Branden & James: Chasing Dreams

Branden & James have been likened to a cross between The Piano Guys and Josh Groban and they combine the best elements from both; gorgeous modern arrangements and powerful vocals paired with original compositions and a unique chemistry.

Their new album Chasing Dreams effortlessly balances an accessible contemporary sound with classical roots. Highlights include Dancing On My Own, Found & Completed, It Must Have Been Love and Till We See. All tracks are well chosen and produced.

 

Natasha: Just as a silly question to start, Branden your last name is the same as James’ first name. Did it feel like fate that you two would become a duo?  

Branden: It is rather confusing, even to ourselves at times! I’m going to let you in on a little secret. My middle name is James, my last name is Smith. I chose Branden James as my stage name to avoid the even more generic name of Smith. In the beginning, we used to joke about how I searched the world for a cellist named James, and just put an ampersand in between my solo branding. When we were engaged to be married, our friends would always ask us if James was going to take my last name and call himself “James James.” 

Natasha: Tell me where you both individually grew up and studied music.

Branden: I grew up in Southern California splitting my childhood time both North & South of Los Angeles in Orange County & Ventura County respectively. I played piano (badly) starting at age nine, but was far too shy to open my mouth and sing until I was 16. I was a lousy sports player, but felt pressure to play them throughout school because of my naturally athletic older brothers and younger sister. I didn’t feel any value, really, as a kid until I joined the high school choir and drama department. My whole world changed, and I became a popular student in my last two years of high school. From there, I went to The San Francisco Conservatory of Music for my undergrad, and later moved to New York City to study with a private teacher named Michael Paul, and a rep coach named Giovanni Reggioli for several years. 

James: I grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, where I was given piano and violin lessons from about the age of 8. About a year into violin lessons, I transitioned to the cello at the direction of my violin teacher who suggested I had long, lanky fingers more suited to the larger instrument. Having played music all throughout my schooling, I went on to study a Bachelor of Music (Education) before becoming a high school music teacher for seven years, whilst performing as a freelance cellist on the side. After my sister passed away from cancer in 2010, I had a strong urge to go back to school to be a better cellist, and so in 2013 I eventually made my way to Southern California where I studied my Masters in Cello Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in Long Beach.

Natasha: Branden, your solo career took you to sing at one of the famous opera stages in the world. Tell us a little bit about those performances and when it was that you realized you wanted a different path?

Branden: Throughout my time at The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera I felt something was missing from my artistic fulfillment. I loved classical music, and could appreciate many aspects of the art of opera; however, the demand for musical and vocal perfection didn’t suit my personality. Much like ballet, there is no margin for error in opera. I felt like it limited my ability to be expressive in the way I wanted most to be. I preferred to sing pop songs at home, or play roles in musicals. In 2008, I started touring with The Twelve Tenors around the world. A taste of the commercial side of music made me hungry to explore more of it. Finally, five years later I auditioned for America’s Got Talent and fully embraced classical-crossover as my principal artform. It was the best decision I could have ever made: I felt like I’d been let out of a cage!

Natasha: James, you have the chance to work with some amazing artists. Tell us a little bit about your first time playing with a big star and who working with those established artists has influenced you.

James: I will never forget performing with Bernadette Peters at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. I was so starstruck by her beauty and the way she carried herself with such class and sophistication that playing with her was such a thrill. I was already aware of her vocal talent, but performing live with her was next level. The way she spoke to the audience was something that impacted me as a (future) entertainer, too. She was personal and intimate, despite the theatre being packed to the rafters, and she was funny without being a comedian.

Natasha: Branden, tell us a little bit about your experience with reality TV and your memoir that is coming out in September?

Branden: Reality TV is a strange animal for all people involved, I think. It becomes even more bizarre when it is competition reality TV. All of the drama and pressure is happening in real-time and then it’s regurgitated in the media over and over again. I’m not going to lie: I was stressed out when I was on America’s Got Talent. I wish I could do it all over again- I would have been so much better at the competition part. As with these show formats, there are stories about the contestants that are told to create a more personal connection with the viewing public. Having shared my struggles with my sexuality vs. my family views, I felt especially vulnerable; so much so that I left out one very important detail of my story. I have been living with HIV since 2005. I wanted desperately to share that story on AGT because I felt like it would resonate with so many people, and help reduce the stigma that comes with a virus that still has no cure. But alas, I couldn’t bring myself to do it then. 

A few years ago, I decided to tell my family about my HIV status, and then formally talk about it to the press. I started writing blogs, and sharing more and more because I felt this cathartic sense of relief from it. Eventually, I was approached by a couple of literary agents who felt that my story belonged in a book. I believe that God presents us with opportunities all the time, and if we can see them, we should take them. I never intended to be a writer of any kind. It sounds cliché, but the work just fell into my lap. Taking a deep breath, I signed the book deal, and here I am about to publish it; sharing some of the most intimate details of my life. Part of me still worries that I’ve shared too much in my memoir, Lyrics Of My Life. However, I am constantly reassured by people who tell me how brave and inspiring I am for writing a book on such a personal subject. That is what keeps me going. I love helping people. Call me selfish, but it makes me feel good, and drives me to be even more transparent every day. I guess we’ll wait and see what the public thinks when it comes out in September. 

Natasha: James, when did you first begin arranging music? Now that you are working with Branden for several years and know his voice so intimately, are there aspects that you try to highlight in your arrangements for your duo?

