On the edge of something

International R&B musician holds concert at Nutshell Arts Center

By LISA CUTRONI

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — While Sullivan County is familiar with artistic expression, many may be unfamiliar with the music of James Hunter, an international R & B musician scheduled to perform at the Nutshell Arts Center on March 4.

“James possesses an incredible gift: his voice, the undeniable quality of what he does, his writing and guitar playing. There is an immediate reaction when people hear it; they appreciate it, which I think is really rare,” said Kimberly Guise, a founder of GO Records.

Guise, along with Steven Erdman, founded the label in 2003 to promote Hunter’s music from their home in North Branch.

“You can’t listen to this guy and not think that there is something extraordinary happening here,” Erdman said.

After 20 years in the business, Hunter is preparing for his first U.S. release. People Gonna Talk is slated for release on March 7 and a U.S. tour is centralized along the east coast. Part of the tour includes the stop at the Nutshell Arts Center to benefit public radio station WJFF. This is the third album for Hunter, a 43-year-old native of England.

“I think James’s music is both vintage and modern; he’s putting his own stamp on things,” Guise said. “It’s the timeless quality that the audience loves,” a quality that was magnified the album’s production by Liam Watson in his ToeRag Studios in London.

According to Hunter, it was the old-style analogue hardware that Watson employed that made the album a success.

“I am very pleased with this one. It’s the first time we sounded the way we were supposed to,” he said.

For Hunter, who plays with a Les Paul Gibson electric guitar like Lowman Pauling, a 1950s R & B artist Hunter looks up to, it’s about reaching his audience and giving them a taste of a branch of music almost forgotten.

While it has been an eye-opening experience for music-industry novice Guise, for Erdman, who first met Hunter 18 years ago while on a trip to London and is a fellow musician, it’s more of an emotional ride.

“It’s been really challenging, a bit like a roller coaster ride. For me, the thrill is being around the creative process,” Erdman said. “Watching James come up with a seed of an idea and watching him come through with an album, to see it happen, is just a really thrilling time.”

The recording of People Gonna Talk was completed in 2004, and consists of 14 songs written by Hunter. During the tour, he has written five additional songs for his next album.

“It’s exciting because we thought it would only be a U.S. release, but it’s being released all over Europe between March and April,” Guise said.

Despite his history in the industry, Hunter doesn’t think his career has really started.

“It hasn’t taken off yet. It’s been a success because I’ve had fun with it, but materially, not yet, but it does look promising,” Hunter said.

And for him, it’s not about money—at least, not altogether.

“I think it’s 50 percent for love and 50 percent for money. Although it must be more about the love, because I haven’t made much money, but I still enjoy doing it.”

The roster for Hunter’s six-member band finalized in 1990, after taking the course familiar to bands: changing members until harmony was reached.

“Somebody knew somebody else; we were just getting and losing people until it worked socially and musically,” Hunter said.

As for song material, Hunter finds that in the lives of everyday people, scribbling notes in notebook after notebook, and tearing and pasting pages until disjointed prose lines become a song.

“I just mix and match until I get one,” Hunter said.

For the WJFF event, Guise anticipates 200 to 400 will people show up. “There is definitely a buzz,” she said.

“We are just really happy we are able to do this for WJFF. We hope to raise a lot of money.”

For more information on Hunter’s upcoming Lake Huntington WJFF benefit concert, call 845/482-4141.