TheBookofJames

Albany, OR

I was given my first Beatles record when I was five years old, a sound I will never forget. Music instantly touched parts of my soul that couldn't be seen, heard, or felt- or, in my case, allowed to be heard or seen. It was warmth without light. My next musical insight didn't come until I was 12, and it was Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower. At age 12, I entered band; by age 14, I was playing in the church band; by age 16, I was starting to write, but that was about all I could handle: the pressure to perform and the pressure of my early training collided, and I couldn't handle it. So, I stopped for 44 years. But now I'm back. At age 60, I have studied every artist, as they have played, listened, and learned. I'm no master, but I am a storyteller, and I can write a yarn or two.