David James

Billionaire Blues, the debut CD from David James's GPS

​

​

Background

San Francisco-born and Oakland-bred guitarist and vocalist David James has been involved in much of the spectrum of the Bay Area music scene, from sculpting guitar feedback and ambient sounds with Thessalonians (1986-1991), to touring and recording with Spearhead (1994-1997) and the Coup (1999-2004), to playing Afrobeat and with (Sila and the) Afrofunk Experience (2004-2020) to presenting funky art-song with the Beth Custer Ensemble (2001- present), all the while cultivating his own compositional voice.  

​

​

The Album

Billionaire Blues is the first album of music written by David James. The album was recorded over two days in September, 2015 at Beth Custer's home, with engineer Jeff Cressman bringing his mobile recording rig to the rehearsal studio/long table dining room, and with the band recording live without headphones – only hearing one another in the room.  The challenges presented by recording this way (and the challenges of then mixing such a recording) were outweighed by the natural feel of the process, which made for a deep listening and a extra-attuned responsiveness between the musicians. 

 

The mostly-instrumental album ranges in style and influences: it includes cartoon music ("Wag the Puppy"); elegiac blues ("Billionaire Blues"); reggae ("Rubber Foot"); a waltz ("Powell Doctrine"); a bopping jazzish tune ("Obama Hop"); and various combinations of Afro- and other-beats ("2 Zs, 2 Ps", "Grip", "Black Ops").

 

 

Note:  different versions of both "Black Ops" and "Wag the Puppy" are featured on the album by the Beth Custer Ensemble, For the Grace of Any Man.

 

Have a listen!

​

Billionaire Blues

David James - guitar, voice

Beth Custer - clarinets

Alan Williams - trombone 

Dina Maccabee - viola

Lisa Mezzacappa – contrabass

Jan Jackson - drums

​

​​

​

Billionaire Blues was funded by the Musical Grant Program of InterMusic SF  (formerly San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music) 

www.intermusicsf.org