Zachary James

Zachary James carves soulful melodies from his love affair with cities and grafts them to the simplicity of the pastoral America he has known his whole life. His crowed streets of wanting give way to rolling arbors of solitude; a wanderlust that always cedes to the yearning for home and the familiar. Some of his songs are built from the single arch of a guitar and a voice; strong, beautiful, raw and organic, while others are constructed of digital extrapolations, married to simple melodies an...

Zachary James carves soulful melodies from his love affair with cities and grafts them to the simplicity of the pastoral America he has known his whole life. His crowed streets of wanting give way to rolling arbors of solitude; a wanderlust that always cedes to the yearning for home and the familiar. Some of his songs are built from the single arch of a guitar and a voice; strong, beautiful, raw and organic, while others are constructed of digital extrapolations, married to simple melodies and lyrical cadence. Growing up in and around New Orleans, Zachary was exposed to the rich traditions of soul, r & b, Creole and Cajun music. But these influences didn’t take immediately. It was the rebellion in punk, the vigor in new wave, the darkness in gothic, the melodic sensibilities of the Beatles and the lyrics of Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello and Morriesey which drew Zachary into a life of music. From a very young age, Zachary James performed throughout New Orleans with various groups, supporting renown acts from the US and the UK. After regional successes, Zachary began steadily touring the eastern and southern US and eventually relocated to New York City with his band mates in the noise pop quartet, The Universal Chrome. Before leaving New Orleans, The Universal Chrome recorded several albums worth of material with Grammy winning producer John Fishbach and released the EP "Closer to Shine". As " Closer to Shine" gained momentum, the band became a regular staple at the legendary CBGB's and continued to tour extensively. If New Orleans pushed Zachary away from his roots, New York pushed him back. In Manhattan, Zachary began to feel lost, realizing the musical void left after leaving Louisiana. He eventually decided to branch out from rock n’ roll and rediscover the music he lost. Searching for his lost self, with a renewed interest in the traditions of blues, gospel, folk and country, Zachary left The Universal Chrome and New York City in 2001. Instead of returning to New Orleans, Zachary wanted an adventure and the Great North came calling. Zachary moved to Alaska where he recorded “The Last Great Golden Temptation”: a simple, lo-fi, haunting piece of work recorded primarily in Zachary’s Anchorage apartment during the long summer days. The album is a window into Zachary's life. It is a passionate journey of happiness, despair, excess and resolution built around Zachary’s loss of self, the rediscovery of his roots, the sadness surrounding leaving The Universal Chrome and the hope of starting anew. Before the release of “The Last Great Golden Temptation”, longtime friend Courtland Weaver, Associate Director of The Alaska Dance Theatre, approached Zachary with ballet choreography he envisioned for songs from the album. Eager to try something new and work with Weaver, Zachary excitedly agreed to the project. Within weeks James, Courtland and the Alaska Dance Theatre Company dancers began working through the songs. Weaver described his choreography as "an abstraction of a lot of the lyrics and a lot of the moods in his songs. Stylistically, it's a very lighthearted approach to these songs. There's no angst. No heavy emotions.”. The result was a touching and elegant interpretation of James’ music and lyrics. Coinciding with the release of the album, The Alaska Dance Theatre and Zachary performed the pieces live at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts to an enthusiastic audience of dance and music lovers. Zachary James toured in support of “The Last Great Golden Temptation” opening on dates headlined by the likes of Emmy Lou Harris, Buddy Miller and others. The tour was a successful ending to a poignant, yet isolated time in Zachary’s creative endeavors and shortly after releasing an EP of studio demos, "Golden Sunday Mornings", Zachary relocated to the Lower 48. In late 2008, Zachary James began recording material for a new solo album and several new musical projects slated for release in 2009 & 2010: Midnight Americans, Battersea Loves You and Salt & Sea. In addition to his own recording projects and performing live, Zachary James is producing the debut release by Femme du Lion.