Bruce James

"Junkyard Soul" is the second release from soulful singer-songwriter Bruce James. James' music sounds like Otis Redding and Tom Waits having coffee and smoking cigarettes in New Orleans at four o'clock in the morning. "Junkyard Soul" was produced by James at Nest Recording in Austin, Texas with his current band cutting the bulk of the record live to tape with Chris Grady on bass, Chris Trafton on drums, and Bruce on piano and organ. The guitar work was split between Paul Mercurio, Keith Davis, and J.T. Holt who also engineered the record. Geoff Queen played the hauntingly beautiful pedal steel and slide guitar on Sideways, and the saxophones were handled by Marcus Cardwell and Kris Kimura. "Junkyard Soul" captures that organic cohesiveness and warmth that can only be created by a band playing together in a room recording straight to analog tape.

As the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and keyboardist for the seminal Austin based R&B outfit, Tunji, James enjoyed nation-wide success playing close to 250 gigs a year from 1998 until 2002 from Seattle to New Orleans. The release of "Last Night's Wine" brought the band critical acclaim, opening the doors for multiple SXSW showcases, as well as appearances at the High Sierra Music Festival and the Clarksville Jazz Festival. Bruce James has shared the stage with Jimmy Smith, Bernie Worrel, Burning Spear, Dr. John, The Last Poets, Hugh Masakela, Soullive, Guru, and Jurassic 5.

"A piano man that can swing and croon like Dr. John, or growl and stomp like Tom Waits" -David Lynch, The Austin Chronicle

"Bruce James has a deeply soulful set of lungs; at times echoes Springsteen, Joe Cocker and Van Morrison while remaining true to himself." - Relix Magazine, Issue27-2

With the release of "Junkyard Soul" this past July, he and the band planned a fall tour of the Northeast as well as actively searched for a label home and distribution in the US and Europe. Most recently he has performed with Leon Russell at the Kerrville Folk Festival and with the Will Taylor production of the Beatles White Album alongside Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Seth Walker.

Instrumentation
Bruce James -- Keys and Vocals
Tim Spivey -- Bass
Chris Trafton -- Drums
David Jimenez -- Guitar

Discography
"The Wayside Drive Sessions"
"Junkyard Soul"