photo by Summer Olsson, duplication by Tucker Cullinan

Between touring and writing/recording his music, Aiden James probably wishes there was a few more of him to go around! He’s a Philly-based, emerging singer/songwriter who headlined Portland Pride a couple weeks ago. His story kind of inspired me, since I’m a little obsessed with connecting with people who have made the choice to leave their day job for creative pursuits. I got a chance to hang with him a bit after his gig, and he was charming, gregarious, and transparent. The fact that he was down for a fun photo shoot was icing on the cake. Here’s an interview with the guy; expect big things from him coming up:

BLCKSMTH: What did you do before what you do now? AJ: Find a way to do what I’m doing now.

What was the job you hated the most? High school … (pause for seriousness)

I was never trapped behind a desk or a slave to the man. That’s not my story. It’s nothing like Dolly Parton in 9 To 5. I’ve been involved with music, even during the early parts of my life. I was a karate instructor for a large chunk of my adolescence, a barista (while I worked the open mic circuit and small coffee house gigs, taught guitar, and then released my first album). Then later down the line……I was working at a neighborhood vintage furniture/gift shop selling fancy handbags and danish modern credenzas to rich white women. “Gay!” I even did social networking and graphic design for the store toward the end: all skills I had taught myself and was applying to my music life..and at what was the beginning of my record label. [Then] I was cutting my second album & started to tour.. this job helped me move to a bigger place in a great neighborhood and build my recording studio. It was flexible enough that I could parlay my new “career” in music.

I believed in the stories I had to share, my unique perspective, and the voice I had to share with them. Creativity is like water; when trapped it will “find a way”.

How supportive were your friends when you got let go, and decided to be a musician full time? How about your family? It’s important not to live your life to please anyone else. After all.. it’s your life, not theirs. Others’ opinions of what I should do was never a factor in my decision making. Fleetwood Mac says “go your own way”.

I had to follow my heart. I had a new supportive fan base that was growing, as I was touring, and my first music video had a television broadcast debut on MTV LOGO. My listeners were excited about new music..so, I launched a way for my community to donate so I could make a new album (before Kickstarter was even a word). After a while, in 2012, I released my 3rd studio album “Trouble With This”. It was 100% fan funded, and launched at #28 on iTunes Top 100 Albums. I wrote, arranged, engineered, mixed, and produced it. I never drank the school-aid…these were all skills I taught myself.

What was the worst thing you experienced in your “new path”? There’s a ton of bullshit in the entertainment world. People will do anything they can to pull you down, out of jealousy. It just fuels me to keep moving forward.

Care to share more about the “bullshit”? Part of stomping out the bullshit is to not give it a voice.

photo by Summer Olsson, duplication by Tucker Cullinan

Ok, then: so what’s the most satisfying part of what you do, of touring? Performing live and getting to meet everyone after the show. It’s what I live for.

Awesome. Tell me a little more about your upbringing. I was born the son of a Viennese naval captain and have 6 brothers and sisters, all of us singers, we had a governess…wait. That’s not my story.

I’m the younger of 2. I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, got out of the house as much as I could growing up. I knew early on that if I wanted something more in life than what was around me. I had to make a choice. Like in the blind melon video: that tap dancing girl dressed as a bumble bee, she had to get out, there had to be something more to life than what she had around her. I created a life for myself where I could be creative, hang out with open minded people, meet cute boys and make choices based on my terms.

photo by Summer Olsson, duplication by Tucker Cullinan

So are you a private person? I would say I am a private person.

And now that you’re touring a lot, getting your music and your face out there…how does that relate to you being a public figure? Lately, I’ve been noticed more and more everywhere I go. “Hey, aren’t you that musician, I saw your video…”. In fact, on a flight, the man next to me asked if I was a musician. I said “yeah, my name is Aiden.” “Are you playing in Portland?” “I’m down at the Waterfront Park tomorrow.” He logged onto the wifi and looked me up…and held his phone proudly and says, “I found you!”

I mean, I’m not one of RuPaul’s drag monsters, or from this season’s “The Voice” or anything, but I’ve felt being in the public eye more and more lately. Generally, people are respectful.

Back to the music. What is your songwriting process…lyrics first? Melody? The process is, there is no process. I write differently for every song, almost. I generally do the puke and prune.

I’ll explain.

I always have melodies in my head. You can often see me singing to myself walking down Spruce street on my way to the gym when I’m home. Sometimes passing a car with a muffled bass line will trigger my musical ear, and I’ll improv a melody. I’ll sing a voice memo into my phone and save it for later. Sometimes it makes its way into a full song. I’ll puke out a bunch of ideas or lyrics, and then later develop that one idea. Prune it back. It’s like a well-crafted Tweet: Short. To the point. Meaningful.

photo by Summer Olsson, duplication by Tucker Cullinan

So then how do you know when you’ve “pruned” enough? How do you know when a song is done? I think any musician would say it’s never done. I know, speaking from my own perspective, there are aspects to a song that will never feel, seem finished. I’m not writing hits for Keith Urban or Kelly Clarkson, like my buddy Matt Morris…where you have like 8 hours to write a “hit” song. I have the luxury of letting the paint dry and the dust settle (we just wrote a few songs together actually, it was so fun!). I have time to prune away…getting the truest form of what I’m trying to say. I never went to school for music or songwriting. The production part for instance (I would also term myself a producer), may never feel done. When you have full control of something you can tend to obsess: getting the EQ just right, or tripling the vocal again with parallel compression. I feel that there is a certain danger in continuing to apply paint because you can. That said…I have never looked back on a song and wish I spent less time on it.

Have you had to adjust to your own expectations about your career (if you had any)? Like Cheryl Crow says, “every day is a winding road”. The music industry is extremely unreliable, and a roller coaster. It’s hard to ride a wave sometimes. But I keep remembering, I’m def one of the lucky ones.

Ok, last question: your style. What do you say to people who ask you to define it? I like pops of color against black, looks from the 80’s…but having a good heart under even a plain t-shirt will always be in style.

Thanks a lot, Aiden, it was great chatting with you!