Death is a taker and death is a giver. In addition to taking a person away from us death also takes our illusions. It takes the illusion that we are in control; The illusion that we will live forever; The illusion that we have the luxury of time. In it's place it gives us this simple truth: one day we too will die and what we do today matters.

Born after the death of his younger brother in Afghanistan, the dissolution of his band, and the end of a long term romantic relationship, James the Giant is a resurrection - a recommitment to life, to music, and to love. The songs embody the spirit that James himself carries into his everyday life. A commitment to honesty and an unwillingness to shrink from pain or fear.

James the Giant was recorded over four days at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone Studios onto 2" analog tape. By eschewing the digital realm and it's comfortable safety nets James the Giant was able to create, along with engineer and producer James Riotto and a handful of San Francisco's best working musicians, an album that is unguarded, unvarnished and real. No auto-tune. No slicing and dicing. Just simple, honest musicianship.

It Belongs To You

Long Days of Longing

Leave it Buried

Tell Me About the Sea

Two Weeks on the Ocean

Simple, honest, raw: those are good words to describe James the Giant. Melodies by turns longsom and happy are woven with sparse arrangements to create a rich emotional tapestry. As one friend put it, "it get's you in the chestal area."

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