The Artist

My path to becoming a songwriter and performing locally (in Bradenton and Sarasota, FL) has been, to quote the Beatles, a “long and winding road.” The
first steps down this road began when I learned guitar in my early twenties, after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University as an actor.

But my path detoured when I became immersed in meditation and mysticism. This eventually led me to India where I studied Hindu/Vedic astrology. For over twenty years, I practiced astrology and wrote five books on the subject. My writings and teachings were instrumental in bringing Hindu/Vedic astrology to the Western world. I also wrote one book on the Hindu philosophy of Advaita, also known as non-duality. This was the result of thirty-odd years of pursuing enlightenment through meditation and many other self development techniques.

In 2006, I bought my first high-quality guitar. It was a limited edition Eric Clapton Martin acoustic, with a sound that affected me so deeply that I decided to take lessons.

During the early 80’s, I wrote songs, and while it was thrilling, it was also demanding. It was not something I wanted to do while intensely committed to my astrological career. I put songwriting on hold, but never out of mind.

Bud Buckley, my teacher and a local performer, taught me new fingerpicking techniques on the many Paul Simon, Art Garfunkle, Bruce Springsteen, Beatles, Van Morrison, and George Harrison songs I had been playing over the years.

The Songs

After months of private sessions, I grew tired of playing other peoples’ songs and began my own writing. The first was a self-reflective tune titled EMPTY THREATS, with lyrics written in a style reminiscent of Bob Dylan. The song is about living life my own way and without regret — something that was always easy for me.

What followed were a string of love songs to my wife, Vashti, two of which are on this CD: STAY WITH ME AWHILE and WHEN THE MUSIC PLAYS.

STAY WITH ME AWHILE describes Vashti’s incredible beauty and my love for her. I was looking for the kind of poetry George Harrison used in Something, one of my all time favorite love songs.

WHEN THE MUSIC PLAYS evolved from a simple little phrase that popped into my head on the way to a pizza parlor. I loved the “hook,” and built a song around it. Vashti’s eyes swelled at the second line, upon hearing it for the first time: “The sweetest dance I’ve ever known, a dream of life with you.”

Having only ever played the song on my guitar, I was thrilled when my arranger, Greg Smith, brought strings to it.

ELISABETH ON FIRE was written to answer my artist friend Elisabeth Phillipson, who kept asking “How do Vashti and Julian (my son) feel when you write them a song?” My verbal responses were consistently unsatisfying, so I wrote her the song and let her answer the question herself.

Elisabeth was deeply moved, and her question was answered better than I could have ever hoped.

BEATLES 45 was created from 45 Beatles titles, as an homage to my favorite band. When I played it for my friend and coach, Joe Yazbeck, he suggested performing it with many singers, the same way as the 1985 charity benefit song We Are The World.

Squeezing into the sound booth with eight singers one Friday night was by far my favorite studio session. It was incredibly fun watching nine artists bring the song to life. And I was glad Julian was with me to see it happen.

Despite the Popeye-like Sailor Bob photo inside my CD, SAILOR MAN is not about a sailor, but about Bob Adamson — an Australian spiritual teacher of Hindu philosophy known as Advaita or non-duality. In his early thirties, Bob was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, where last names were not used. Because there were several “Bobs” in the group, and he had once been in the navy, he was given the name “Sailor Bob,” and it stuck.

In 2004, after a lifetime on the spiritual path, I read Sailor Bob’s first book and brought him to the

States to give private talks and lectures. He stayed in our home for five weeks and changed my life forever, as described in my book LIVING REALITY. He also became a great friend.

My original version of SAILOR MAN was bright and peppy, and I was pleasantly surprised when Greg slowed it down and added luscious strings. I was also happy that a singer friend, Topaz Weis, happened to be in town and joined me for harmonies on the choruses.

LIFE IS A PLAYGROUND is a song about non-dual philosophy, which ascribes no meaning or purpose to anything in life and considers everything perfect as is. All “problems” are seen as arising from the thinking mind. As the lyrics say, “Just remember not to think too much. You lose the fun and you lose the rush!” (To learn more about non-duality, visit www.jamesbraha.com and click on the non-duality door.)

The vocal tag at the end of the song (“Look Daddy, a playground”) is spoken by my son, Julian, who happened to be in the studio on recording day.

The two most difficult songs to write were the one for Julian, WORDS DON’T SAY ENOUGH, and MY OLD MAN. They were difficult because of the extent of my special feelings for both of them, and the fact that I felt I had only one chance to get these songs right. Precisely what to say was challenging, and more than a year passed before I felt ready to attempt either tune.

I began and discarded attempts at Julian’s song five or six times, over many months, before realizing that words could never say enough. Then the song flowed without a hitch. Singing it to him for the first time was a delightful experience until the second chorus: “I’ll be here for you till my days are through. I’ll treasure what you say ‘til my dying day.” As his eyes welled up, I had to turn away or break down myself.

When I finished, there was a profound silence; then he climbed into my lap and gave me a long, deep, precious hug — one I will never forget.

The difficulty with MY OLD MAN, written for my father who died in 1981, was that I couldn’t determine where to start or precisely what I wanted to say. Like the song for Julian, this process continued for a long time, until one day, a tune came on the car radio which included the phrase my old man. I cannot say why, but with that phrase I knew instantly that I could write the song.

It then flowed effortlessly one weekend — one weekend filled with two very emotional days. My father was the gentlest and sweetest man I have ever known.

Julian was the first person to hear MY OLD MAN, and by the end tears were streaming down his face.

DARK SKIES, one of my earliest tunes, was written on a cold, dark, rainy New Year’s Day in 2007, which I found romantic and exhilarating. After Greg Smith’s hard rock, backbeat arrangement was added, it became Vashti’s favorite. (Of course, she is still thrilled by the songs written for her, but she also LOVES dance music!)

LOVERS MISUNDERSTOOD is the only song on the CD that is not autobiographical. It was written for a friend who endured an extremely difficult divorce, and dealt with some painful feelings in the relationship.

During the summer of 2004, I reconnected with my favorite college acting teacher, Jewel Walker, whom I had not seen since 1973. Jewel was a mime and a movement teacher, as well as a truly brilliant acting professor. He had a huge impact on my life as well as countless others, so in the weeks leading up to the visit, I wrote JEWEL and played it for him and his wife during our time together. It was a lovely experience for me and a very surprising moment for them.

The inspiration for SING LIKE SPRINGSTEEN came in the car one day while listening to Springsteen’s beautifully subtle song Magic. I wanted the kind of keyboards that he often uses with such great results. I had been a fan of Springsteen for decades, and after beginning to write songs, I often joked to Vashti: “Why can’t I write lyrics with car washes, steel mills, trains, backstreets, jails, and coal mines?” This song was my chance.