James: I was taught arranging as a skill in high school and fell in love with it immediately. I was playing in a string quartet then and I loved the jigsaw-like puzzle of taking an existing song/piece of music and organizing it for the four of us to play. It’s quite exciting when you hear your work played for the first time – especially if it works! As a high school music teacher, I was constantly arranging different music for various ensembles I conducted and so, over many years now, I have refined and developed my skills. I think Branden and I mostly work out the big picture ideas together, so that an arrangement works for the both of us before we get too far down the road with it. It’s quite a complex beast with keys and tempo and feel to consider, along with trying to showcase the best aspects of both Branden’s voice, as well as the cello.

Natasha: You obviously have a unique relationship being married and also business partners. What are your favorite things about working together? I imagine you must be excellent at anticipating each other’s phrasing, etc.

Branden: We anticipate each other’s phrasing, and finish each other’s sentences, even! We are married and work together. James always quips in his Australian humor, “it’s a lot!” There is quite a bit of passion flying around when we are collectively working on a new arrangement together. We have differing opinions about many things, but our synchronicity always comes back to one thing: love. We have deep love and respect for each other, love for the music, and love for classical-crossover music. 

James: ^ what he said! But seriously, it’s so wonderful that we get to make music together and travel the world together. Many other performers do not have the luxury of being able to be with their partner as much as we do and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Natasha: You worked with the incredible Patrick Hamilton on your new album “Chasing Dreams.” Tell us a little bit about how that came about.

BRANDEN & JAMES: We’ve always admired the production on Katherine Jenkins albums. Patrick has produced several of her more recent #1 albums. A friend and colleague of ours, Latin tenor Fernando Varela released an album that was also produced by Patrick. We heard many of the tracks before it was released, and just fell in love with Patrick’s arrangement. He has a special, contemporary flare about his production that binds the classical and pop sounds so seamlessly. Branden reached out to him on Facebook and never heard back. We just assumed he wasn’t interested, Eventually, he replied three months later and apologized as the message ended up in his spam folder. He said he’d love to work with us. We crowdfunded a ton of money through our fans on Indiegogo, and spent six weeks in Europe recording the album with Patrick. It was the most fulfilling experience of our careers to date.

Natasha: Your album mixes covers and originals. How did you work to get the right balance and choose songs that best highlighted your special qualities?

BRANDEN & JAMES: The first time we went to Patrick’s studio in Bruges, Belgium to plan the album he said, “Don’t choose songs according to what you think audiences, or labels want to hear. Choose songs that make you feel something. That’s the best way to make a good record.” We’re happy we took his advice. We are primarily a ‘cover-band,’ for lack of a better expression, but we really wanted to include some lesser known & original classical-crossover pieces. The most difficult thing is finding an up-tempo crossover song. We do sad music really well. That is our forte. 

Natasha: Another fun question, Josh Groban and Charlotte Church’s music gets used a lot in figure skating. I’m a huge skating fan so how would you feel like about skaters using your music?

BRANDEN & JAMES: We would LOVE it if figure skaters used our music in their routines. If Nathan Chen or Alina Zagitova are reading this, please feel free to skate to our music. That would be so exciting! 

Natasha: Tell us a little bit about what a typical show from you it like? Are there one or two numbers you always keep in that are audience favorites or you consider your signature tunes?

BRANDEN & JAMES: Our repertoire is insanely varied; it is hard to describe a typical show from us. I think it’s because we started out together taking requests in a piano bar. It really taught us how to be more versatile with our sound.  There are some standards we play in almost all of our shows such as Hallelujah and Hotel California, but we’ve found tricks to introduce them in new ways to keep ourselves engaged. We used to say we were doing it for the audience, but that’s not true. There are a handful of songs our audiences never get sick of hearing. Our shows tend to be filled with a fair amount of comedy. People love the schtick of a married couple on stage together. We’re often sipping on a glass of wine and making jokes about ourselves and telling funny stories. Our music can be passionate and emotional, we like using our personalities to add some levity to our shows. Last year, we toured a Rock Opera show around that included music by David Bowie, Elton John, Gaga, Queen, and the Rolling Stones to name a few. We’re currently developing a new show called, “The Lady Gaga Songbook.” We like to present the unexpected: that’s what we find most thrilling about the work. 

Natasha: Can you tell us about any new skills you are learning since covid?

James: I have wanted to learn how to use Photoshop and Final Cut Pro for a long time now, and being quarantined at home gave me the opportunity to become more familiar with both of these programs. I’ve been using them to edit some of the music video content we produce and I love it! 

Branden: I’ve become a much more skilled cook. I’ve always had a natural cooking ability, but I’ve been reading cookbooks and honing in on my cooking techniques a lot lately. It relaxes me. 

Natasha: How can fans continue to support you even with live venues being closed down?

BRANDEN & JAMES: Sharing our music with friends, or pre-ordering Branden’s memoir is a great way to support us. We’ll be playing more virtual concerts on stageit.com in the future, and we also keep an active presence on Patreon. We shoot at least one new music video per month, and post tons of exclusive content on Patreon. People who are curious can join us at: https://www.patreon.com/brandenandjames and unlock access to hundreds of pieces of original content. 

Chasing Dreams is scheduled for release on July 31^st. Learn more at brandenjames.com