Inside Story - Songwriter/Producer/Guitarist



James

Age Range
26-35

Countries of Work
USA

Study and Career History
At 15 or 16 I was really good at guitar and wanted to go into that area – but this just seemed like a pipe dream. I wanted to take a year out of school and go to guitar school in L.A., but I couldn’t raise the funds. So my reality ended up quite different: I aimed towards ‘proper’ careers by studying science at school and University. I then went into a very corporate environment, on a post-graduate banking scheme at JP Morgan. I did well, but wanted increasingly to pick up the guitar again, and couldn’t due to my long hours. So my first lifestyle change was a step into advertising. This involved having more scope to be creative again, but that almost made me feel even more smothered and claustrophobic, and I just wanted to get right back into music. Eventually I talked to my parents about finally chasing my dream and they were really supportive. The next day I got a place at The Guitar Institute in London. A year later, I started a song writing course at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, which has helped me extend my skills into the creation and production of music.

How long have you been doing the job?
2 years

Did you decide on your career path or did it all happen by accident?
I decided on this career path at 16 but rejected it as a ‘pipe dream’ as I couldn’t make it a reality. Re-choosing this career at 23, after seven years of trying to follow the proper channels to a ‘respectable’ job, was a really difficult transition to make!

I knew how to go about it, and as soon as I had support from my family I went and got my place at guitar school. So I did plan it, but carrying it through was still really difficult: it seemed like a huge step and I debated what to do in my head for the next 2 months. I didn’t tell anyone about the potential changes - I just kept quiet - but every day, every hour I was thinking about what to do. Then one day something just clicked, I just sent an email to all of my friends, announced my decision, and that was that! Everyone was surprised, but really excited for me, which was great.

How did you get your "Glamour Job" ?
Through lots of hard work when I got to guitar college, and then by diversifying into music in the wider sense. When I arrived at college and there were all of these kids who were so far ahead of me. I had to work really hard to get my confidence, but it paid off, because now I am tutoring.

My first piece of paid work also sent me a step further towards making the dream into a career. I wrote a few pieces for adverts, which made me more aware of the bigger picture of writing and producing music. I wanted to learn more about these processes so went on to the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, for a new song-writing course. I was really attracted to the course because it was in its first year and has lots of good connections to the music industry. It encompasses song-writing, production, sound engineering, arrangement analysis – connecting all the parts that I need to know about. This all-round approach means that I now have paying contracts and am really active in the whole scene. Whatever happens, I know I will be employed in the music industry long-term, now that I have this broad-based experience.

What does the job involve?
I wouldn’t say it’s a job, I’d say it’s a way of life!

Describe a typical day at work.
There isn’t really a typical day, there’s loads of variety in what I do! I can be a student in the morning, do some tutoring or studio work in the afternoon, and then play with different bands in the evening.

Teaching guitar is a good career in itself, and I teach anything from private lessons to groups of 10. But some of the students are older than me which is kind of scary!

I play with some bands through college, when we get the different groups (guitar, drums etc.) together. But I’m also getting my own band together at the moment, and working on my own songs. I’m working on these in the studio too, as well as making demos and doing production work for other people.

What do you like most about the job?
It’s something I’m passionate about. I am now so completely immersed in it that I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t involve having a guitar in my hand. I don’t want to be by a desk, or by any computer that doesn’t actively involve making music.

What don’t you like about your job – if anything?
It’s all-consuming, which is great but living and breathing it is kind of intense!

I would be gutted if this time next year I am not still doing this stuff, and if I haven’t reached my goals.

During your teenage years did you have much vocational guidance from school, university, family or friends? What was your biggest influence?
There was lots of career advice at school, but it was quite one-sided. There was lots of pressure to become a medic, a lawyer or accountant. It felt like the ‘proper’ thing at the time to choose one of these routes, so I decided to go down the medicine route: at least that was helping people rather than ripping them off! I knew it was wrong for me really, but it seemed the proper thing to do.

If you took end of school examinations did you get exam results you were happy with from your education?
I left school at 18, and didn’t get the results I wanted. I took exams to be a medic, like Chemistry and Biology, but knew I wasn’t as good at these subjects as I was at arts and English. I thought I was doing the right thing by going against this, and getting myself a respectable career. I did lots of medical work experience too though, which made me go all squeamish and realise that I couldn’t stand blood and vomit! The night before my A levels started I flipped out at the thought of actually going to medical school but couldn’t get out of it by then. I just stared at walls and had heart palpitations. Self-destruct buttons were going off! Thank goodness I didn’t get the grades to go to medical school – that would have been really bad in the long run. But to do badly in the exams really wasn’t good for my confidence at the time!

Do you think that what you studied in school or in your further education was right for the career you are in now? Any regrets?
I did bow into pressure and make the wrong decisions. I did choose the wrong courses at school and University, but I made some really good mates, so not regrets about that!

Have you taken further studies since leaving secondary or tertiary school. If yes, what did you study and why did you decide you needed more qualifications?
I studied for one year at The Guitar Institute in London, and am now completing a course at The Brighton Institute of Modern Music. These diplomas aren’t ‘worth something’ in the same way that A levels and degrees are. They are accredited courses, but the important thing is the experience and access to contacts that they give you in a concentrated time.

This was a short, direct way to get into the industry, and coming from quite an institutionalised environment it was a nice cushion for me - an easier progression than just giving up job for nothing.

The diversity of the courses mean that I’ve now got many strings to my bow, which means I will always be in the music industry. They have also allowed me to focus on my own strengths and my own music.

What was your first job?
Sky News: Stand in Journalist and runner.

What has been your most bizarre or challenging job to date?
Advertising: Most challenging because it was a half way house, it didn’t allow me the time to be creative with my music and didn’t pay enough to make up for it. It got very claustrophobic and got to the stage where I hated every minute of every day and this lasted for close to two years, it was a bit gutting as I thought the big change was the move from Banking to Advertising.

What is your ultimate goal.... is this it, or do you have a pinnacle you have yet to reach?
I’m very ambitious and focused, and my ultimate goal is to write and produce my own material. It will be classic rock, blending styles from Lenny Kravitz and Guns n’Roses to Metallica.

I’ve been writing and recording my own stuff for a while, but now I need to bring it to life. This will involve getting lots of demos off and doing lots of promotion: basically plugging away at it, getting it to the right people and getting a fan following. I’m now getting the material and a band together, from May I will be gigging in Brighton and London. Then I hope to get a University tour by September. By next year hopefully I’ll be at festivals like Monsters of Rock.

What are your top tips for personal success?
I wouldn’t like to say as I haven’t got all the way there yet. I have done very well in my other jobs and I am now working to impress myself – and need to get to the end of this process before I’ve truly achieved personal success.

Any comments?
The fact is there is no such thing as a 100% glamorous job as there are cons to any job! I suppose you just got to make sure that the pro’s outweigh the cons.

Vote for James, click here