Artist Spotlight: Seth James

Seth James grew up on the Moorehouse Ranch in King County near his birth place of Guthrie, TX. He was no stranger to dirt, hard work, integrity and common sense. Seth has an interesting heritage; while some people come from families with either clean or dirty backgrounds, Seth has a little of both. His mother's side was made up of cowboys, ranchers or lawmen, and his father's side were all outlaws or musicians. This may sound like a tough combination, in fact his parents split when he was in elementary school. The rough and rowdy upbringing in a bunkhouse on a ranch could produce a man of a variety of temperaments, but Seth is a kind, soft-spoken man with a strong work ethic, love for family and God-given musical talent that has been worked into something truly amazing. Seth went to school in Guthrie, and graduated both salutatorian and in the bottom half of his graduating class of two.

Musical influences come from many places, Seth's came mostly from listening to the radio which he did a lot, and any exposure to live music only came from watching country or Texas Swing bands at the rodeo. Seth picked up the guitar as a child, but mostly only played in the privacy of the bunkhouse until he finally played publicly during college. Seth rode his high academic honors all the way to Texas A&M. His father played drums in a house band where Bobby Mack played from time to time, and when going to see his father play he experienced two firsts; seeing somebody play electric guitar live, and seeing Bobby Mack for the first time. Bobby's presence and skill etched a love for the blues into Seth, and this love manifests itself when he takes the stage. Whether playing an acoustic set, playing lead guitar in a band or joining up with the likes of Bobby Mack, Rick Richards and Jimmy Hartman to do a full-on blues show, Seth clearly puts his heart and soul into what he does, and he makes it all look effortless.

While still in college, Seth played with some friends in what they called Black Rose Band, playing mostly covers of Charlie Pride, Ray Price, Haggard, Fogarty, Buddy Guy and many more. Over the years Seth wrote, played and recorded many of his own songs, played with Ray Wylie Hubbard then Cody Canada and The Departed, and of course while on this journey he married his wife Jessica and they had 2 boys together and now live in New Braunfels, TX. Jessica is still a part-time vocalist with Wade Bowen, and if you're lucky you can catch Seth and Jessica singing together from time to time.

Seth and Bobby have 2 more blues shows booked at River Road Ice House on Wednesday, March 19 and 26th, and hopefully more will come in the future. Here is a sample of the first installment of this blues series at River Road Ice House!


links:
Seth on Facebook
Seth on Twitter