Country artists often sing about decorated military veterans, but Weston James is one of very few 12-year Army veterans and Bronze Star recipients now working as a singer and songwriter on Music Row.
James, who retired with the rank of Captain, is a Gulf War veteran with a Master’s degree in Logistics Management. The Bronze Star became an official Army honor during World War II, and “is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service,” according to Chapter 3 of the Army Regulations.
In other words, Weston James is not exactly your average Joe on Music Row.
“I was in the Army almost 12 years, starting off in reserves as an enlisted man in the Infantry,” James says during a phone conversation in late November. “I then went active duty, graduated college, got commissioned as an officer, made it up to Captain, and did all kinds of stuff.”
One of his strongest songs is “What An Honor,” about a soldier being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery and welcomed by the ghosts of the heroes who have gone before. After Weston posted the song on the Web, he received Emails from folks who were veterans or were families whose own sons or daughters had been killed in action, requesting that “What An Honor” be performed at their memorials. Weston was humbled, honored and touched, and proud to be able to honor his fellow soldiers.
James won a talent competition in elementary school, singing an Andy Gibb song. He played drums in high school and college in cover bands, but didn’t begin writing songs until later. After retiring from the Army in 1996, he was a manager for Circuit City in New York City, a place he loved.
“That job was fun, it was lots of hours,” he said. “That kind of job allows you to get your creative juices going, like songwriting.”
One day in New York, he left his wallet at a girlfriend’s apartment, so he had to walk three miles and across Central Park to get home.
“I started off pissed off, but this melody started coming to me,” he said. “By the time I got home, I had a song done.”
Even an Army Captain was impressed by that. Weston asked himself: “Whoa, what did I just do?”
When the economy went south in the late 2000s, Weston began thinking of moving to Nashville. That move was hastened after he had posted some songs on the Web, and got a call from the veteran country programmer and AllAboutCountry.com founder Bill Hennes.
Not long after arriving in Nashville in November 2008, he had built an impressive songwriting catalog with tunes like “Jose, Jack & Jim,” “Caught Somewhere In Between,” and “American, That’s Who I Am.” He developed a strong vocal and writing style, which some say would be like the fusion of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, if that famous pair teamed to write a country album.
One year to the day after getting to Music City, Weston found out he had been chosen as the runner-up in CMT’s Music City Madness Competition. Then his song “Sweet Watermelon Girl” earned Honorable Mention recognition in the International Singer/Songwriter Association Awards in 2009.
Also that year, he released his first album, fittingly called “Country & Weston,” which picked up considerable radio airplay at indy stations.
This summer, Weston won yet another contest, this time a song competition for Tennessee Concerts.
All the while, Weston has been honing his chops in writing, performing, and recording.
“Up in New York, I had owned two stores selling Ray-Bans. But all of a sudden I couldn’t sell crap. On the other hand,” he says, “I was writin’ songs like crazy. I realized that I’m here for a reason, and somebody was telling me to get the heck out of New York and was opening up windows in Nashville. So I started putting my home recordings on the Internet.”
Like a lot of today’s indy artists, ex-Army Captain Weston James didn’t sit around and wait for the major labels or major radio group owners to take notice. He realized that the Web gave him equal footing with them in terms of new tech like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, and used that to reach new listeners all over the country and even around the world.
He’s already seen a great deal of that world in service to his country, and now Weston James and his music are perfectly poised to begin a new mission on Music Row and at country radio.
By Phil Sweetland