By Station Manager Kacie Fuller
Readers, I must confess something. Since November I’ve been haunted by unfinished business. On November 9th we posted an article I had written interviewing Will Wood and reviewing his live show in St. Louis. Shayfer James opened for that show as he did for all shows on that tour, but I was unable to cover Shayfer to the same level as I had Will. I left that experience feeling slightly upset with myself that I hadn’t done more to get into contact, and promised myself I’d do a separate article on Shayfer next time they rolled through town.
Well, lo and behold my dear readers, I received an email from Shayfer’s team asking if I was interested in doing a review of his new album. Even better, an interview with Shayfer James himself. Serendipity you beautiful beast, of course I’m interested.
Shayfer James is an American artist whose music I once described as having “evoked the feeling of sitting in a snowy cabin in a mysterious and haunted wood” which is shockingly appropriate for his upcoming album, Summoning. Summoning is James’ 5th longform project, having previously released three albums and a musical project titled The Ninth Hour: A Musical; Shayfer James is not new to song craft. His previous albums include Shipwreck (2023) Counterfeit Arcade (2011) and The Owl & The Elephant (2010), all of which I strongly recommend, especially if you’re into that unique cabaret/jazz/rock blend that Shayfer does so well. His music is fuel to the fire of someone with an overactive imagination. Every song feels like a window into a much larger story, making it extremely easy to get lost in the lyrics and spend hours daydreaming gothic and dramatic scenarios to go along with each song. A pastime I regularly indulge in instead of doing one of my many other jobs.
Summoning is just a little different. James describes the feeling of having known that there was an album in him, but not knowing how to find it or what it would come to be. This feeling drove Shayfer as far as to rent a cabin in the cold northern Canadian province of New Brunswick. Landing at Cape Tormentine, Shayfer would spend four weeks letting the world around him influence what became of the new album. Because of this, the album reads more like a journal. Each song is an entry on something observed or learned through this journey to Cape Tormentine. As the name suggests, the album is influenced by magic and illusion. I’ll let Shayfer touch on the specifics more in the interview below, what I will say is that it’s very effective. The album feels very connected and the theme is engaging. The tracks flow naturally and smoothly, but each fragment is entirely enjoyable on its own. Allowing for the songs to be easily shuffled into any playlist or played back to back. The overarching theme of magic is woven into the production, using piano and harmonies to give this effervescent sound to the music. Where the album entertains with songs like “One Foot in The Grave” it also challenges and confronts with songs like “Winter Hymn.” As I mentioned before, the album feels like journal entries, allowing for Shayfer to be extremely honest with his audience while dressing up that honesty in tonally-dramatic and rhythmic lyrics. The album was born in a cold cabin, and that’s exactly where it transports you when you listen.
Summoning feels like an extremely appropriate escalation from its predecessor, Shipwreck. Shipwreck tells a story I interpret to be a direct confrontation of a personification of hardship, conflict, or loss, introduced through the appropriately titled “Welcome Back, Misery.” Summoning is a welcoming, an understanding, and a reckoning. Putting to rest and coming to terms with what was once viewed as something in direct opposition, and looking to the future. Summoning calls the listener to view their world through a more magical lens as it tells the story of what Shayfer experienced when he did the same, and because of this I am extremely excited for the album’s full release on June 13th. If you like that theatrical cabaret musical style or artists like Fish In A Birdcage, Amigo the Devil, Will Wood, Sparkbird, or Eiesha Eagle, you’ll probably love Shayfer James. You can find his music on your preferred streaming service, or in the crook of an old cedar’s tallest branch, whatever you prefer.
You can hear even more information straight from the man himself! Below is a transcript of the zoom call I had with Shayfer James. I have editorialized it to not include my stuttering, but have done my best to leave it as in-tact as possible. Shayfer was right in the middle of a drive and boarding a ferry, so much thanks for also taking the time to speak to me!
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Kacie Fuller (KF) – Just to start, you’re on the road. You’re kicking off the Canada tour right now, how’s all that felt so far?
