If there is one artist you need to check out right this second, it is James Bay. Emerging from the small town of Hitchin, UK, Bay has impressed listeners everywhere with his unique tone and acoustic style. The singer-songwriter stole the show opening for ZZ Ward at the House of Blues on September 18. He captivated audiences with his charismatic personality and raw talent, displayed in acoustic numbers such as “Move Together.” Bay is a hidden gem in the music industry—expect to hear a lot about him in the very near future. The Bite had the opportunity to speak with Bay backstage after his set about his music taste, opening for the Rolling Stones and touring.
Since this is your first American tour, what is different from touring in the UK?
Here’s a curveball for you: I actually haven’t done a full tour in the UK yet…It just so happens that this is the first proper full-length tour I’ve done, and it’s in America. I’ve gigged so much back home in the UK…I’d go night after night five or six nights a week and just play open mics and gigs…I don’t know what the differences are, but what I do know is coming over here there is this quite sort of big, obvious—you go to a show, and the crowds are just out for a great time every night. That feels like one of the differences, just when the curtain opens, you play your first song, and everybody’s just there to hear some great music, and that’s really cool. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Why did you move to London?
I grew up in a little town, and there comes a point when you just kind of need to stretch your legs a little further. So I had to get out. And I guess over here you’ve got LA, New York, Chicago—Florida—you’ve got all these places. If you come from a little town, you’ve got some cool options, and in the UK there’s a few options but London’s kind of the big draw, especially for music. And you know, you can only live in your parent’s house for so long.
We’ve read that you’re looking at releasing a full-length album with a band.
I am, yeah.
Have you started working on that?
I’m just about to, actually. I guess I’ve been writing for it for a little while now. But actually recording, we’re about to get into it very soon after this tour. I am so excited about it, because you know I’ve been doing the acoustic thing…It’s something that I love doing. It’s kind of the easiest thing. Also, it’s the best way to test songs because you get up and play it with an acoustic guitar, or maybe you’re a piano player, and you sit down at your piano. You’ve got one instrument, and to just do it like that, if the song comes across and the crowd loves it, then it’s probably a pretty good song. That’s a good way to test them, so that’s why I’ve been doing it like that. But the band is on the way, which I can’t wait for.
This is crazy, because we’re obsessed with The Rolling Stones. You opened for them at Hyde Park. Can you just describe what was going through your head?
It’s still a very difficult thing to describe it. One way I think to describe it might be that just to see [that] my name was on a poster, at the very bottom, and that poster had their name on it at the top. It was crazy, to share a poster with The Rolling Stones.
Did you keep it?
Oh yeah. It’s in a glass case at home. There’s like lasers around it. There’s a guard dog. [Laughs] You know, just to have it on the same poster as that, to have that brief [association] with the Stones and everything that that is and that means. It was brief, it was a fleeting thing, it was an incredible day…It was a lot of feelings, is what it was…Backstage is a big area, and within that they have their own little village, it was like “Stones Town.” Rumor has it, what I was told on the day, is that Mick Jagger had a 25-meter running track back there to warm up on for the show. Honestly, if he had it there, I guess it worked out because they had a big ramp going into the crowd, and he ran up and down it two or three times. He’s 70 years old, how does he still do that? They were really, really good, it was kind of surprising and comforting to know that they’re still brilliant.
If you could tell your past self something that you know now, what would it be?
You know what it would be? Don’t obsess so hard about the guitar. Don’t try and learn every single lick, and every single scale, and all that stuff. Just relax and stay creative…If you don’t know, you might just stumble over something incredible. I write on the piano sometimes because I can’t really play the piano. That’s the best way to discover stuff- happy accidents. I guess I’d say that. Just chill out and be creative. Don’t think, just enjoy.
Have you ever had any unforgettable moments on tour?
Last night [September 23,] I jumped onstage with The Wild Feathers, who I’ve quickly become a huge fan of, an amazing band. We share a lot of the same musical influences and stuff. There’s this great band, called The Band, and they were Bob Dylan’s band, and they have this amazing song called “The Weight,” which is an awesome song. You’ve got to go give it a listen if you don’t know it. Last night, this was a small thing, but it was very cool. It was very fun. I got to go onstage and play with The Wild Feathers, and we played “The Weight” and all sang in harmony. Also, there’s this place we drove through in Utah, that you’ve got to check out if you don’t know it yet. It’s called Monument Valley, and it’s just amazing. Google it…The scenery and the landscapes are incredible.
Why did you start making music?
So the small town that I came from was good for a minute, and then it was really boring. There wasn’t so much to do. I think like so many of us, you get to like ten or eleven, maybe a little bit older, and at school people start talking more about music and less about Playstation. It was the most amazing interesting thing to do that just kind of took me away from the place that I was too used to, my little hometown that I found kind of boring. I started making music because it was exciting and new and different. It’s endless. It’s endless, and it always will be. There will always be something new about it. So that’s why, I suppose.
If you could have an hour with anyone living or dead, who would it be?
My answer is this author called James Baldwin, who’s an amazing author, and he wrote this book called Another Country, which has just captured me since I read it a couple of years ago. I’ve read it a few times since, and it just blows my mind every time. I’d love to just sit and chat with him for an hour. That’d be amazing. Pick his brains, [or] we could have a conversation. That would be perfect.
Who would you say your biggest musical influences are?
It’s so hard for there to be one because whoever it was yesterday or is today, it will change in two weeks—or it’ll change in two years more realistically. But you know, there’s lots. I’m a big fan of classic artists from Carole King to Bob Dylan. And you know, Adele is amazing. She’s exploded onto the music scene, but she is fantastic. So I’m hugely influenced by her. And Ray LaMontagne, there’s lots of names.
If there was one song I had to put on my iPod right now, what would it be?
Very good question. There’s one album I think you should go grab. Just because I listened to it today, and I can’t make up my mind, maybe you could help me out. I listened to Kings of Leon’s new album, which I was really excited about. I’m a big fan. There’s a lot of really great sounds and really great songs on there. But, there’s still so much that I need to get my head around. So go put that on your iPod.
What country would you most like to visit and play in?
Well this is going to suck as an answer. If I wasn’t here and I was anywhere else in the world, I would say America. Because along all my great British influences, I have a lot of great American ones as well, from Springsteen to Ray LaMontagne to John Mayer to whoever…I guess I can’t use that as an answer, since we’re here now.
What venue would you want to play?
I’m trying to think of exotic venues. I guess the Sydney Opera House looks pretty great. That’d be awesome. Let’s go with that one.
