The ELENA JAMES BAND


During the fall of 2004, singer-songwriter Elena James sat down in front of her computer with with one mission; find a bass player. Using high-priced session musicians, she had already recorded an album's worth of demos with producers/engineers Pablo Bencid (drummer for Victor Mendoza) and Daniel Saa. After playing a handful of solo showcases, she knew her style that ranges from finger-picking to power chords needed a full band to account for such versatility. While browsing "Friendster" of all places, she stumbled across a local bass player, whom she had never met, but actually attended her college. On a whim she wrote to him and surprisingly enough he was not scared off by her randomness and actually wanted to take part in her project. "I knew Eric (Marian) was the real deal when he had downloaded all of my demos in order to write down the bass lines before we even had a formal meeting," recalls singer James.
The duo spent the summer of 2005 playing a variety of coffee shop gigs from Starbucks to Borders Books cafe. At the tail end of the summer Elena again attempted to piece together a successful live band. This time she placed an add on "Craigslist" seeking drums and lead guitar. To her amazement she received a response that very night from a guitarist and drummer duo residing in the Boston area. "We were excited but overwhelmed with our own duo gigs and agreed to audition them in a week," says James.
The night before that audition drummer Katherine Tedeschi and Ryan Logsdon drove down to Marlborough, Massachusetts to surprise Elena and Eric at their Borders Bookstore gig. Unfortunately, they were in for a surprise themselves when they unexpectedly ran out of gas a mile away from their destination. "We really wanted to break the ice with them and we just hopped out of the car and trekked up the road. We figured the car could wait but meeting them was long over due," laughs Logsdon. They arrived during the middle of the set and immediately made an impression on the performing musicians. "I saw this enthusiastic pair roll in and sit right in the front. I was shocked to see how interested they were because I mean the Borders crowd is usually pretty reserved. It almost seemed like they knew my songs," remembers the singer-songwriter.
After finishing the set, Elena tried pitching her demo to the tandem and Logsdon just smiled, "I already have your music. I'm Ryan." The quartet immediately hit it off from that moment both musically and personally. The audition the following day could not have gone any smoother and almost instantly "The Elena James Band" was born. After just four practices they had a complete set and were already co-writing new material. "We have a lot of the same influences. Ryan and I like both Hendrix. I'm into Tori Amos and so is Katherine along with Joni Mitchell. Eric loves U2 and we can all agree on that. It makes it easier to pick out cover songs," says James. With their first live gig approaching they felt they needed a low key situation to test the waters. "We decided to email a friend of mine that was playing a Halloween party in Salem and ask him if we could play a set," states Elena. Derek Oleson from local band "El Rancho" agreed to let them open the night in the "Witch City." After leaving the crowd breathless and gaining a whole new group of names to add to their mailing list, the members of " EJB" (The Elena James Band) knew they were set to play any stage.
They encountered their first big stage at "Milly's Tavern" in Manchester, New Hampshire, a destination Elena and Eric had previously played as a duo in the summer of 2005. Alongside Boston band "The Gulf," New Hampshire band "Red Handled Hoe," and New York City band "The Road," the four piece more than held their own shocking the crowd with an electrifying set. In fact, the members of "Red Handled Hoe," who had played with Elena before could not believe that "EJB" was just a project six weeks in the making. "You guys just have this drive. It's unbelievable. I mean Elena and Eric were good when we saw them before but now you guys are like Power Pop," says Dave MacDonald of "Red Handled Hoe." With a drive and desire for more "The Elena James Band" is sure to go far not only in the Boston scene but on a much larger scale. Ryan Logsdon sums up the situation simply, "The way I see it. a year from now we will have a couple albums recorded and tons of tour dates under our belt. This band just has so much potential. We're already on the fast track to success. "