Written by: Lady J
November 22, 2010
Full Name:James Menefee
Age:32 (hates to admit that)
Currently Residing: Richmond, VA
Currently Listening to: Ryan Bingham, anything I can get into, power pop
"why did I say f*cking boob that's lynch time"
This is how an interview is suppose to start...with a autocorrect text while driving and being late at the same time. Singer/Songwriter James Menefee of the band Long Arms responded with, "Oh my god that is the best text I've ever seen." Yes James, yes it is. What happens when a Southside Richmond native who started in the post punk scene with band Fun Size and onto such accomplishments as River City High? Well, you go forth on your own venture of course.
After former members Mark Avery moved to London and Chip Crosby also vacating town, James played some bass for local band, Race the Sun. A short stint with them lead him to the thought of a solo venture. Menefee had a lot of songs written in storage and thought why not go out on his own. And so Long Arms is born.
James has been involved with music since he was 12 and played his first show when he was 14 years old with band Fun Size. I think I was at that show actually. It's interesting to see someone's musical progression and with James it's been a maturation which has progressed into music which respects his punk rock past and heart but musically and lyrically evolved into a grown man's narrative. Well read and twitchy, Menefee's presence is charming. You sometimes wonder whether he's with you or not or if he's in some far away place philosophizing on life. HIs talk is fast and mumbled at times, but there's no mistaking the pure heart and keenness of his lyrics on the debut release of Long Arms, "Long Arms to Hold You". After taking already written material to the studio and then distributing to what he felt were fitting musicians, about 20 of them, he was impressed and humbled that everyone he asked contributed to the album. Finding the right players for Long Arms was not that difficult and what he came up with was a nice eclectic mix of performers as well as a nicely diverse album.
What I love about Long Arms is how nondescript they are. When they walk up on stage their appearance is deceiving. What's a guy with dreads and an Indian dude, two tall guys with cool haircuts and that girl with pretty red hair gonna play? Well, they are going to get your feet stompin' and your heart feelin' and maybe even some swayin' mixed in there. When I asked Mr. Menefee how he would describe his latest release, he replied with, "It is lyrically honest, not far from the vein of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album and musically it's all over the map...there's indie, folk, country, rock". I describe the album as "Merican". Not Americana, not folk, not alt country, but Mercian. It has that John Cougar feel to it, but also brings in some pop rock as well. Having fiddler, Treesa Gold definitely makes the album and live performance stand out as well. Her sound brings in the folk/country element and she's cute as hell to watch play amongst these boys. Lyrically this album is an honest POV in life and love. James doesn't hold back, raspily crooning declarations of true life experience and "the dog left with my wife" style lyrics that make you just want to give him a big hug.
What's nice about Long Arms is that they have reached a senior level of play. They don't fit in anywhere which is refreshing. There's no uniform, they are just up on stage playing it from the heart and playing it well. You can tell they just enjoy playing music together and although there isn't an agenda for touring, James has an itch for it and that's ironic due to his travel anxiety. He says it's hard getting so many people's schedules to be conducive to an actual tour but would like to play outside of Richmond at some point. It's what I call the "real life band syndrome". You've got a bunch of people who are working for a living who enjoy music and well, they play when they can and when it works, but they practice every waking hour! Let's face it, touring in a band in your 30's can be cost affective as well. I like that they have this grassroots approach to their music as well. It makes them more enjoyable to watch and listen to because they aren't trying to prove anything.
I wanted to know more about Mr. Menefee's creative conceptions for this album and he describes it as an organic process similar to that of 'Brunswick Stew'. "It's a whole mix of things...the meat is the shit that happens and the stock is the chords." He says he can't write a song about something that doesn't exist, it's something that has to have happened. For instance there's a line in "Leave the Best Behind" about him forgetting his mom's birthday and how sad he was that he did that. I find his writing to be very honest, very matter of fact, and very much story telling of things that happen in one's every day experiences.
When James isn't performing with Long Arms, he's performing with his 70's English punk rock cover outfit, The Druthers. If you haven't gone to see these guys I suggest you do so because besides Richmond's local, Imaginary Boys, these guys nail it from Elvis Costello to Gang of Four.
I asked James my infamous bartender question in which he listed accordingly:
Hemingway, Charles Bukowski, Ted Kaczynski, Jimmy Swaggart, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson, Jack Kerouac, and Tim Buckley of Maki. What a bar!
I have to publicly apologize to Long Arms for how long this feature took to be posted. I also want to emphasize that our interview was more in-depth that I've written here which is why I never liked doing live interviews. If I get brave I may post the whole audio.
You can buy Long Arm's release "Long Arms to Hold You" on iTunes and also visit their merch shop.
If you are in the RVA area on November 27th, check out Long Arms with Maki. For details go to FACEBOOK.
