James McCartney, front, and his band Light. (Photo: Mary
McCartney)
James McCartney, son of former Beatle Paul McCartney, will play his American debut concert Nov. 14 at Maharishi University in Fairfield, Iowa. The younger McCartney will perform during the fourth annual David Lynch “Change Begins Within” Weekend, Nov. 13 to 16. Also performing will be Donovan, who joined the Beatles in Rishikesh. Blueser Laura Dawn and her group The Little Death will fill out the bill.
The concert comes a little more than 40 years after James' father, Paul McCartney, traveled to Rishikesh, India, to study Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
“James has a way with melody and a set of pipes, which are more than a match for his dad’s,” a recent article in the UK Sun declared.
In a statement issued for the concert, he said this is something he's been working towards for a while.
"I have been playing music since I was nine and writing along the way. I met my band about a year ago. Producer David Kahne introduced us -- and my dad, Paul, helped."
McCartney says his father played a big role in helping him develop his musical talent. "My dad taught me guitar when I was nine. I play a Fender Stratocaster, which Carl Perkins gave me from the seventies, and a Gibson Les Paul that my dad gave me -- heart red.
"The band consists of me, 32, on guitar, piano, and vocals; Brian Johnson, 28, on drums; Steven Bayley, 32, on guitar, synthesizers, toy piano, and harmonies; and Charles Turner, 27, on bass and harmonies, McCartney states. "I am from London and Sussex, Brian and Charlie are from Allerton, Liverpool, where my dad grew up, and Steve is from Birmingham. Brian and Charlie used to be in the Dead 60s and Steve used to be in The Open."
The group is touring and also in the midst of recording an album. "We are mixing our album in Hog Hill Studio, Sussex. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one’s own life, and many other things. I have written the songs over a ten-year period," he says.
"The music was inspired by the Beatles, Nirvana, the Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead -- and all good music. It is basically rock ‘n ‘roll, clean sounding, and vocal."
Just like his dad.
Comments
RE: Follow in dad's footsteps ... LOL ...you'll need it, just ask Dhani Sean & Julian, they've tried with minimal success.
Exciting news! Looking forward to hearing James' music!
I think these guys know they can't compete. That would drive anyone mad. No other group has come close either. Just the fact that they can do as they wish and not have money worries is a big gift from their fathers.
The Beatle children all seem like decent people.
Actually Rock Singer, I think all the Beatle kids have done or are doing alright, obviously not on the level that the Beatles themselves accomplished, but still successful in their own right.
I am going to the weekend event and can't wait to hear James and his band perform. I've heard Donovan before, but not Laura Dawn. All this and more for $50.
I am going to see James in Fairfield. I am a huge fan of his father's, having seen Paul many times in concert. I have a lot of admiration for the Beatle kids. They turned out really well. Paul and Linda did such a good job raising their children. They made sure their kids had "good hearts" (to quote both Paul and Linda). I was very sad when Linda died and it is a shame that she couldn't be here to see how great her children turned out. She would be so proud of them.
Well I am seeing the payback to Paul for his playing at David Lynch's earlier gig this year: give complete 32 year old rookie James a shot at an event with other more established artists. I don't know, are these guys doing a real tour in nitty gritty bars across the U.S. or is James going to get to cherry pick as he is for this gig? Earning fame through blood, sweat and tears is such a quaint concept anymore. Didn't Ringo say, "Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues?"
John S. Damm - lighten up just a tad. This is hardly a major event. He has played small venues in the UK. This venue is not big at all. This is hardly Madison Square Garden or the Letterman Show. Donovan is the headline, not James. The other acts are hardly top of the line. I saw Donovan recently and he needed to have other singers back him up as heis voice is gone.
I would think it has more to do with a connection to meditation. Do you know for a fact that James is a complete rookie? Do you even know if he meditates?
He is a rookie in terms of being the leader of a band. I know that he has played on Paul's records("Heaven On A Sunday" and the crappiest songs on "Driving Rain" that he co-wrote with Macca) but those were favors by Dad: freebies, nepotism.
