Meet James Garland | Country Music Singer/Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Garland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I feel like risks are a huge part of the music industry. The first risk you take is stepping on stage for the first time. You don’t know what the outcome will be, if people will enjoy your brand of music, your style, or what you have to say lyrically. Every decision you make is a risk with either a good outcome or a bad one and unfortunately with this business you will never know which way the tree will fall until after the decision has been made and implemented. However, risks will always need to be taken. When the risk pays off you are on cloud nine and the world is right. When you get a negative outcome from a risk, you get up, dust your pants off, take a mental note of the lesson learned, and drive on. Risks have built my career as well as hindered it but it’s always a process.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Countryside has always been a huge part of my life even from my childhood. Sitting in the back seat of the truck belting George Strait lyrics as loud as I could. Cranking Alan Jackson until my ear drums begged for mercy along with family favorites by Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. I have had five consecutive Top 100’s on the Texas Regional Radio Report with one successful release after the next. It has not been an easy road however. When you’re independent, you don’t have the financial backing that most artists have. So you have to be smart about how you navigate the industry. You have to manage your money with insane accuracy to continue to keep up with the artists who have solid financial backing. Sometimes you lose out on something you really want because you need to allocate money to things you need. In order to compensate for that I have worked odd end jobs, day jobs, and double up on shows to increase revenue. A big lesson I’ve learned is you can’t slow down. You have to work hard and learn even faster. The harder the lesson the better the pay off in the end. At the end of the day it’s your dream, it’s your career, and it’s your life. No one is going to make it happen for you so you will get out of it what you put into it. If you put in 50% then that is all you will get back. But if you give it all you’ve got, then you will get what you want out of it. It’s a long road and it’s a marathon not a sprint. My brand is story is a simple one. This life is what you make it. No one, except yourself, is going to build the empire you’re wanting. My motto is simple. “Write like Petty and Sing like Freddy. With conviction.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m more of a down home cooking kind of person when it comes to food. So there are two types of food I would highly suggest. Southern comfort food and Mexican food. Since I travel all over for music I have found some of the best spots to eat. My favorites around where I live in Conroe, Tx is The Whistle Stop Cafe for some of the best southern comfort food you could ever dream of. Once I go up around the Dallas/Ft Worth area it’s no question I am eating at Los Vaqueros for the bestexican food I’ve ever had in my life. On the rare occasion I have a weekend off from music and touring I will go to Pacific Yard House in Conroe, Tx for live music or Sawyer Park Icehouse in Spring, Tx for some of the best acts around. For amazing drinks you can’t go wrong with B-52 Brewing Company in Conroe, Tx where they have live musical performances to accompany the incredible drinks and a large outdoor area with corn hole and fire pits. And if you’re looking for talent it’s never too far away. From groups like The Hoelscher Brothers, to The Kimbroughs, to artists like Tyler Trantham, and Jim Salter, the list goes on and on and you couldn’t pick a bad show if you tried.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The biggest person deserving credit for my career would have to be my lead player David “Dagan” Gann. I had no intentions on pursuing music as a career. I sought out Dagan to help me get better at playing guitar. I went to his house and sat down with him in the living room with only that expectation. He asked me to play something for him so he could gage my current abilities and know where we should start. I played a song I had written called “My Next Mistake”. After I finished performing the song Dagan stopped, looked at me, and said,” Man you need to start a band.” I told him he was crazy that I just wasn’t that good and had no intentions on ever pursuing that field. He replied, “No, I really think you need to start a band.” I left his home that day with the intention of returning the following day to continue guitar lessons. When I arrived the next day there were musicians all over his living room. When I asked him what was going on he stated, “This is your band and we are going to rehearse!” I laughed and said, “Well I guess we can play the eight songs I know how to play.” Six months later we made our debut at The Whirlwind in Livingston, Tx. After that show I knew it’s what I was meant to do and it never would’ve happened had it not been for Dagan. I definitely feel like he is owed for the amazing career I get to have in life.

Website: www.jamesgarlandmusic.com

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Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jamesgarlandmusic3492