Biography:

Overview

Combine one singer-songwriter's fascination with the acoustic guitar in an amalgamation of Folk, Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel, add a social conscience, a hunger for the written word, and a love for singing and entertaining, and you've got Jeff James. With over 5000 performances and 8 albums and a live DVD under his belt, Jeff has become an extremely versatile performer, adapting to whatever his environment throws at him.
As a nationally accredited guitarist, Jeff finds ways of 'wow'-ing audiences with his percussive playing style along with some beautiful fingerstyle picking. Add silky but somehow gritty vocals (a cross combination of James Taylor and Gary Allan) which have been described as "unique" and "gripping" and you've found a show that people keep coming back to.

The Difference: The Live Show:
Jeff James is a talented live looping performer with over 25 years of experience entertaining audiences across the country. He spent seven of those years performing in Nashville, honing his craft and perfecting his sound before moving to Minnesota where he has been live looping for the past 18 years.

Jeff's live looping shows are a unique and captivating experience for music lovers of all ages. He uses a variety of instruments and live looping technology to create a full and rich sound on the fly, seamlessly blending classic rock, blues, country, folk, and original music.

Jeff is a seasoned performer who knows how to read a crowd and keep them entertained. He takes requests throughout the performance, adding a personal touch to the show and making it an interactive experience for the audience.

Jeff's engaging personality also make him a hit with audiences. Whether he's performing at a festival, private event, or local venue, Jeff's shows are always a crowd-pleaser. With his impressive musical skills, engaging stage presence, and innovative use of live looping technology, Jeff James is a live performer that you won't want to miss.

Beginnings:
Jeff James started singing at 6 in a church choir and performed his first 'solo' at 7 in a Christmas play in his small hometown of New London, MN. Around the age of 16 his pastor borrowed him a classical guitar to get him started. He began learning songs from Waylon Jennings, James Taylor, John Denver, and even Pink Floyd.
Along with friend John Ploegstra, Jeff would rehearse in front of huge 'invisible' audiences and they were eventually involved in a group dubbed 'Black Waters' playing a few local clubs and performing in front of their 1st real crowd of around 1500 people at their town's annual summer festival.

Career:
Over the course of the next 7 years he toured extensively full time as frontman with Country Rock Band Genuine Leather and Lace. They performed the A and B club circuits in the 6 state upper Midwest. He also performed 2 years with another Country Rock Band "KeyStone" Sharing the stage with many major artists. In the midst of both bands, he kept up with several solo acoustic performances which he used to display his own music.

Nashville
In 1998 he moved to Nashville to pursue the true and trying business end of music. Over the course of the next 7 years of performing and networking he released 4 CD 's independently with the majority of the material being original. He's sold over 3000 units online and in clubs via his Web Site at www.jeffjamesmusic.com. There he became a regular part of the music scene entertaining locals and tourists consistently 3-4 nights a week downtown Nashville and the Opryland Hotel Area. Performing covers and his own songs from a list of over 400 songs drawing inspiration from such related genre artists as David Wilcox, John Gorka, and earlier artists like Taylor, Denver, Dylan, Baez, and Lightfoot. Performing at several songwriter nights, James gained several songwriter friends and publishing contacts, keeping regular writing dates at Universal Publishing. He was asked to perform on America's 2nd longest running radio show, The Midnite Jamboree, where he performed alongside Dale Watson.

Turning Minnesotan again:

In August, Jeff, wife Debbie, and daughter Danielle, made the move back to Minnesota to further his career with the release of the Two Hands CD in the Fall. He has been quickly gaining fans through performances in the Twin Cities area.

Two Hands was recently listed on John Shelton-Ivany's Top 21 Issue #214. Jeff James "Two Hands" Top 10 Recommended albums. This mention was listed by reviewer John Shelton Ivany. The John Shelton-Ivany Top Twenty-One is published in 200 National newspapers.

The DVD release "Take in the Fall"

On the night of October 23rd, 2005 Jeff James held an exclusive concert for a TV Taping to which a small amount of fans were privied. Now available for the first time you can experience that show as well as the stories behind some of the songs featured on the Take in the Fall DVD. As an added bonus feature you can journey back to Christmas 2004 and see the Holiday show that was aired in December featuring 30 minutes of songs that Jeff personally picked out for the program. Enjoy Jeff James as so many people love to see and hear him....Live!

Quote:

I've played all sorts of places from parks, street corners, college house parties, churches, bars, restaurants, resorts, casinos, street dances, fairs, and music festivals, and one constant I look for is the reaction I get from a person or a group. Good, bad, or otherwise-if I can achieve a smile, look of surprise, or even a tear, from the songs I 've written or performed, I feel I've succeeded in reaching people through music.?

- Jeff James