Brian James

This week, Big Med has been featuring a lot of discussion and reflection on the theme of EMS ghosts – the patients we encounter who stay with us forever and for better or worse. This track ‘Angel At The Crossroads’ written and performed by Brian James & Kaci Bolls (with help from their friends) is the latest add to the Big Med Playlist for The Big One and meshes well with the ‘theme of the week.’

Every so often, not so frequently that it ever becomes blasé, I hear a song that captures my ears, heart & soul in one fell swoop – and Angel At The Crossroads is definitely in that category. The composition is beautiful, the vocals darned near perfect, and the combo of guitars and violin provide a solid backbone for a song about making the hard right choice.

Brian James has had his songs recorded by Taylor Hicks and wrote the theme song for the Discovery Channel’s show ‘American Farmer.’ From a small town in the Pacific Northwest, Brian’s larger-than-life personality comes out on stage with his guitar in hand.

James formed the country-rock band Brian James and The Hand Me Downs in the fall of 2011 with fellow passionate-about-their-craft musicians David Dorn (piano/keyboards), John Behrens (bass), Greg Seratto (drums), and Alex Navarro (guitar).
- Big Medicine

Who’s Brian James and The Hand Me Downs? How did all this got started?

Brian James and The Hand Me Down is a crossover country band that started in the fall of 2011.

David Dorn and I (Brian James) had been friends for a while and co-wrote quite a bit and after playing in other bands and doing our own thing we wanted to put together a group of musicians that were not only good friends that got along well but also that had the same ambitions and love for music that we shared.

After a few phone calls we got together and had a few practices to see if this thing would work it all just came together so well, it was like we had been playing together for years.



We can say you guys are new to the music scene, how difficult has this been for you guys as a band? Do you see the underground scene is growing? Especially coming from such city and state as it is Nashville, TN.

Honestly we have been individually kicking around Nashville for as much as 7 years, and have built mostly off of that It was difficult at first but once we settled in we found our groove. Nashville is an amazing place they value hard work and determination and if you are willing to put in the time and effort their willing to listen.

The underground scene is definitely growing; especially now that there are several outlets like YouTube and MySpace that give you the potential to reach a fan base that you couldn’t otherwise reach through traveling large distances and playing several different venues.



What are the band’s main music influences?

There are so many incredible bands and Artist that have impacted us but for the most part, our main influences are guys like Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, and James Taylor. They really made an impact on the way we write the songs and even somewhat how we preform them as well.



Are you guys looking to spread any particular message?

We don’t look to force any particular point of view, we understand that music has a tremendous power to impact people and when we write a song it’s something that we try to stay very mindful of. For the most part we write about things our audience can relate with us in some way or other, weather it’s about falling in love or getting your heart broken, reflecting on a moment or taking it for granted. We are all connected in some way and it’s about laughing with each other and being that shoulder to cry on.



Do you guys have any future plans we should be aware of? New album, music video, label, tour, features?

We have been asked to perform during the Bluebird Cafés 30th anniversary celebration this coming June. This to us is an enormous honor. And we are currently in the studio this summer working on a new album that is set for late September and we are also working on a tour to promote it, that will kick off shortly after its release.



What’s the song you can’t stop listening to?

“Dancin’ Away with My Heart” from Lady Antebellum has been stuck in my head it’s one of the songs that is just so well written you want to keep singing it over and over.



Besides doing music, what else you guys enjoy spending time?

We love movies, we are always quoting something and goofing around, Baseball is a pretty big one too some of us golf, hike , camp ,Fly-fish ya know manly stuff something else we are going to kick off shortly is the annual Ping-Pong-A-Thon where there are different rounds and a champion will be crowned with a trophy and everything.



Do you guys feel you are moving on the right direction?

I think we’re are, we are definitely moving forward and growing with every obstacle as it should be and with the right team and hard work I think we’ll get to where were going.
- Vents Magazine

No, your eyes have not been deceived. This is, in fact, a man. I know I usually post about women and plus size fashion but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! He is of the big and tall variety of gentlemen, originally from Washington state and currently living in Nashville. He is usually sporting some sort of plaid with a leather jacket, knit beanie, and a few leather bracelets. You could say his fashion style is country with a twinge of Seattle grunge. But it’s not just his style or southern urbane that catches attention. He is quite seriously one of the best musicians I know. Let me paint you a picture of the musical genius that is Brian:

We’re in downtown Seattle at an open mic night at Conor Byrne pub. It was about 8:30 and we’d gotten there late, which put him very near the bottom of the list of people to play that night. The first few acts were entertaining and no doubt regular performers. But as the evening progressed, the crowd grew restless and bored and turned to chat noisily among themselves. The bar grew even louder as more time passed. Pretty soon very few people were paying attention to what was happening on stage. Brian’s name was called and he took the stage just shy of midnight. My heart sank because no one even acknowledged the new musician setting up and I wanted so badly for people to pay attention. He tuned his guitar and still no one flinched in his direction. But then, my friends, he began to play. The ambient noise slowly died down and a hush fell over the entire pub. I was completely floored. He had just enchanted the entire crowd with his six string pickin’ some Stevie Ray Vaughn. And the crowd didn’t just pay attention for a few minutes, they watched him play on stage for the entire set. They even cheered and gave him back slaps when it was over.

Brian, my friend the crowd charmer, is currently living in Nashville and pursuing his dream to be a musician. He’s working as a writer now, but one day he is going to be the main event.
- buxomfashion

No, your eyes have not been deceived. This is, in fact, a man. I know I usually post about women and plus size fashion but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! He is of the big and tall variety of gentlemen, originally from Washington state and currently living in Nashville. He is usually sporting some sort of plaid with a leather jacket, knit beanie, and a few leather bracelets. You could say his fashion style is country with a twinge of Seattle grunge. But it’s not just his style or southern urbane that catches attention. He is quite seriously one of the best musicians I know. Let me paint you a picture of the musical genius that is Brian:

We’re in downtown Seattle at an open mic night at Conor Byrne pub. It was about 8:30 and we’d gotten there late, which put him very near the bottom of the list of people to play that night. The first few acts were entertaining and no doubt regular performers. But as the evening progressed, the crowd grew restless and bored and turned to chat noisily among themselves. The bar grew even louder as more time passed. Pretty soon very few people were paying attention to what was happening on stage. Brian’s name was called and he took the stage just shy of midnight. My heart sank because no one even acknowledged the new musician setting up and I wanted so badly for people to pay attention. He tuned his guitar and still no one flinched in his direction. But then, my friends, he began to play. The ambient noise slowly died down and a hush fell over the entire pub. I was completely floored. He had just enchanted the entire crowd with his six string pickin’ some Stevie Ray Vaughn. And the crowd didn’t just pay attention for a few minutes, they watched him play on stage for the entire set. They even cheered and gave him back slaps when it was over.

Brian, my friend the crowd charmer, is currently living in Nashville and pursuing his dream to be a musician. He’s working as a writer now, but one day he is going to be the main event.
- buxomfashion

No, your eyes have not been deceived. This is, in fact, a man. I know I usually post about women and plus size fashion but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! He is of the big and tall variety of gentlemen, originally from Washington state and currently living in Nashville. He is usually sporting some sort of plaid with a leather jacket, knit beanie, and a few leather bracelets. You could say his fashion style is country with a twinge of Seattle grunge. But it’s not just his style or southern urbane that catches attention. He is quite seriously one of the best musicians I know. - buxomfashion

The first time I heard Brian James play some of his songs at one of Doak Turner's Sunday gatherings, I knew he was a major talent. The round which he put together at the Bluebird along with Arikah Nash, Jody Serrato and Mike Seals further convinced me of that.

This was one of the strongest early evening sets I've seen at the Bluebird, right along with Steve Craig's round of the previous month. The singer/songwriters touched on a variety of styles (country, blues, pop, a touch of gospel) and a couple of common themes: commitment in relationships, having faith to move into the unknown, and importance of family. It was interactive from the get-go, with the souvenir bookmarks on each table to solitication of song ideas from the audience on index cards (taking a cue from the old Mac Davis TV show in which he would make up songs on the spot from audience suggestions). Brian was up to the challenge, creating improv songs about riding a horse and burgers and election day.

Brian clearly has the full package--great songs, great singer, great guitar player, charismatic performer. He won the crowd over in a big way with a comical song, "You Don't Know Jack About Jill", about how little men knew about women. He also did a couple of songs which were already well known to some of us, "Fallen Angels" and "Footprints".

Brian blew me away at a recent gathering with a song about fatherhood, "Daddy Let Me Go". The song was co-written by one of the night's other artists, Jody Serrato. Described by Brian as "a young Mexican Billy Joel", Jody gave us some strong songs about his experience with marriage and fatherhood and the commitment it takes to keep them going as a traveling performer ("First Step", "Worth the Wait").

Arikah Nash, a singer/songwriter/actress, is full of personality and has a very powerful voice that effectively handles a variety of styles. She wrote her first country song while out in L.A., "Faded Blue Jeans" and it worked well with this crowd. She also teamed up with Brian for an electric performance of their song "Walk On Water".

Mike Seals, originally from Chicago, told us he was a rookie songwriter and had only written five songs so far, but they certainly were excellent. Favorites for me were "Crying My Eyes", a traditional country-blues style, and a highlight for the audience, "One Step" a blues number that got the crowd hand clapping and singing along. Mike, keep writing, so far, so good!

The strongest performance of the evening for me was "Stepping Out On Faith", a gospel tinged number with a solid lead vocal from Brian, backups from Arikah and Mike and some nice organ work from Jody.

You can go on the available MySpace pages for these artists and hear some of these songs for yourself. I was talking to someone the other day about how much fun it's going to be to watch some of these marvelous people I've met and heard here so far get that high-profile break that I am absolutely convinced is coming down the road.
- Wendy V's Nashville Blend