Shayfer James (SJ) – Tour has been awesome, I really enjoy touring a lot. It’s not for everybody, but I really have a great time. The U.S tour with the full band was really amazing. Just a lot of going through cities I’ve been to already and seeing the increase of attendance was really exciting, and the fans are the coolest. Now, I’ve never toured Canada, I’ve only played a couple shows in Canada, so last night in Victoria was wonderful. Also to get back together and see again Dusty from “Fish in a Birdcage” and his partner Luna, they’re great folks. The show was great, the crowd was great, and just kinda cool to take a ferry to a gig, instead of just a drive. Pretty beautiful commute. So, so far so good!
KF – I noticed in a lot of the press releases for Summoning, you mentioned how you knew that there was an album in you, you just didn’t know what it looked like. I was wondering if you could speak more on that feeling of knowing that there was an album? I feel like a lot of creatives could relate to that, but I don’t know that I’ve heard it put into words like that.
SJ – Yeah, It’s tricky. It’s sort of like a buzzing that I’ll have. I’ll start to get a bit more distracted from my day to day life, more inclined to, like, zone out during conversations. The best way to describe it is like suddenly things are in sort of super technicolor for me. And that usually is the signal that I need to pay closer attention to creativity. Which I’m always kind of doing in the background, but there’s just a sort of feeling. It’s very hard to describe. I think it’s usually at a time where there’s a shift happening in my life emotionally or even, you know, symbolically. I wish I could put better words to it, but that’s pretty much it.
KF – And then that feeling brought you to Cape Tormentine right?
SJ – Yes! I knew that whatever the feeling was, I wanted to be someplace really cold and very isolated. So I kind of just looked for places that were within my price range and those descriptors. The cottage is beautiful, it was like an old cedar wood cottage right on the ocean across from Prince Edward Island. (slightly unintelligible) Y’know there was a (storm) that recently came through and blew out the power and the heat for a day and it was just awesome. That may sound not-so-awesome, but to me that’s pretty fun, and an adventure, y’know.
KF – Yeah, I was going to ask if you could share more about what that trip looked like? It was four weeks that you were out there. So more on what that day to day looked like, your experience out there, what the living was like, etc.
SJ – Yeah, yes, it was about four weeks. The closest grocery store was 40 minutes. So I would do a weekly shop. I’d wake up in the morning around sunrise and have some coffee and then just kind of get to writing depending on where I was in the creative process. If it felt forced, I wouldn’t do it, y’know. I would just kind of hang out. I had a couple of jigsaw puzzles up there and it was very like, kinda “magical hermit” stuff going on. It’s really beautiful. The bald eagles and crows everywhere. Just really, really cool days spent there. Lots of walks on the beach, sunrise, sunset stuff. The second night I was there actually, I was falling asleep, and I heard three knocks on the wall of the bedroom. Which is really odd because the wall of the bedroom is on the second floor. And I freaked the fuck out, you know, like that feeling you have when you’re a little kid and you’re running up the basement steps kind of thing. And so it felt really really magical.
(Small pause in the interview as Shayfer presented his ticket to the ferry)
SJ – Sorry, thanks for bearing with me here.
KF – No, you’re all good.
SJ- But yeah, it was a pretty creepy experience. And then I made the mistake of researching what it meant. So yeah, it was a very spooky, strange experience that set the standard, I think, for the whole trip, which is very exciting. And it certainly didn’t hurt the whole “summoning” aspect of the music that started to come out.
KF – You’ve released other albums, have you done similar trips like this for those albums or is that new to Summoning?
SJ – No, that’s new. Yeah, I’ve always wanted to do that. And I think, you know, I’ve got that familiar buzzing happening currently. So I think I’m going to make a plan to do it again soon for the next album. And I was feeling like, you know, because the place informed so much of the creative process that it would be cool to experiment and go to a different place or a different vibe altogether, depending on how I’m feeling and see what that brings out of me musically, you know?
