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By MIKE CHAIKEN
EDITIONS EDITOR Bristol Observer

Three years have passed since local singer songwriter David James has had a new album out. But the wait is over for fans of this artist on the Skinny Pond imprint of Southington’s Sling Slang records. James recently released “Trad. Arr.,” which was recorded at Bristol’s Aliehn Studios. It is a follow-up to James’ debut album with the ever-changing personal of the Port Wine Authority, “Angel Amen.” We caught up with David James via MySpace to talk to him about the new album.

OBSERVER: How has your songwriting style changed between the two albums?

DAVID JAMES: On “Angel Amen,” I had tunes that I wrote from way back when and placed them on the album because they were ready to go. But on “Trad. Arr.,” my goal was to write specifically for this record and capture a time of about two years in a music life on 45 minutes of recording.

O:What were your musical influences on this record? And how do these influences manifest themselves in your music?

DJ: My influences on “Trad. Arr.” span everyone from Jimmy Page to Joe Strummer to Chris Whitley to all of my fellow label mates on Sling Slang Records.

O:What inspires your songwriting?

DJ: The inspiration I draw off of is all across the board. Movies, books, articles, personal experience, and just a general love for anything interesting. They all generate little stories in my head that I like to write songs about.

O: In your view, what makes a good songwriter?

DJ: I have a little philosophy about good songwriting that I believe pertains to most good songwriters. This is that there are four components to a good song: style, intuition, technique, and emotion. Typically, if all those things are involved with a tune than it should stand up. But sometimes a good song is just a good song even without that recipe.

O: How did you figure out what songs worked for the album and what didn’t? Did you road test them in your live set?

DJ: I played a lot of solo shows this whole year while recording “Trad. Arr.” and test drove a bunch of the tunes live after a year of work on the album with other musicians, Scott Genereau and Matt Sikorski (from fellow Sling Slang band, i).


By Mike Sembos & Vivian Nereim
New Haven Advocate
David James and Port Wine Authority, Trad. Arr. (Sling Slang/Skinny Pond Records). David James' sophomore full-length is a cohesive bunch of softer rock tunes with a touch of '90s alternative flair. Sometimes it's reminiscent of early Pearl Jam or a better version of Creed, and "Blue" conjures memories of that old Alice in Chains single "I Stay Away."
Don't get the wrong impression: David James stays more to the mellow side of the musical tracks. Trad. Arr. is a moody and atmospheric album in which, for better or worse, nothing jumps off the page. There's usually an acoustic guitar at the core of each song, and when the album rocks, it rocks gently inside the box. James has an everyman voice — the lyrics are difficult to distinguish at times, but it's all very honest.