George Dionne interviews musician JAMIE JAMES about his ‘Stepping Back’ series of albums, chronicling unreleased material from 1988-2009. The albums are available now through Oglio Entertainment.
JAMIE JAMES was a member of the NEW STEPPENWOLF, fronted THE KINGBEES, played with actor HARRY DEAN STATNON’s band, and was a key member of DENNIS QUAID AND THE SHARKS.
”[THE KINGBEES] toured for a long time, out there beating a path that had not really been forged yet, for what we were doing. Radio stations didn’t know what to do with us…after two or three years of that, I was done with the spotlight” - Jamie James
Highlights include:
-How the ‘Stepping Back’ series came to be
-Where had all this unreleased material been
-Recording music and demos for fun back in the day
-Working with engineer Warren Dewey (KISS, BOSTON, SAMMY HAGAR)
-How each release differs from the other
-Actors and musicians
-Preferring to collaborate over being in the spotlight
-His time in THE KINGBEES
-How they got their record deal with RSO
-Appearing on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand
-The impact his open heart surgery had on his songwriting
-Other gems found in addition to the ‘Stepping Back’ material
-His time with PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (PCH)
-An un-released LINDA PERRY produced movie he worked on
-First time meeting HARRY DEAN STANTON
-Collaborating with DENNIS QUAID for the first time
-His time in the NEW STEPPENWOLF
-Working recently with Blues artist PEACH
-Local unheard bands and the heart of music
-And much, much more!