KF- Okay. Yeah. You’re thinking like a desert or something next?
SJ – I was thinking of the desert. If I’m going to do someplace hot, it has to be dry heat. ‘Cause I’m a grump in humidity, like, I’m the worst version of myself. So it’s going to have to be the desert if it’s hot.
KF – Did you grow up doing camping or that sort of cabin stays or anything like that? Or is that new also?
SJ – No, but I’ve always wanted it. You know, something I’ve always dreamed about when I was a little kid. I was always really fascinated with the idea of living in cabins and living a bit remote, not total hermit level, I like to be able to drive and get a good cup of coffee and see a movie, you know. But yeah, it’s always been a thing so I’m sure that I’ll end up living in an area that’s a bit more remote and secluded than a city that I live in now.
KF- Interesting. Yeah, that is very… When you talk about it, it does feel very Edgar Allan Poe, like, very old school literature.
SJ – Yeah! Absolutely. It felt that way.
KF – Did you feel that the creative process came easier in that environment?
SJ – It was definitely easy. I think that the isolation and no distraction was a massive help for sure. But really not having any distractions. No place to really go unless I made a plan. And I did each weekend I was there, I would go away to different city. I went to Moncton one week, I went to Prince Edward Island one weekend, and I went to Nova Scotia; I had a gig. So the three weekends I had, I visited other cities. And that’s cool to collect a bit more about the actual culture of the region I was in while I was there.
KF – You’ve mentioned how the entire experience was very magical, there’s the three knocks and you’re in a secluded area. Was there any other things that you observed, or landmarks or anything that were particularly inspirational on your trip?
SJ- Yeah, there were several actually. There was an old lighthouse, the old Cape Tormentine lighthouse, which was directly across from the window where my keyboard was set up. It was right in front of me. And it was obviously inspiration for the song “Lighthouse Keeper.” I was in this secluded space already and staring at this really, really interesting looking lighthouse. If you Google a photo of it, it’s not really a typical shape or what you would imagine is the typical shape of a lighthouse. That was amazing, just to have that right across from me every morning at sunrise. And, actually, I was driving on Prince Edward Island and crossing over into a suburban town just outside of it. And I really can’t remember the name of the town, but I had been working on a song that Friday and I was at Prince Edward Island for Saturday. And I was trying to figure out what a hook, or lyric, could be. I was bouncing around my head. And as I crossed over the bridge from the main city there into the suburban town, it just said on the sign, “Imagine that” with an exclamation point. I looked at it and was like, “well, that’s it!” And that ended up being the name and the main lyric of the first song on the album. And it was just because I happened to veer off my chosen path and drive around a little bit. There were crows everywhere, and just the Maritimes “felt.” There’s something really interesting about that, I think it definitely informed my choices musically as well.
KF – Awesome. Yeah, I was going to say the album is very vulnerable. It felt like a journal almost, like each song was this like, entry, of your time on the Cape. It’s inviting the audience into this very raw area of your life, especially with songs like “Winter Hymn.” I was wondering how you approach sharing so much of yourself with such a large audience, if there’s any part of it that’s really daunting or anything like that?
SJ- Not really. I feel like I just write and then when I’m done, I know what it’s about. I feel like over time, I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m just sort of comfortable being vulnerable, which took me a while to get there through my art. It’s maybe fewer metaphors shrouding what I actually mean, and just being a little bit more on the nose about how I’m feeling. And that feels easier just because of where I am in my life. I think I’m just more open. And it is, the album really is very much a journal entry for me. It felt like a new chapter in my life had started just before I started writing it. So if Shipwreck, the previous album, was the end of book one, I’ve said this a couple of times, then Summoning is the beginning of book two of my life, which is really exciting for me.
KF – You’ve certainly managed to gain this very sizable audience that has formed itself into this very tight knit community. I was wondering how interacting with that community that has built around your art has been? I imagine that must be kind of surreal, like all these people connecting with one another over something that you have made.
