Meet James Blackburn

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James Blackburn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have James with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I get my work ethic from my parents. My mom was raised in Southern California and she was raised in a humble environment with a loving family. She is a very hard-working and dedicated woman with a huge heart that I hope to emulate.

My dad was born and raised in Illinois, so if I hear the phrase “midwestern work ethic” one more time from him, I’m going to lose it!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a born and raised Southern Californian. I’m a triplet and my parents raised the three is us as musicians. We’ve always had a passion for music through my folks so it made it pretty easy to continue pursuing, at least for me.

My sister is a charge nurse for Kaiser in Labor and Delivery and my brother is in IT (lord knows what he does, but he’s brilliant and always lends a helpful hand to the family in that regard).

I’m a special education teacher and have been lucky enough to find myself wrapped up in the musician community. It’s awesome. We all work together to find shows and ‘hired gun’ positions in studios.

I’m currently living in Huntington Beach and thoroughly enjoy playing Zelda, Mario Kart, and Mario Party with my friends in my off time.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would tell newcomers to continue practicing. My buddy is just now picking up the banjo and we laugh about it. Learning an instrument can be challenging and the finger picking technique of the banjo proves that statement.

Always, always, always listen to the advice of those around you. Sometimes people assume they know more, but it’s best to just take advice in stride and learn EVERYTHING you can.

And finally, never stop working. Being a musician is tough work, but it’s very doable if you continue to pursue it socially and technically.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

My most recent challenge I am facing is that of my work environment. Difficult work environments can be challenging. But as my good friend who works down the hall from me once said “focusing on work and doing your job is the most important thing you can achieve today.”

It’s funny how you find close friends in the strangest of circumstances.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

James Donnelly
CineStalker

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