9th IMA Submission Spotlight: Kalu James

ARTIST NAME: Kalu James

HOMETOWN/CURRENTLY BASED: Austin, TX(Born & raised in Nigeria.

WEB SITE: www.kalujames.com

INFLUENCES: My Mama, People, The earth, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Tracy Chapman, Jeff Buckley, Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and Ben Harper.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
* Austin,Tx "Live Music Capital of the World", named a day(June 11th) as "Kalu James Day".. was so thrilling receiving a proclamation from the mayor & all.
* My Sophomore album "Dim The Lights" Selling out 30 minutes before the actual Cd Release show began, playing for a soldout room.
* Shooting and Premiering an Official Music Video for my song "Austin Bound" with the help of Lucky Rabbit Films(www.luckyrabbitfilms.com).. was so exciting & made me appreciate the art & hardwork of filmmakers even more.
* Being featured in Feb 2009 edition of Austin Monthly under "The Cusp/You outta know" section.
* Playing with my band and growing together.

I SUBMITTED TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS BECAUSE: It's all about independent music and helping hardworking artists that sometimes feel like they don't have that huge backbone. I'm from Nigeria; I moved to America when I was 19. My sound/voice might be different but I'm all about creating and sometimes it could be very different from "the norm" or what's expected, but I feel IMA is all about that, as long as its GOOD music. I'm excited for feedback from listeners.

9TH ANNUAL IMA JUDGE YOU ARE MOST EXCITED ABOUT: M. Ward (He was the Darling of SXSW '09 and living here in Austin, you couldn't escape his beautiful music.. he sings like he means it).

I'M PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST BECAUSE: It's unfiltered.. Just the way people need to hear it, straight from the soul to the platter.

WHAT'S NEXT: My Sophmore album, Dim The Lights, is available on iTunes, CD Baby and other Internet stores. I should be coming up with a live album during the fall that will tag with my fall tour from Austin through the East coast. And possibly another tour after that and another!

SUCCESS = Playing, living and connecting with people.

WHAT MAKES YOUR BAND STAND OUT: We believe in the essence of music.. no gimmicks.. and play it like we mean it. When you are connecting with people, that cannot be denied.

WHERE DO YOU TOUR? TX, NM, AR, CA, NY, TN and OH. I would love to tour Europe, Canada and Africa.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE VENUE TO PLAY AND WHY? I have two venues: Ruta Maya(Austin, TX). The array of people you meet here make your heart leap for joy. The sound here trumps everywhere I've every played & not necessarily because of its system, but the sound engineer, Kurt. He takes care of musicians, song by song.
Second is Momo's (Austin, TX). People come to listen, the venue is amazing, musicians are treated well by staff & management.