For more on Long Arms:
Back to Sounds
November 22, 2010
Full Name:James Menefee
Age:32 (hates to admit that)
Currently Residing: Richmond, VA
Currently Listening to: Ryan Bingham, anything I can get into, power pop
"why did I say f*cking boob that's lynch time"
This is how an interview is suppose to start...with a autocorrect text while driving and being late at the same time. Singer/Songwriter James Menefee of the band Long Arms responded with, "Oh my god that is the best text I've ever seen." Yes James, yes it is. What happens when a Southside Richmond native who started in the post punk scene with band Fun Size and onto such accomplishments as River City High? Well, you go forth on your own venture of course.
After former members Mark Avery moved to London and Chip Crosby also vacating town, James played some bass for local band, Race the Sun. A short stint with them lead him to the thought of a solo venture. Menefee had a lot of songs written in storage and thought why not go out on his own. And so Long Arms is born.
James has been involved with music since he was 12 and played his first show when he was 14 years old with band Fun Size. I think I was at that show actually. It's interesting to see someone's musical progression and with James it's been a maturation which has progressed into music which respects his punk rock past and heart but musically and lyrically evolved into a grown man's narrative. Well read and twitchy, Menefee's presence is charming. You sometimes wonder whether he's with you or not or if he's in some far away place philosophizing on life. HIs talk is fast and mumbled at times, but there's no mistaking the pure heart and keenness of his lyrics on the debut release of Long Arms, "Long Arms to Hold You". After taking already written material to the studio and then distributing to what he felt were fitting musicians, about 20 of them, he was impressed and humbled that everyone he asked contributed to the album. Finding the right players for Long Arms was not that difficult and what he came up with was a nice eclectic mix of performers as well as a nicely diverse album.
What I love about Long Arms is how nondescript they are. When they walk up on stage their appearance is deceiving. What's a guy with dreads and an Indian dude, two tall guys with cool haircuts and that girl with pretty red hair gonna play? Well, they are going to get your feet stompin' and your heart feelin' and maybe even some swayin' mixed in there. When I asked Mr. Menefee how he would describe his latest release, he replied with, "It is lyrically honest, not far from the vein of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album and musically it's all over the map...there's indie, folk, country, rock". I describe the album as "Merican". Not Americana, not folk, not alt country, but Mercian. It has that John Cougar feel to it, but also brings in some pop rock as well. Having fiddler, Treesa Gold definitely makes the album and live performance stand out as well. Her sound brings in the folk/country element and she's cute as hell to watch play amongst these boys. Lyrically this album is an honest POV in life and love. James doesn't hold back, raspily crooning declarations of true life experience and "the dog left with my wife" style lyrics that make you just want to give him a big hug.
What's nice about Long Arms is that they have reached a senior level of play. They don't fit in anywhere which is refreshing. There's no uniform, they are just up on stage playing it from the heart and playing it well. You can tell they just enjoy playing music together and although there isn't an agenda for touring, James has an itch for it and that's ironic due to his travel anxiety. He says it's hard getting so many people's schedules to be conducive to an actual tour but would like to play outside of Richmond at some point. It's what I call the "real life band syndrome". You've got a bunch of people who are working for a living who enjoy music and well, they play when they can and when it works, but they practice every waking hour! Let's face it, touring in a band in your 30's can be cost affective as well. I like that they have this grassroots approach to their music as well. It makes them more enjoyable to watch and listen to because they aren't trying to prove anything.
I wanted to know more about Mr. Menefee's creative conceptions for this album and he describes it as an organic process similar to that of 'Brunswick Stew'. "It's a whole mix of things...the meat is the shit that happens and the stock is the chords." He says he can't write a song about something that doesn't exist, it's something that has to have happened. For instance there's a line in "Leave the Best Behind" about him forgetting his mom's birthday and how sad he was that he did that. I find his writing to be very honest, very matter of fact, and very much story telling of things that happen in one's every day experiences.
When James isn't performing with Long Arms, he's performing with his 70's English punk rock cover outfit, The Druthers. If you haven't gone to see these guys I suggest you do so because besides Richmond's local, Imaginary Boys, these guys nail it from Elvis Costello to Gang of Four.
I asked James my infamous bartender question in which he listed accordingly:
Hemingway, Charles Bukowski, Ted Kaczynski, Jimmy Swaggart, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson, Jack Kerouac, and Tim Buckley of Maki. What a bar!
I have to publicly apologize to Long Arms for how long this feature took to be posted. I also want to emphasize that our interview was more in-depth that I've written here which is why I never liked doing live interviews. If I get brave I may post the whole audio.
You can buy Long Arm's release "Long Arms to Hold You" on iTunes and also visit their merch shop.
If you are in the RVA area on November 27th, check out Long Arms with Maki. For details go to FACEBOOK.
For more on Long Arms: