James Bay
James Bay
James Bayis a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost part. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bayare part of Nunavut. The James Bay watershed is the site of several major hydroelectric projects, and is also a destination for river-based recreation. Several communities are located near or alongside James Bay, including a number...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth4 September 1990
CityHitchin, England
There was a guitar that my uncle owned and never learnt to play. He sold it to my dad, and when I heard 'Layla', that was the tune that really grabbed me. I said to my dad, 'Wait, there's a guitar, right?'
The thing about 'Hold Back The River' that I like is that it's a good starting place, and it was the perfect first single.
I used to dress up like Michael Jackson. I didn't have the glove, but I had a red jacket like in 'Thriller.'
There should be an element of mystique between the fans and the artist. That bit between the stage and the audience. I think that's necessary.
I'm still like an excited kid playing guitar in front of the bedroom mirror.
To drive though the streets of Manhattan to sign a record deal was like a movie. It was crazy - pretty hard to put into words.
Growing up, when I was at live shows, I was always hoping someone would come out on stage and say, 'The guitarist is sick and couldn't make it... does anybody know how to play all the songs?' That was always my little dream. It was a massively inspiring thing to be in a space with live shows.
Growing up in Hitchin was comfortable and easy enough. My parents had some great records - and some not-so-great ones - and that's where I got introduced to Motown and the Stones and Springsteen.
I bought a guitar CD-ROM because we had a new computer, but I had no attention span for that. I spent about three hours on it desperate to be brilliant. Eventually, I got some proper lessons.
My family quite innocently don't understand the ins and outs of it all, but they see things like the Burberry show and the Live Lounge, so they understand the gravity of those things, but they're proud - it's cool.
Up until the last minute, it was art and drawing for me. That was the first real and natural thing I thought I was good at and loved to do. But I developed a similar kind of love for music.
Both Springsteen and Michael Jackson, who had these huge productions, could always scale them back down to just a song and a melody. All of that influences me. I also try to be a fictional writer, and sometimes I get close, but the things that resonate the most with me - and with everyone else - is what's real.
It's silly to call me the new Ed Sheeran. He can fill stadiums as a solo artist, but I'm not like that.
It's bad to be labeled just another singer-songwriter.