paid 20 bucks to get in here. Where’s the band?” No one’s every complained there’s no band when I play.
I also take a long time to write my lyrics, and I take a long time to write my songs, and I don’t want the focus to be on the arrangement any less than I want it to be on what I’m trying to say and how poetically I’m saying it. My goal when I write a song is for the lyrics to be able to sit by themselves and work. And if you just heard the melody all by itself, it would work. And then if you heard the guitar part that went behind the song all by itself, it would work. It would be satisfying all by itself. And then I try to combine them so that every aspect of it, every facet of it, is equally valid.
The AV: Some songwriters write to melody; some write to their instrumentation, and there are some who are primarily poets, and they set their stuff to music. But if you’re not privileging one element over the others…
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