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Dave & Ellen met back in 1983 at their family reunion. Cousins who shared the same musical fantasy, that would stay untapped for several years.What began as lip-synching in the family living room over the years turned into a very successful musical run in New England from 1990-1998.They began performing many years ago in local nursing homes and trauma centers, using their music to really tap into the human spirit. It was there that they honed their skills and became comfortable with performing in front of "non-family". Influenced by many artists from Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, to The Beatles, and The Carpenters, their sound was different than what people were used to hearing.
Known for their harmonies, charisma, and high-energy performances...it wasn't long before people started talking.What ballooned in the coming years was almost hard to believe. Their musical following grew bigger and bigger, and suddenly their faces and music turned up everywhere. Posters, pictures, t-shirts, bumper stickers, radio, TV...etc. Their fans were renting busses and driving to their tour dates and competitions to show their support.
Neither cousin took any of their success for granted. Each and every person that came to their shows felt like they were best friends with the duo, as a result of their tireless effort to make everyone feel like they we there to share something special. Their performances at festivals, weddings, conventions, and telethons became the talk of the town. “People left their everyday lives and stresses, and let their hair down at the show, and we were able to make them forget the day to day grind, and live it up, if only for four or five hours. It was pretty cool to know we had the ability to stir-up a crowd and make them live it up...even the shy folks were on the dance floor...not because they felt they had to be, because they WANTED to be a part of the festivities…”, say James & Masse in a mid-90’s Boston Globe interview.
Their debut CD, "Be With Me", recorded with the Joni C Band in 1995 was named "Record Of The Year" at the Country Music Organization Of America's national talent competition in Las Vegas. They conquered the music circuit on the east coast, and won dozens of awards from the Downeast Country Music Association, as well as 7 national titles in Las Vegas, from the Country Music Organizations Of America. Shortly after winning every category nationally in 1997, everything seemed to fall apart."We were national award winners in Las Vegas, and returned home to playing small dingy bars and some unsavory venues...it was such a culture shock. From top of the world to top of the tiny-stale-beer-stench stage...""Music became something people paid us to do, and not what was fun, meaningful, or exciting anymore. We were at a show one night, and nobody cared what we sang. It was about what we were wearing, what kind of beat there was...the words, harmony, vocals didn't matter. We said we'd stop when it stopped being fun, and we did! Part of success is knowing when to bow out gracefully".
Several years later now, they are picking their projects very carefully. They volunteer still for different organizations, like Camp Waban, an organization that assists disabled children. They turn down more large events then they take, because the projects need to be special...to count."We feel reborn. We've both suffered many heartaches and challenges, and swam up current in both our professional and personal lives. It's our time to go back to the beginning and share some good stuff with some special people!".Now back in the recording studio, they are working on their MUCH ANTICIPATED follow-up CD, titled "This Is The Life", scheduled for release in mid-October 2008, recorded in East Kingston, NH at Drumlin Downe Studios. "We've worked in the studio with some really talented people and some AMAZING songwriters, so hopefully when the CD is released, our talent will shine through theirs....".The eighteen-song recording contains songs about life, love, loss, and faith. When asked why the CD contained eighteen songs (nearly double the count on a traditional CD), the duo replied, “Well, we chose the initial songs, and started finding even more incredible songwriters and their work felt like it was consistent with the feel and ‘package’ we wanted to leave our mark with...then we thought, who says a CD has to have 10 songs? Who wrote that rule? Let’s break it!”, they laugh.They continue, "This project has been a long time coming. We hope those folks who used to follow-us every weekend back in the nineties will hear a better, more mature, but still-full-of-heart set of songs by two crazy dreamers! Those people who have never heard us? Well, hopefully they will find something in our music that touches them, and either makes them smile, tap their toes, sing along...or well, JUST PLAIN FEEL!"