Music Bugle Exclusive – Q & A – Jeffrey James

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

The triple threat of distinct vocals, introspective lyricism and a lean into his R&B influences have made Nashville-based contemporary pop phenomenon Jeffrey James a name to keep out for.

Since his 2016 debut, James has garnered praise from Billboard and 1883 Magazine, with his songs also featured on various television shows and films. Last spring, he collaborated with Grammy Award-winning DJ Dave Audé, which climbed to number 5 on the UK dance charts.

His most recent single, “The Real Me,” keeps his noteworthy momentum strong, as it was produced by David Burris (ITZY, Lauren Spencer Smith, Gryffin, MOTHICA) and boasts a romantically imaginative animated music video to match, which has cracked just over 8,000 views on YouTube.

The Music Bugle had the chance to talk with James about a quote that motivates him to keep doing what he does, how he would describe Nashville to someone who has never been there before and much more, which you can check out below.

Music Bugle – What was the moment that made you want to become a musician? 

Jeffrey James – I’m not sure there was one moment that made me want to be a musician. I grew up in a household where everyone was always singing and my sisters and I were encouraged to take piano and/or guitar lessons at a young age, but I decided to pursue music as a career during my first semester in college. I went to a college that’s known for its music school and I was surrounded by students following their musical passions. Meanwhile, I was a business major, thinking only about music 24/7. I switched degrees to music my second semester and never looked back!

Music Bugle – What excites you the most about your style of music? 

Jeffrey James – I love how open-ended my genre is, musically. I feel like I have the freedom to go in multiple directions with my music for any given song. I can lean into the soulful side of things, I can write a fun dance-y song, or dive into a more straightforward emotional pop lyric and track. My new single is very personal, lyrically and has a bit of a 90’s-UK-alt/rock-throwback feel to it and, to me at least, it all works!

Music Bugle – How would you describe Nashville to someone who has never been there before? 

Jeffrey James – Nashville is much smaller than people think and it’s more than just country music. Sure, there’s plenty of great country music to be found and downtown Nashville is a haven of honky-tonks and neon lights, but it’s also a hub for every genre of music you can think of. It’s like a condensed version of LA where almost every bartender, valet and barista is an aspiring musician, artist, or songwriter. 

Music Bugle – What’s a quote that motivates you to keep doing what you do? 

Jeffrey James – This long quote from Ira Glass has stuck with me for a while now. It’s about writing stories, but it works for any art form and it motivates me to keep trying to get better – “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste, but there is this gap. For the first couple years, you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not, but your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer and your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this and if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap and your work will be as good as your ambitions and I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Music Bugle – How have you felt yourself mature through your music? 

Jeffrey James – I think the bulk of my maturing has come in my songwriting. I can write about more than just love and breakups, although “The Real Me” is a pseudo love song, but when I started out, every song just was a pretty straight forward love song in one way or another. 

Music Bugle – Does social media help or hurt musicians?  

Jeffrey James – Oof. Depending on the day, my feelings on that change. On one hand, it’s great because you can, theoretically, create your own niche fanbase without outside help or even touring live and you can stay connected to your fans and other artists ten times more easily than in the past, but the need to create constant content to stay relevant also gets in the way of focusing on making the best music you can, so it’s a double-edged sword, in my opinion. 

Music Bugle – Where do you go when you need a break? 

Jeffrey James – To a beach, somewhere. I’m also a big sci-fi/fantasy fan and I use books, TV and movies, in that genre as a quick escape from my own art. 

Music Bugle – What’s your stance on the use of AI in music? 

Jeffrey James – Honestly, It’s terrifying. I had a producer I was writing with recently who suggested we let ChatGPT write the second verse of the song we were working on. I reluctantly let him try. Luckily, it was absolute garbage and I got to write it using my own brain and skills, but it’s only gonna get better. It also is opening up a “Pandora’s Box” of intellectual property rights issues. Hopefully, that will get sorted soon by the powers that be, but we’ll see. The jury is still out whether AI will ever be able to create any art with true, original emotion. I’m betting that it won’t, but, what in the hell do I know…!

Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?

Jeffrey James – Recently, I’ve been obsessed with The Beths and their 2022 album, ‘Expert In A Dying Field.’

Music Bugle – What do you feel is the next step for your career? 

Jeffrey James – More music! Always more music. I have a few more finished songs and collaborations waiting to be released and I’m always writing new songs. I’ve always been co-composing a musical with a team out of New York, that I’m pumped about and I’ll be playing more live shows very soon!

*Photo Credit – Andy Tomlinson*