SJ – Yeah, it’s totally surreal. And it never gets old, you know, especially because the fans are so lovely and thoughtful and intelligent. And they’re finding all these things that are baked in, not even necessarily intentionally, but they’ll flag things that are baked into my writing because of the stuff I grew up listening to or reading, and I didn’t even realize it. And, you know, we all as artists incorporate our subconscious worlds into our writing. And that they would pick up on nods that I’m giving to movies and visual art and books that I loved growing up, is really impressive, you know, and that blows me away. The way that they find the Easter eggs, that some of them I’ve forgotten I’d hidden. And (they’re) just so kind. I don’t know, I feel pretty grateful that if you could have fans at all, that your fans would be as cool as mine are. And the community that they have in the space of the shows. I played this show in Portland recently and it was just kind of mind blowing the energy in the room. It felt like everybody was just comfortable letting go and just enjoying each other, and they meet new friends and they meet each other, you know, long distance through my Patreon. They’ll make plans to meet up at shows and meet for the first time in real life. And it’s pretty incredible.
KF- That is very sweet. Yeah, how do you think that bond that you’ve created with your fans is going to impact the way that you do future concerts or your future albums?
SJ – Yeah, every once in a while there’s a song on the new record, “One Foot in the Grave,” as I was writing it, I was sort of like…this feels like it’s for them, you know? And so it sort of veered off from just being a song I was writing organically to being like, how do I find in conversation something that feels really connected to the world that my fans have to navigate, you know, because so many folks are marginalized and feeling a little bit scared in the world right now. And so that felt really natural and good. And that wouldn’t be something I could ever force, you know, it’s like if it’s right for the song, it’ll scream at me and it’ll happen. And in terms of live performance, I just wanna keep it cool and interesting and change it up. And as the career grows, I can make different financial decisions to make the show bigger and more interesting or just kind of change the strategy entirely and perform in different types of venues and put on different types of shows. I grew up in theater, so there’s that aspect of my music that I would love to incorporate into the live show at some point when the funds and the opportunity are there.
KF – So kind of going off of that, what do you think your dream sort of concert would look like? Or is there like a dream venue or anything like that you’d like to play?
SJ – No, not a dream venue, I don’t think. But it would be great to have a five piece on stage and to be able to incorporate – I’ve dabbled before with incorporating live spoken word, poets and dancers and visual artists into a show in a way that’s really unique. And that would speak directly to the community of the fans and feel like… you walk out and just had a really, really surreal and special experience.
KF – Are there any songs that’ll drop with the album that you’re particularly excited for folks to hear?
SJ – Yeah, for sure. So the one I spoke of, “Imagine That” , that’s the first track on the album. I’m really excited about that. For various reasons. It sets the tone for the album and it’s just really a special tune to me. And then there’s a song called “Yellow House” which is really autobiographical. It’s about the first three years of my life. When I was around two, I walked over to a running tractor in my backyard and stuck my hand into the front of the engine compartment and it messed up my right hand pretty badly. So I have pretty significant scarring and some skin grafting on my index finger and the palm of my hand. And so my mom actually rehabilitated my hand at the piano. That’s the way she could get me to pay attention, to get my fingers working the way that they should, because the doctors were uncertain as to whether that was going to be a thing that was possible. So there is that moment in this house. It was this yellow house in a mountainside town in New Jersey. So it directly references that early childhood and what the environment was. Not so much my experience because I was so young, other than that tractor accident, but sort of what was swirling around me. And it’s the most personal song I’ve ever written. It’s the most honest and literal representation of my life for sure. I’m really excited about that. I’m really proud of the string arrangement I wrote for that. It’s like one of my favorite compositional things I’ve done.
KF – That’s awesome. I’m also very excited to hear that. So you started piano pretty young. When did you first get that buzzing feeling of needing to write an album or do more with that?
