10 Questions with ... James Slater

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Piano playing/singer/songwriter born in America, raised in the jungle of the Panama Canal Zone, lived in Switzerland for 7 years and currently living, writing and recording in Music City U.S.A. Nashville, TN, signed to EMI Music Publishing.

1) How old were you when you wrote your first song and what drew you to a career in music?

I was seven years old when my mother had me take piano lessons, like most kids I wanted to quit when I was fourteen or so, but my parents wouldn't let me. Instead they found a piano teacher who was open to teaching me songs off the radio which kept my interest. "Oye Como Va" from Santana was the first song I remember thinking, "this is cool." When I started to learn chords at fifteen I wrote my first song, which led me to my first band and that my friends, was "all she wrote." Music was all I have ever done since that happened and it's been a beautiful ride. P.S. I ended up meeting Carlos Santana backstage at a concert in Zurich, Switzerland many years later and told him that story. Cool!

2) What was the first song of yours that you ever heard on the radio and how did that feel?

I was 23 years old and a student at the University Of Miami School Of Music. I loved it there. We were immersed in jazz, rock, boogie woogie, with lots of great musicians to kick your butt and make you practice. I had a band and we were asked to play during Christmas break in Atlanta, GA at a club. I wrote a song at the piano before we headed to Georgia called "All I Want From Santa is a Girl From Atlanta" because I heard the Georgia "peaches" were beautiful. Heck, I was a college student you know! So when we got to Atlanta we were playing the song live and the people loved it. We ended up going into the recording studio to record it, then taking our single to the radio station 96 Rock. This was all done in one day, guerilla style. We didn't have much cash. That day as we were driving home we heard our song on the radio right after Led Zeppelin and I'll never forget it. The DJ called us and said the phones were lighting up, that we had a hit on our hands. Then we filmed a video for the song with the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders and for many years to come spent Christmases in Atlanta performing. That actually led to my love affair with the South and one of the reasons after Los Angeles and Europe I settled here in Nashville. You never ever ever forget the first time you hear your song on the radio and it will remain a highlight of my life. I'm smiling right now as I think about it.

3) You penned Rascal Flatts' single "Unstoppable," which became the theme for the winter Olympics in Vancouver. Tell us about what inspired you to write "Unstoppable" and what you thought about the Olympics honor!

"Unstoppable" was a collaborative effort between Jay DeMarcus from the band, Hillary Lindsey and myself. I remember going to Jay's house that day and he and Hillary had started a song. I heard it and immediately had the title "Unstoppable" in my notebook and we went from there. We were off to the races. We worked on it for a few days, then recorded it. Jay is a great bass player as well as writer and producer so the demo sounds amazing. Hillary sang, who sings as well as anybody on this planet. The song went from being recorded to being the title cut and a big single to also being the theme for the Winter Olympics. What a beautiful chain of events. Sometimes, on rare occasions, the world turns your way and this is one of those moments. I remember we had to go back in and alter the words a bit for the Olympics so that the song would fit lyrically with the sports theme. We were happy to do it. It's been a song that's been an honor to be a part of and I still consider Jay and Hillary to be great friends and some of my favorite co-writers.

4) You have had songs recorded by so many artists including Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, Lorrie Morgan and many more. If you were to list songs that you are most proud of throughout your career, what would make that list?

Wow, that's a tough one. I'm proud of every song that has found its way to an artist that has thought enough of it to record it. Seriously, it's an honor these days to just have your song recorded. The artists you've mentioned, Tim and "That's Why God Made Mexico," Martina and "In My Daughter's Eyes," Kenny and "The Life" and Lorrie recording "Used." I am proud and grateful, seriously, all of my songs on every artist I give thanks. As far as unrecorded songs I would have to name, "Ain't My Baby Grand," and "The Clown" as songs that haven't been recorded by a major act yet and I am super proud of. They continue to be crowd favorites and their "time will come."

5) How does it feel to have a song that came out of your life experience being sung by another artist? Is it exciting to see an artist put their own touch on your songs?

It's a fantastic feeling to watch the song you wrote in your basement or in a hotel room find a life through a recording artist. It's always a great surprise and rush to hear your song go from the demo to its final stage. You write it because it has to be written, it's something internal that calls to you, then you have to have the DISCIPLINE to finish it, then the guts to hand it to the world. So it's always wonderful to have it recorded. To hear what the producer and the musicians and the artist do to shape it to their liking. I love the whole process and will until the day I die.

6) When you complete a song, can you sense it is going to be a hit or have there been some that have come as a surprise to you?

That's a great question. I think lot's of times you really do know if you've created something special. I have a friend who calls it "a fully realized song." That is when the song just has no holes in it, or "doesn't let you down." From playing so many piano bars in my life and in cover bands, you can feel a great song, "Piano Man," "Sweet Home Alabama," etc. These songs just play themselves. It's a magic combination of melody, lyric and performance. When these elements come together, which is hard to do, then you have a hit song. I don't care if it's Ke$ha's "Tik Tok," or Miranda's "The House That Built Me," it's all about magic, and when it happens you know it. I live for trying to find that magic.

7) Have you ever had a dry spell with writing and, if so, how do you deal with that?

