James Secord - November/December 2003
by Ryan McLaughlin
Who: James Secord
What: Experimental melodic pop (containing C chords)
Where: Grimsby, ON
To Contact: barn@jamessecord.com, www.jamessecord.com.
No CD, no press kit, no fancy bio. He barely has a band and is still working out the details of his live show. One might wonder how Grimsby, ON’s Barn managed to enter the pages of Canadian Musician - in a word: he’s f’ing fantastic and I was lucky enough to be handed a copy of his basement demo - really just a collection of self-recorded songs done à la Sonic Foundry’s Vegas Pro software - and it hasn’t left my stereo. With vocals that confidently span his range and go from sounding Lennon-esque to being reminiscent of the late Shannon Hoon, Barn is sure to make the industry look his way. The multi-instrumentalist only recently decided to formally assemble a band. “A kid down the street named James Secord suggested that I start one,” he explained. “I agreed on the condition that he’d be in it and the band be named James Secord. Secord - C chord; too perfect.” Citing influences from the Beatles to the likes of Elliot Smith and Radiohead, he relayed that his music is designed to be “pop” sounding, and perhaps one day will earn the label. With T-shirts made, a “crappy basement demo” burned and shows being lined up, a debut album and much notice can be expected next summer.