I am glad this 32 year old is finally doing something in his life other than trail Paul, Stella and Mary around to celebrity events getting drunk and/or high.
Paul has said that English bands shouldn't come to America until they have a hit record like The Beatles; LOL, well there is apparently the "James Mccartney exception."
I wish the guy well although I have never been a fan of celebrity kids fed their whole lives with golden spoons. I would like to see James work a little at music and play some dives like his old man once did. James needs a Hamburg not some pie-in-the-sky, plush meditation college gig.
Can you imagine what it must be like to try and make it with the spotlight shining on you brightly all the time? Its easy to crticize from your keyboard, but try living that spotlight 24/7/365!!
As I understand it, this is a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation which is helping thousands of kids to learn Transcendental Meditation and enjoy a better quality of life.
Should such generosity lead to such criticism?
John SD - He is not like me or (I am guessing) you, mere mortals who had to hit the ground running. That is not his fault. Do you think any of the Beatle kids would have been given a second musical listen if they were not Beatle kids? Good for them to have that advantage. The disadvantage is they are in the spotlight quicker. How many young ones get to share a stage with Eric Claption like Dhani has? Would anyone really listen to Sean if his last name wasn't Lennon? Is that wrong? That is life. How do we know what he has done in his life? The number of celebrity events he goes to are very few and they are events involving his family for goodness sake. Why shouldn't he go? He does not seem to be a set setter at all. By all reports he is a nice guy.
Don't be cranky because your dad wasn't a Beatle.
Give the guy a break. Don't you think it's unfair to say what James can and can't do before we've even heard his work? He's waited a long while to "come out" which speaks well for him right off the starting blocks. He's a seperate man from his father, but has the genetics and the background to be far better than your average Joe. We should just wish James and his band well.
James visited Fairfield last summer to see if this was a place where he wanted to perform. He is actually doing two shows that night--one for students and one for us. Actually, if you go to the David Lynch Foundation's website, James is listed as the FEATURED GUEST ARTIST. James is his own man and this is James McCartney playing. Would I be attending if James wasn't going to be there? No, but I want to see and hear James play and eat some good veggie food.
Being a Beatle kid with a musical career can be both a blessing AND a curse. Why don't we wait and see what his stuff sounds like before we are critical...and gee, what do you know of James' life to pass judgment John SD. Don't believe everything the tabloids print.
OH yawn yawn. Another kid of a famous person who will walk into a career and fame without having to try overly hard. I'm sure there were other talented kids going through college with Stella Mccartney but haven't got nearly half as far as her in their careers thanks to her having such a famous dad!!!! A fender stratocaster from Carl Perkins indeed!!
You sound very bitter Anna. Stella certainly would have made it far without the McCartney name, because she's very talented. And how do you know that James hasn't been toiling away at his music for years? If anything, the weight of having such a famous father are going to make it more difficult for him to be judged on his own merits. How about we give the kid a chance.
I like the upbeat nature of all this. Focusing on some things that can help people. David Lynch's foundation along with Maharishi University of Management are helping students that want it, learn Transcendental Meditation, etc. All of it sounds good and refreshing - Change Begins Within. I like the name of James McCartney's group "Light". I'm looking forward to hearing what how they sound.
Riding on the coat tails of their famous father's names only takes them so far. If they haven't got the talent the career won't be sustained. But they deserve a chance, and let the chips fall where they may.
Good luck to James. He'll need it. If people on a Beatles web site are trashing him before they've even heard him, can you imagine what everyone else is going to do?
It's a double edged sword, trying to follow in someone like Paul's footsteps. On the one hand, you get certain breaks you might not get otherwise-- to get your foot in the door. But, on the other hand, even if you're good, you'll be compared constantly to Daddy.
Jakob Dylan is someone who seemed to overcome this. Julian Lennon is someone who, ultimately, didn't. At least to this point.
I'm curious to hear what his music sounds like, at least.
I would guess James has been toiling at his music for years for this moment since he's not exactly a kid anymore....early 30s?? Good luck. I'm sure it's a bit daunting. Expectations will be high.
