PureVolume

With his warm, rich tenor and emotionally powerful songs, Brendan James
announces himself as an artist-to-watch on his dazzling debut album The
Day Is Brave. Rooted in the classic singer/songwriter tradition, with
its introspective lyrics and unforgettable melodies, the album is 11
tracks of stunning songcraft: elegant, earthy, and displaying a total
lack of artifice that is rare in the pop world these days.

"I don't really consider myself a storyteller," James says. "Arlo
Guthrie is a storyteller. But I do hope my songs encourage people to
feel, and to ask questions."

Though James was always told he had a powerful voice, he didn't begin
writing songs until his sophomore year at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. While at home in Derry on Christmas break, James
was approached by a local music teacher, Kevin Kandel, who had heard him
sing "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral for James' best friend's
mother. "Kevin said to me, 'I can't get your voice out of my head. You
have something very unique inside of you and I think you should learn to
play an instrument and try to write your own songs.' We then spent the
whole night listening to hundreds of records by classic artists like the
Beatles and Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, and he'd point out the phrasing
and songwriting style of each one. By the next morning, I was hooked. It
just fueled this thing inside me and I went back to school with a
brand-new fire."

James taught himself to play piano and took a year off from school to
spend time in L.A. writing songs. "I was so passionate about
songwriting, I wanted to get involved in the music scene and start
performing," he says. In 2002, he returned to Chapel Hill, graduated,
and moved to New York City, where he toiled at Urban Outfitters by day
and performed at open mics around Manhattan's East Village at night. To
gain access to a piano to practice, James would sneak into hotel
ballrooms around the city. "I'd dress to look like a guest at the Plaza
Hotel, so I could walk in there unnoticed," he says.