Anything's Possible

Having moved from Port Macquarie to the big smoke of Sydney a few years ago, Patrick James believes he is well and truly settled into city life, yet there are still some small city habits he likes to keep alive. “Busking is one of the things that took a lot of work to get going,” James explains, “but now it kind of funds everything I'm doing musically, from recording to touring. It's good because it's fast money, cash-in-hand and you get a few people come to the shows from seeing you in the streets - there seems to be a good rapport there.”

With the modern day musician looking more and more to their fans for financial support through crowdfunding, James says such campaigns are a road he could go down in the future, yet reiterates, “I just love the feeling you get with busking. You can just go to street and all of a sudden there's 20 people around you. I like handing out CDs and flyers while I do it, and I tell them all about my forthcoming shows - it's a cool way of putting yourself out there.”

With his list of achievements for the year including the release of his debut EP All About To Change, supporting both Emma Louise and Josh Pyke for their tours, performing a showcase at BIGSOUND and playing his own headlining tours, there's a lot for James to be proud of. Reflecting on his favourite moments throughout the year he reveals, “I think selling out the two Vanguard [shows in Sydney] at the start of the year, and thenWonderland on Channel Ten having picked up a couple of songs from our EP which has really extended our reach again, so that's really cool. [But] if I had to choose a personal highlight of the year it would be playing with Josh Pyke at the Enmore Theatre. It's a massive venue and so many great bands have played there. It was one of those really special moments for the whole band.”

Looking ahead, James is set to release his next single in October, and gives The Music some exclusive info concerning the track. “I actually haven't said [this] to anyone yet, but it's going to be called Wait and it's coming out on the 22nd of October,” James reveals. “It's a bit different to the other [songs] we've released in terms of production; it's a bit heavier and has a bigger sound. I can't wait to release it. The song is about being loyal to someone; it's about waiting by their side that kind of thing. It sounds corny but that's what it's about.”

While taking a leap forward in production for Wait was something James had been really working towards, he believes it was mainly possible because of the help and direction given by producer Wayne Connolly (Boy & Bear, You Am I). “Wayne was so good to work with. He had just come from recording albums with some pretty big acts and I was just constantly bouncing ideas off him and feeling like he really understood it. We definitely hope to go back and record some more songs with him in the future.”

To accompany the new single James will be heading out on what will be his last tour of the year. “It's been a crazy year, I think I've played upwards of 75-80 shows, so we're all fairly wrecked and are just starting to reflect on the whole year; the fans we've made, the shows we've played. This next tour is going to be great; it will be like a celebration.”

After a fast-paced year like this many would want to take a break and relax a little. Not James. “We'll definitely keep going. We want to record again as soon as possible, so early next year we'll be back in the studio. There will also be more touring and recording coming up pretty early in the new year for our forthcoming album, so we're all looking forward to that.”

To help release his debut album in style, James signed to record label Create/Control earlier in the year, and even though most of the songs for the album had been written a long time ago, he believes they have been helpful in realising his creative goals. “The general kind of stories [for the songs on the album] have been about getting out on the road and touring and having the freedom to do that. And obviously that idea of loyalty - whether it's your mates, your loved one