James Beaudreau is a musician and composer from New York. Since 2006 he’s released three albums of experimental guitar-based music on his Workbench Recordings label.
At Time of Rivers Festival, 2008. Photo: Eric Hoffsten
James grew up on Long Island to a Motown soundtrack — that’s what was played in the station wagon, in the living room, and at family get-togethers. It was his mom’s music. James’s dad had come from The Ventures, Chet Atkins and The Beach Boys but he only really played The Beach Boys stuff around the house.
Rock and roll hit at around age 10. Many of the specific records will probably be written about on this blog. In particular it was Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin that made the deepest impression. Other important acts were The Doors, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Jeff Beck, Cream, The Rolling Stones, Yes, and Chuck Berry.
Later influences include Thelonious Monk, Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, John Scofield, Paul Motian, Captain Beefheart, Son House, Derek Bailey, John Stevens, The Meters, Peter Green and Booker T. & the MG’s.
From 1998 to 2003 James was the guitarist for The Billy Nayer Show, a band called “frightening yet endearing” by The New Yorker, and whose music was described as “like co-productions of Kurt Weill and Neil Young” by The Village Voice. During James’s years with BNS, he played on four of their albums (The Villain That Love Built, Return To Brigadoon, The American Astronaut Soundtrack and Goodbye Straplight Sarentino) and toured the US and Canada with the group.
James’s solo recordings have been reviewed in WIRE magazine, All Music Guide (by Eugene Chadbourne), Paris Transatlantic and other publications.
James is currently working on his fourth album.
Workbench Recordings is a hybrid between a regular label with physical releases (in small runs) and a netlabel posting music online.
As of late 2011 Workbench Recordings has released music by James Beaudreau, Philip Lynch, Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs, E. Ryan Goodman, Jim McAuley & Andrew Pask, Marvelry Skimmer and Three Is a Green Crown.
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Visit: Workbench Recordings
