Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jamie James King. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

From the moment I heard rock n roll radio in the mid 1970’s, I knew I wanted to be a performer rather than just a spectator. While I was drawn to artists of the early/mid 70’s initially (The Rolling Stones….from that era, Kiss, Elton John, etc) it was my discovery of The Beatles, early Stones, British Invasion Bands and Motown that really fueled my fire. I took guitar lessons briefly, when I was eleven years old; however, at the time I felt they weren’t teaching me what I wanted to learn…cool songs so I convinced my parents to purchase an acoustic guitar and a Beatles song book (both of which I still have today some 50 years later) and practiced and practiced for hours and hours daily. I loved learning the craft…it never felt or feels like work. I ended up focusing more on playing bass guitar starting in high school and all through most of my adult life until about five years ago when I refocused on guitar and began to hone my skills as a vocalist. My only regret is that I wish I had focused on singing in conjunction with playing guitar during my younger years but then again, I don’t really have any regrets, As a singer songwriter, I guess you could say I’m a late bloomer. I love the artistic path I’ve developed for myself over the past five years. I think the most important skills were and are to sing and perform and play my instrument with passion, authenticity and to do it in a way that best reflects who you are as an individual…honesty! My approach, I believe, is authentic and honest. What you get is Jamie James King…voice, guitars and harmonica. No drum machines, backing tracks, loop pedals, etc.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Once I realized that I wanted to be a performer and that was virtually instantaneous, I felt I that found an outlet in which I could channel any and all of my youthful enthusiasm, frustration, angst and energy into my craft. I studied all the greats…James Brown, Springsteen, Tom Petty, Jackie Wilson, Pete Townshend, Angus Young (AC/DC) among many others and in a day and age long before you tube, that wasn’t always easy. Short live concert footage, pictures in music magazines and live concerts were the only way to accomplish this study. As a bassist in several bands over the years, I was prone to jumping off amplifiers, crouching down, Duck walking and generally bounding all across the stage. This was never a forced reaction rather simply me feeding off the energy of the music that I was playing a part in performing. Fast forward to current day self as a solo artist, I feel I bring that same energetic passion to my songs and my performance. Obviously, certain songs….slower more somber numbers don’t warrant that type of physical exertion though others do and that’s what you’ll see at my shows. I’m proud of several aspects of my craft. 1) I never use or rely on Ipads, cheat sheets, mobile phones to remember songs. If I perform a cover song, I will memorize that song front to back before I ever perform it live. Same with my original compositions, memorize, memorize, memorize before performing it in public. The use of gadgets to refer to songs while on stage is, IMO, an automatic momentum killer. You have the audience into your show, into your songs and then everything stops and it’s silent for say 10, 20, 30 seconds…doesn’t seem like a lot but to a restless and easily distracted audience, it can feel like hours.
2) I’m most proud of my songs. I feel that once I started as a solo artist, to my surprise, quite honestly, my songwriting flourished and I feel I’ve written some very strong (both melodically and lyrically) songs.
3) I strive to engage the crowd, make them feel that they are a part of my show and to tell some interesting, some serious and some humorous, stories along the way.
I wish to have people walk away from my shows feeling that they been entertained, welcomed and to be given the opportunity to forget about any stresses or troubles in their lives for a few hours.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I suppose my goal is to reach as many people as possible through my live performances and soon to released, recordings and to have individuals come away with a feeling that they just heard someone that perhaps reminds them of music from another era (without being referred to as a revival or nostalgia act). I feel that while my music and style may evoke memories of artists and songs from a time long ago, I also believe my music is fresh, new and vibrant and vital, to the present day. My mission is to provide a fun and engaging performance while at the same time, albeit acoustically, rock you with a blast of authentic rock n roll…I call it, quite simply “Acoustic Rock n Roll”.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Without a doubt, songwriting. To be able to sit down with a blank piece of paper and pen and an acoustic guitar and write a song that gets someone dancing, that causes someone to approach you and ask “Did you write that?”, to witness someone sing along to the chorus of a song of yours that they are hearing for the first time, It makes every single struggle and every single frustration (and believe me, there can be a few) worthwhile. An example is, I wrote a song about four years ago entitled “Freedom Bird”. It was probably the first song I wrote in which I felt that this is really special. It’s a song about a Vietnam War veteran. The title came from a term that soldiers used while fighting over there, a term for the American aircraft that would take them back home to the States after their tour of duty was completed. One night, after performing at a local venue, a gentleman came up to me and asked if I wrote that song and before I answered I quickly wondered how he was going to react. I told him I did and he shook my hand and thanked me, it was one of the most emotional and gratifying experiences as a songwriter and performer I’ve ever felt. He was a veteran himself. I recorded and released it in 2021 and is available on all major streaming and download platforms. I’m very clear about my approach to my songwriting…”I don’t write political songs, I don’t write protest songs, I write human songs”.
I look forward to seeing you at my shows.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jamie_james_king_music

Image Credits

Mark Mennie-Photographer