SJ – Yeah, it’s interesting. I didn’t actually even try or attempt to play piano again. I think I took a couple lessons when I was nine, but I was bored of it, I suppose. My mom couldn’t get me to stick with it. But when I was 17, I had written a sonnet for someone I had a crush on and I decided maybe I would try to make it a song. So I sat down at the family piano and just started writing. And that was the first inclination I had towards songwriting. And whether or not I could play the piano was unclear. It just sort of came out. And that was the first time. And really since then, it’s been in an ebb and flow, y’know, through the years of productivity and creativity. But normally there’s always like a little bit going on in the background.
KF – I guess, I mean, I have some more jokey questions, but now I’m really into these, like, serious talks, I don’t know.
SJ – Whatever you want to talk about! I’m just waiting for the Ferrys.
KF – Okay! I was gonna say at the station, all of our DJs are students. A lot of them are in bands. A lot of them are people who make music and are songwriters and all this stuff. And they’re starting out in this local artist scene. I didn’t know if you had any sort of advice or anything looking back that you wish you would have known then that you know now?
SJ- I would say just stick to your gut. I’ve never compromised my artistic instincts. And I think a lot of times, folks will try to get’cha “Oh, you sound like this, you should do more of this” you know? Or even, you’ll be inclined… There’s mimicry, and there’s finding your voice, and whether it’s your voice or derivative of a voice that you love, I think the most important thing is to be really tapped into what you are as an artist and what you are as a writer. It’s great to have people that impress you and that you learn from, you learn the craft from, but it’s so much more important to just do what comes naturally for you as a writer and a creator, I think.
KF – Most of our DJs have decided to go with like DJ names and a lot of them are very ridiculous and very funny. And I was curious if you had a DJ name, what would it be?
SJ- Oh, for sure. When I was on tour with Will Wood, we had a joke. I’m generally a pretty positive person, but there was one day that I was really very grumpy. I was just sort of frustrated with the situation that was going on. And there was a joke that they’d never seen me, you know, pissed off before. So they called me Shiffy Jim, as if it was like an alter ego to the normal positive upbeat version of me. So I think it would definitely be DJ Shiffy Jim. I think that’s perfect, actually.
KF – That’s very good! If you had a DJ set, what type of music would you play, you think?
SJ – Oh, I feel like it would be… yeah, it would be all soul, Motown music for sure. That’s my favorite music so it’d be that.
(Small side conversation to discuss sending in MP3s to KJ)
KF – Something I thought of when I was listening to the album is that the production style was different for this one. Obviously album to album, you don’t want all of them to sound the same. But I was wondering if there was anything specific that inspired that tonal shift?
SJ – Yeah, it was all really from the demo. What you hear on the final album is really just higher quality production of the demos I arranged. When I got together with Mike Fretty, he’s the producer, he produced Counterfeit Arcade, he produced Shipwreck. We’re really old friends and he’s one of my closest friends and supporters creatively. And when he listened to the demos, he was sort of like “I don’t know, I wouldn’t change very much about this.” There were a couple of songs that we picked apart. But the production, in terms of arrangement, tonally, and in terms of instrumentation was really like…. if I were to share the demo of the songs and the final version, you’re just hearing a more lush recording and production of the demos themselves. And hearing a live bassist indulge and dance around with the bass lines that I had set out. I am not a bass player, so I’m not going to play that, you know, and I’m not a drummer. So there’s certain beautiful things that professional musicians will do to just bring it up a notch and bring everything up another level. But the production approach was really sort of like, let’s keep it as organic to that experience that I had writing it. In fact, a lot of the backing vocals are just the demo backing vocals from the cabin in Canada. We just dragged them into the sessions, ‘cause we felt like they represented something. There was something about the sound bouncing off those old cedar walls that we couldn’t replicate in the studio even if we sat there for two hours finding the right reverb. So yeah, that really was pretty much it that made it special, I think.
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I’d like to thank Shayfer James and his team (shout out Tamara) for being so lovely! It was wonderful to speak with you all, and I’m excited to see what’s planned for the future!
Summoning comes out June 13th wherever you get your music. Keep it locked!