Absolutely, I have had times when I haven't felt as creative as other times. I never let that get me down if I can help it. If I sit at the piano and nothing seems to come out then I just try to shake things up a bit. I know myself well enough to know what to do. It's one benefit you get with getting older! This summer I went to Norway to write with Norwegian writers, then to Prague, Czech Republic because I'd always heard it was a beautiful city. I sat there in their university's library among all those fabulous books and got lots of inspiration. I went to Rome and Positano, Italy, pure magical destinations where I played on an 80-foot yacht and walked the streets of Italy for days. There's a lot of inspiration out there to be found. You have to go grab it. My co writers give me inspiration also, as well as reading books, salsa dancing, the Florida coast, honky tonks, a good bar, Key West, red wine, Hemingway, etc. When you're dry you have to "make it rain."

8) Do you ever write songs with particular artists in mind and are your songs typically autobiographical?

Absolutely, sometimes we will sit down and write for a particular artist because we know they are recording soon. That's fun to do because there is a target you are aiming at but truthfully the best songs are the ones that come to you by just laying your feelings or thoughts out there, whatever they may be. This is where most of my success has come from. Just sitting down when you get "that feeling," that thread of inspiration, a title, a run of lyrics, a chord change that gives you little goose bumps. Man that's where the good stuff really lives. There's nothing like that rush when you don't know where it's coming from, it's just there. The key is to capitalize on that and follow through and finish it and record it, before you lose it.

9) Who do you consider some of the greatest songwriters of all-time, any format?

Wow, okay, stream of consciousness, here we go. Billy Joel, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Newman, Harlan Howard, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, The Eagles, The Beatles, Keith and Mick from the Rolling Stones, the list goes on and on and on. It could be pop, country, soul, it doesn't matter if it gives me goose bumps then man you have my vote. I've lived so many places that my influences are vast. I love the craft of a great country song and that's why I love making my home in Nashville. As long as I've got my piano and I'm still breathing I'll be swinging for the fence and trying to leave one more song worth singing to.

10) Your latest solo CD is called "Key West Address," where you have been granted "keys to the city." Tell us what you love so much about Key West and how this song this song came to be selected to be the island's official theme.

I love love love Key West!!! Am I clear on that!? For eight straight years I've taken part in BMI's annual Key West Songwriting Festival. Jimmy Buffett, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway have all made their home there. I speak Spanish and the island is 90 miles from Cuba. There is something about Key West, the people, the vibe, that makes me happy. The sunshine!! So, I wrote the song as a love letter to the island, purely for the joy of writing it, then recorded it and the mayor heard it on the radio down there. We shot a video for it and the rest is history. He gave me a wonderful proclamation declaring it the official Key West theme. I have a lot of friends down there and the collection of authors, residents, characters, beach bums, up and comers, down and outers, they all inspire me and always will.

1) You lived in Zurich, Switzerland for six years before moving to Nashville. What is the music scene like there?

Zurich is amazing, I felt like Hemingway for part of my life. The beautiful thing is that Zurich is so central to Europe that each week I was on a train or plane to Berlin or Paris or Rome or Greece. That was an inspiration to me. I was asked to join a band from Belgium called "Vaya Con Dios" and we toured all over Europe, even South Africa. It was a once in a lifetime experience. They were a huge band in Europe and I found myself playing for 10,000 people a night. It was fantastic. Then I wrote some songs for their album. So my experience as a whole was amazing. It was the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York that was the catalyst in getting me back to the states in 2002. After 9/11 I reevaluated my life and decided that after 7 years in Europe it was time to be nearer my family, parents, sister and brother, so I moved to Nashville. The timing was perfect, I have spent the last 8 years getting to hang out with my parents in Florida as they get older and that has been a blessing. As mentioned I still head back to Europe a couple times a year but I have found an amazing community of friends and allies in Nashville. It's a good place to hang your hat.

2) If you can have any artist, alive or dead, record one of your songs, who would it be and why?

I would have loved to have had Frank Sinatra record one of my songs. He's timeless. Also I'm a big fan of Sting and the Police. Elvis would have been cool because hell, he's "Elvis," but my favorite person I've heard and recorded lately is my mother Alicia and my father Victor. My mom plays guitar and sings Spanish songs like an angel and my dad is a good mandolinist. He's 85 years old and still practices every day. This is a huge inspiration to me, his sense of passion for life at that age will forever be with me and I love him for that.

3) You co-wrote with contestants on CMT's "Gone Country" reality series on two seasons. Was that fun and would you consider doing another reality show in the future?

Julio Iglesias Jr. and I keep in touch. He's also a really good tennis player. We collaborated and won that first "Gone Country" episode and I would always be open to do another reality show. It's not that I'm such a big fan of reality shows in general but that I'm always open to new experiences and all the people on that show were interesting with diverse careers and paths in life. I love being around that, people I would have never gotten to meet. And you always learn something when you put yourself in a unique situation like that. Sheila E was who I worked with on the next episode, that was a total blast too because she played with Prince and is an amaaaaazing musician and a great person as well. She remains a friend of mine. So sure I would do another reality show. Why not, bring it on!