James Armstrong B•I•O•G•R•A•P•H•Y

Guitarist, singer and songwriter James Armstrong has a bright future in blues music. His song "Pennies and Picks" from his third Hightone Records release, Got It Goin' On, garnered a 2001 WC Handy nomination for Song of the Year. Armstrong himself was nominated for Contemporary Male Blues Guitarist of the Year. It's easy to see why ... Armstrong tours extensively and his shows are considered one of the best on the circuit. The son of a blues-singing mother and jazz guitar-playing father, James Armstrong got the music bug at an early age. He formed his first band in the seventh grade, and progressed rapidly ever since. Armstrong singles out Jimi Hendrix and Robert Cray as singing influences, and Albert Collins, Albert King and Eric Clapton as guitarists whose work have inspired him. Based at the time in the Los Angeles area, Armstrong learned by playing - a lot of it - in the club scene of Southern California in the early 1980s. He recalls backing "Big" Joe Turner during that time at Santa Monica's Music Machine, and a similar gig with Albert Collins later on as part of a band that included guitarist Coco Montoya. Then there was that wild gig with Smokey Wilson in East L.A. that reinforced the image of the blues as a tough business on a young Armstrong. Armstrong's first HighTone release, 1995's Sleeping With a Stranger, drew widespread critical acclaim, as well as tremendous popularity on the European circuit. The great momentum he had going into early 1997 ended with the stabbing attack in April of that year. During his slow recuperation, Armstrong recorded Dark Night in late 1998, an album that reflected the turmoil and introspection of the time, as well as his debut as slide guitarist. Since its release, James Armstrong has come on strong. He's back playing lead guitar now, and has added his searing slide work to his repertoire as well. "This is much more of a blues album because I'm playing a lot more guitar on it," he announces. The songs on "Got It Goin' On" cover a wide spectrum of experiences: "Pennies and Picks" is a true story of the road; "2 Sides" was written over eight years ago and included in the movie Speechless, starring Michael Keaton; "Mr. B's" is another true story, about a club in Santa Monica where James was their number one act sold-out every weekend in the early '90s; "Love Will Make You Do Wrong" is a cautionary tale about the downside of the heart and the mesmerizing "Another Dream," a blues ballad for the new millenium. On all of the songs that include an Armstrong music credit, James offers his take on the process: "I let the tone of the lyrics dictate the style of the music". In other collaborations, "I'll just grab a title first and then go with an idea," he says. Whichever way he approaches things, James Armstrong attacks songs with his voice and guitar like few artists in blues. James Armstrong has Got It Goin' On.