We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Combs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

James, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Some of us are born obsessed with music and I am one. I am all about songs – writing them, recording and arranging them, performing them, putting them into films I music supervise, pitching them to other music supervisors.

I got started by forming bands. I had a band with my sister called Arson Garden back in Bloomington, IN. We made some noise and got pretty far. We made records at Pachyderm (where Nirvana recorded) and Paisley Park, we got to do a Peel Session for the BBC, we played Lollapalooza and had our video on MTV. We opened for Marianne Faithfull, They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, The Replacements… we played 36 states and 5 European countries. Exciting times. But then our luck went south and I found my way to LA as a solo artist. As it happened, I had the good fortune of landing a job working as production assistant for Chris Douridas at KCRW/AOL Music.

Working with Chris is how I learned about the job of music supervisor. He was and is both a renowned DJ and one of the best music supes in film. Lovely guy, too. Since Chris’ radio show aired on KCRW I got invited to attend all the KCRW events – concerts, Angel parties, social outings. It was a grand time and I met a lot of amazing people, several of whom were music supervisors. I started pitching my songs to these folks and some played me on their radio shows and also placed my songs in their TV projects. It felt miraculous.

Eventually I left AOL Music and started my own sync licensing company with my DJ/Music Supervisor friend Gary Calamar, pitching my music and my friends’ music to TV shows. I also started helping Gary with his music supervision jobs – “The Man In The High Castle”, “Cobra Kai”, “TItans” and the new series “The Three-Body Problem” on Netflix.

To have gotten to this point in my life faster, I think I probably should have just moved to LA a lot earlier in life and not bounced around the country for so long. The music business was here and I wanted to be in the music business. It took me a long time to figure that out somehow.

The most essential skills I have… maybe enthusiasm, a can-do sensibility, the desire to make things happen, a community spirit, good ears, a deep understanding of songwriting and recording, an open mind (I hope). “Yes” is my policy. And I think I am pretty ego-less. I like seeing everyone win.

Obstacles… maybe just my own lack of education about how people could make a living through music. You never saw anyone doing music-related work as their job in the Indiana towns where I grew up. So starting life living far away from the music business was probably my biggest disadvantage.

I will also say that being a young artist out there DID have other advantages. Being a well-loved band in a college town was a wonderful experience and I am grateful for it. It gave me a sense of self worth and identity and I made many life-long friends who I still love and feel close to.

James, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Oh my goodness, I think I just covered the “how I got here” part in my previous, long-winded answer.

As far as the type of creative services I provide… I am very focused on growing my music supervision business right now.
I have worked as Music Coordinator for Music Supervisor and DJ Gary Calamar for several years now, helping him with his shows for HBO, Amazon, Netflix, CBS, ABC, etc – so I know the landscape well and have been taking on more of my own music supervision projects lately. The most recent is a beautiful film called Cash 4 Gold about two hurting people from different cultures who find friendship and healing through working together at a pawn shop. I placed a gorgeous Well Pennies song in a montage scene that fills my heart with joy every time I see it.

My other work focus is on growing our licensing company, Laurel Canon, and expanding the industry recognition of us as a source of some of the best independent Americana and Singer-Songwriter music out there (as well as cool pop, hip hop, and indie rock music). Most of the music we work with is 1-stop, too, meaning we can provide superb real-deal music for any budget. If you’re a director looking for music, hit me up. We can help you, I am sure of it. We are all about putting fantastic independent songs into films, ads and TV shows!

Finally, I am releasing and performing Folk/Americana music under my name, James Combs. You can hear my new single “High Pine Steeples” (made in collaboration with the afore-mentioned The Well Pennies) here: https://open.spotify.com/track/4dBqKzYKQTdbONx9b2NUks?si=505b12f48e034c3e

I play live around LA regularly. I played Topanga Days last month and have upcoming shows at The Idyllwild Songwriter’s Festival and the Far-West Folk Alliance conference in Woodland Hills this fall. I am proud to call so many wonderufl musicians in LA’s Americana community my friends. Its nice to share evenings of music and help them make money through placing their songs in TV shows.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

When I was growing up, I wish I knew that it was possible to make a living doing creative work. You know, there was always this kind of funny prevailing attitude toward the arts in Indiana that they were a hobby that you had on the side but that you’d never make a living doing something creative.

But when you pull the lens back a little you see that the arts are all around you. Every advertisement you see is done by a writer, a director, lighting designers, camera people, audio technicians, a voice over artist, actors, composers, musicians and others. Creatives. So that’s one capitalist corner of a potential artist life, but there are a million ways to do it – you could be an audio producer or a cello player in the civic orchestra or a copywriter or a mural painter… There are so MANY careers in the arts to be had – lucrative careers.

So I think we should just take the arts more seriously as a viable career path and foster better arts education opportunities for young people so they don’t have to find their way in the dark.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think being a recording/performing/curating singer-songwriter is rewarding from a lot of directions. One is the creating itself – it is a profound thrill to write a song you love. There’s nothing like it. It wasn’t there an hour ago but it’s here now. It feels like a tiny explosion. A good explosion.

Another rewarding aspect of being a performing musician in particular is the social life that comes with the territory. I really love musicians. Some are egoists but most of the time the musician is the coolest, nicest person in the room. Musicians tend to be experienced, worldly, traveling types who have mastered the art of getting along with three other people in a van. They are flexible and resilient. And funny. I’ve known more hilarious musicians than any other kind of person. Including comedians. The Beatles = really, really funny.

Being involved with various music communities has led me to many of the deepest friendships and best experiences of my life. It is a profound pleasure to connect with other humans by singing to them or having them sing for you.

And then when you add the licensing and music supervision component to the mix, it adds another great dimension to the experience. Suddenly you’re finding ways to have songs by artists you love comment on dramatic scenes in TV shows or films you are working on. It is so cool to see that alchemy happen. Both the song and the show get bigger. And of course it is a nice feeling to send a check to your musician friend.

So… I think being involved with music in multiple capacities brings multiple rewards.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurelcanon.com, www.jamescombs.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescombsmusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-combs-859b2836/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04FaAaap_uvkVfYOmNzeoQ

Image Credits
photos by James Combs, Tony Horkins, Karen Combs