Hey, I wished James well! I just don't share in any hero worship of The Beatles' kids because they and the spouses are not who I am interested in. I am interested in the collective and solo music of John, Paul, George and Ringo. I susbscribe to the notion(and I paraphrase John Lennon here) that The Beatles and its individual members are very special but the spouses and offspring are largely "thick and ordinary." Except Pattie Boyd Harrison Clapton: she is nirvana.
Of course James will get unconditional praise on Beatles' Boards just like every other Beatle kid has previously who has pursued music yet we are basically the only ones praising them. We as a group are not objective. Zak Starkey is the best because he is a world-class drummer who stays out of the spotlight and lets his drumming do his talking. Kudos to him. I was glad that Dhani finally got off his ass and seems to be working hard with his band even if he looks gaunt and terrible lately(rest a little Dhani!).
Big difference between hero worship and giving someone a chance before you insult them. "I am glad this 32 year old is finally doing something in his life other than trail Paul, Stella and Mary around to celebrity events getting drunk and/or high." - is not exactly giving him a chance. Exactly how many events has he been to? Not many and to him they are family events.
As far as can be seen Stella has worked hard from the age of 15 at gaining skills to work in fashion. Yes, she had money and supportive parents. That is not a crime it is a blessing. She is not successful in fashion because of her parents. I am not buying her products. The young women who are do not care who her father is if the product is crap.
John was rotten if he said everyone else was "Thick and ordinary". What a sad thing to say or think about people. Patty Boyd allowed herself to be passed from man to man - hardly something to be thought highly of.
32 is the new 22.
Looking forward to hearing McCartney's sound at the David Lynch Foundation weekend at Maharishi University. Should be a fab weekend!
Wow, some folks here sure are judgmental.
Come on Marie, you've seen the photos of James constantly trailing his dad and two sisters(poor Heather Louise gets squeezed out of these things, she's "too delicate.") at these parties with the "beautiful people"(wonder what Linda would think of all of these parties and Hollywood types?) and I remember in particular the photos of a drunken James with Dhani Harrison.
Hey, I didn't say anything about Stella's career as she seems to be the only McCartney kid who honestly works! Now I belive Stella is a moon-faced, psycho, profanity-laced ignorant mocker of those with disabilities(she was horrible about Heather Mills' disabilities), animal rights nazi who would rather see a school bus full of children perish horribly before the bus hit a rabbit in the road but the girl does work!
Really, some Beatles' fans live vicariously through their heroes and act like the Beatles' kids are their kids or maybe at least close nieces and nephews!
For those going to see James, please let us know if the "Young Turk" plays the, "hot electric stuff" as Paul boasted on the liner notes to 1997's Flaming Pie's "Heaven On A Sunday:"
"Paul's son, 19 year old James makes his first guitar appearance on disc. Paul said, 'I played the acoustic stuff and left the Young Turk to play the hot electric stuff." When proud Dad suggested formal lessons, James's response, "Well you didn't, Dad", echoed down the decades from 1950s Liverpool. Like father, like son. Or, as Paul puts it, "The saga continues..."
Charming, why learn guitar the correct way? That decision's paid off for the "Young Turk." James is holding an acoustic guitar in the photo Steve provided so the "Young Turk" might not be doing the, "hot electric stuff" anymore!
James really looks like his dad in the group picture.
How nice to see James finally getting a job.
His sisters are certainly very attractive even if he isn't.
Julian Lennon is so talented and I adore his new single, " Lucy".
I think James is very talented and his sisters are all very nice down to earth and also talented the whole family is nice and talented before you judge give him a chance you will like his music i am a #1 fan and can't wait to buy his cd
rock on james you are great and i support your whle family
all wonderful ,down to earth,animal loving,caring,talented
believe in yourself because i believe in you,i am your #1 fan honeysucklebarb
Well well! This is a near complete surprise! I look forward to hearing their music one day soon. Unlike the Lennon Brothers, James is coming out of the starting gate honed to a sharp point. Even Dhani had an advantage when he debuted musically. And 42 is the new 32.
I wish him all the best.
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