It has been said that: "Kurt James is one hell of a nice guy, who just happens to be a musician". In fact his guitar playing is actually quite good. Blessed with virtuoso technique, Kurt explores his gifts and unique talent by playing killer guitar licks and infusing them with the insight and vision of a modern day shaman. Consequently, by blending elements of rock, jazz, classical and flamenco, he is able to expand the boundaries of the instrument in a way that parallels the truly magnificent. Consummately humble, Kurt has been known to say "After the dust finally settles, I just want to be remembered for being a Hot Guitar Player." And hot he is, just listen to his incendiary fretwork on these demo's and were we're sure you will agree that this man Rocks!
More about Kurt:
Mr. James has played with some of the finest and most recognized musicians in the world. At the tender age of 15 he was sharing lead guitar duties with Ted Hall, from the incredible L.A. fusion band "The Fents". At 16 he was playing in a band with the late legendary guitarist Steve Medrano, all the while continuing to perform live in his own fusion trio. Among Kurt's earliest influences are: Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Raymond Gomez, John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Larry Carlton, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Pass, George Benson, Allan Holdsworth and Randy Bachman. His first big break came when he was asked to join the top L.A. band "Steeler", hot on the heels of the legendary Yngwie Malmsteen. Kurt remembers,"Playing in Steeler after Yngwie was definitely a turningpoint for me, I joined the band on a Sunday and the following Thursday we were headlining the Country Club in Reseda. That's where I met Mike Varney." Through his association with Steeler he was introduced to Yngwie, the two imediately became fast friends, jamming and recording together. The two were constantly building and swapping guitars, in fact the guitar featured on the cover of "Rising Force" was an amalgamation of parts from Kurt and Yngwie's favorite guitars. Kurt explains: "I had this '72 creme Strat that I loved, but at that time I felt a little strange playing a guitar exactly like Yngwie's, so we decided to trade my creme Strat for his sunburst. He ended up puting his favorite neck on my guitar, that was his main axe until it was accidentally broken at a gig in Colorado. He threw it high into the air and as he was about to catch it, the lights went out, Yngwie couldn't see it, and it ended up hitting the floor." This particular instrument can be identified by a deep scratch in the lower cutaway. "It looked to me like a cymbal had fallen on it." After Steeler Kurt got a call from the Christian band "Stryper". "We got together for about a month, rehearsing and writing songs, but I found that their style of music did not allow for any improvisation, and that kind of environment was too stifling for me."
Right around this time Kurt became friends with Paul Gilbert. "We both were living in Hollywood at the time, we used to jam and hang out together. He had been playing in the band "Black Sheep" and told me that they were looking for a guitarist, we ended up both playing on the record. Kurt also played with the great drummer Bill Lordan (Robin Trower, Sly Stone), "Bill introduced me to my hero, Ray Gomez. Ray and I would hang out all the time, he was a huge influence on my playing. To me Ray Gomez is the grooviest of all the fusion cats!" After that, another drummer friend, Eric Singer (Kiss, Alice Cooper etc.), who I had been playing with, told me that Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge were putting a band together."That band became "Driver". I was able to get my friend Jeff Scott Soto in the band. We recorded some demos and did an interview for the Japanese magazine, "Hard Rocks", that lineup would have been killer live!, too bad we never played a gig. Just one jam at a club called F.M. Station. Right after that I got a call from Mike Varney, asking me if I wanted to record with Deen Castronovo on drums and the original singer of "The Wild Dogs", Fat Matt. That record was called "Dr. Mastermind". I went to Japan after that, and played concerts, got endorsements and did magazine interviews. The grand triumph was the "Guitar Hero's" Tour, were I was featured along with five other guitarists, including Vinnie Moore, Michaelangelo and Joey Tafolla. At that time I had my own record deal with Allan Holdsworth as producer, but some A-hole record executive decided the material had no "commercial potential", and decided to pull the plug on the project!" A devastating blow for Kurt!.... After that Kurt formed the band "Only the Brave" featuring Shawn Michael Perry on vocals. That was a great band with some really neat original material, kind of a cross between "RedBone" and "Van Halen"! Personality differences let to the eventual demise of that group, although Shawn Perry continues to use the name for his band. Another band Kurt fronted was called "K-9 Devotion", a trio that recorded and gigged around the Pasadena area. Always interested in fretless bass, Kurt formed the premier Jaco Pastorius tribute band
"Mr. Gone" a five piece "Weather Report" style band that was very well received. Eventually Kurt relocated to Europe, where he continued his Jaco tribute for a few more years, until he decided it was time to get back to playing the guitar. Kurt has been "flying under the radar" playing clubs in Europe, until recently when ex-Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbine, asked him to join his band the "DeathRiders". "We did shows in San Fransisco, Mexico and played at the Sweden Rock Festival, that was cool!" For 2008, Kurt is is looking forward to getting a new project together. Never lacking in confidence and determination Kurt explains, "I just have to get in front of a live audience, the rest will be history!"
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