Local Music: California dreaming

It was only the tipping point, but a layer of ice could take the blame for sending JoAnna James packing.

After a gig in St. Cloud last November, the folkie-gone-soul singer was caught off guard by a hard frost that had crept up over her car windows. Without a scraper, she used a CD case and flustered her way through the ice, thinking about how she'd be doing this for the next five godforsaken months.

"I don't know if I can take another winter," James recalled thinking to herself. Actually, she said it out loud. "By the time I realized I was talking to myself, I'd made up my mind."

OK, so we've all been there. But we don't all have bubbling music careers and the artist/poet/songwriter urge to roam, which are the bigger factors in James' decision to follow a new path.

Following tonight's show at the Fine Line, the 26-year-old singer/guitarist/violinist plans to cram whatever will fit into her Saturn and move to Los Angeles. She's never been there. She's never even lived outside Minnesota. And those are two more good reasons why she's doing it.

"One of the best things and the worst things about the Twin Cities music scene is it's so comfortable to be a musician here," James said over hot soup on another frigid day two weeks ago.

"I feel like I've gotten too comfortable, and I'm not applying myself the way I should. I need to get somewhere outside my comfort zone -- somewhere to make me think harder about what I'm doing and to get me more excited."

What better place for discomfort than L.A.? She chose La-La Land over New York partly because she thought she'd feel even more displaced under the California sun/smog, but also because working on film or TV music is an ultimate dream of hers.

More immediately, James is hoping to get work as a backup singer and violinist, a role she has played with Chris Koza, Dan Wilson and many others locally. Such work could provide her with connections to make her own albums. And if nothing else, she said, "I plan on playing anywhere and everywhere I can to get in front of new people."

"From what I've heard, a lot of people who go to L.A. for music or movies or whatever expect everything to be handed to them, like it's just going to happen. That's one of the advantages of being from here: I know nothing comes for free."

James certainly has shown a hard-work ethic in her time here. Since she first started performing in the early-'00s with classmates at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul (her native town), she has typically kept up a regimen of at least a couple gigs a week. She has also issued two full-length albums plus one EP, "Back of My Mind," which came out last year on Eclectone Records.

Making "Back of My Mind" was James' first experience working outside her comfort zone, and it was a good one. She recorded it in Lexington, Ky., where the producer, Duane Lundy, lives. The EP experimented with James' sound, taking her blue-eyed soul to darker places, giving it more of a Cowboy Junkies vibe. One track, the still and haunted-sounding "Disappear," might have even been the first clue James was headed somewhere new: "I need to disappear for a while," she sings in it. (Since the song goes on to contemplate suicide, we should be glad L.A. was her ultimate choice.)

James did more recording last fall at Pachyderm Studio with her band, but she's not sure if and when she'll put out another album. Right now, she's all about the move.

She found a place to live and a day job, thanks in large part to fellow singer/violinist Jessy Greene, whose house in Minneapolis has been James' home the past few months while Greene toured with the Foo Fighters. Greene is also now planning to resettle in L.A. after the Foo tour, and the two will be roommates out there. But where Greene has steady gigs guaranteed, James knows full well she's starting with a clean slate.

"And that's exactly what I'm going for," she said.

'Silver' & Lead Even though their new CD is called "Silver" and this year marks the band's 25th anniversary, the lads in Boiled in Lead won't be using up their annual St. Patty's Day concert at First Avenue doing what the Irish do so well: looking back nostalgically.

"We're really more interested in looking ahead and working on new things," said BiL bassist Drew Miller, who's the only original member of the group -- or, as he put it, "I've made all the gigs."

The rest of the guys in the Celtic-gypsy-world-beat-rock quintet have been in tow since the late-'80s, when they held down a Sunday-night gig at the 400 Bar -- all except guitarist Dean Magraw, who joined in 2005 and apparently breathed new life into the band. Said Miller, "Since Dean came aboard, we've put together a lot of new material."

"Silver" features much of that material, including the hilariously foreboding "Silver Carp," which singer/guitarist Todd Menton wrote about that flying deadly breed of carp, plus bold new takes on the traditional tunes "Rushes Green" and "Apple Tree Wassail." Even with the new tracks, Miller doesn't expect BiL to up its schedule beyond its beloved St. Patty's gig and maybe just a couple more this year.

"One of the reasons there were lineup changes early in the band's life is we tried too hard to be too full-time," he said. "Now, we all stay busy with other projects and appreciate this one all the more whenever we get back to it."

More Green Day For the third year in a row, the third-greatest Irish rock band of all time will get its due Monday at the Triple Rock for St. Patty's Day. The club is hosting another Thin Lizzy tribute headlined by Jailbreak, the Kent Militzer-led band that won First Ave's cover band contest in 2006. Metal band Bastard Saint and Paddywagon also perform (10 p.m., $5), and the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band will be blowing through the Triple Rock's bar side starting around 7 p.m.

Two other fun Irish tribute gigs lined up for Monday: The Nomad is hosting one called "2 U," with the Humbugs, Andrew Lynch playing songs by U2, the Pogues, Flogging Molly and more (9 p.m., free). Meanwhile, the Belfast Cowboys will do their Van Morrison thing outside in the Guinness Tent at Kieran's Pub, 330 2nd Av. S., Mpls., where the Sweet Colleens and others perform inside (9 p.m., free).

Random mix The original lineup of Faux Jean -- the one with the matching black suits, black hair and colorful albums "Kiss Life on the Lips" and "Nature" -- is back together for two gigs this weekend, tonight at the Uptown Bar and Saturday at the Turf Club (10 p.m., $7 both nights). Matty Schindler and the old crew were asked to reunite for a New Year's Day party for D'Amico Restaurants, and it went so well they opted for more. How 'bout more after that? "Maybe" is the consensus. ...

It's nice to see the local music scene picking up where school programs drop the ball: The second benefit for grade-school musicians in a month takes place tonight at First Ave with Pert Near Sandstone, God Johnson, Down Lo and more, raising money to buy instruments for students at Lyndale Elementary School (9 p.m., $8-$10). ... Another community-oriented fundraiser: Folk star Ellis has a free gig Saturday at 7 p.m. to support Amazon Bookstore, a feminist-oriented literary co-op at 4755 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. Anyone who buys a $15-plus book between now and showtime can get a ticket. ...

They're no Rhymesayers or Doomtree yet, but the Background Noise Crew is working hard to build up a trademark. The six-member clan features DJ Ali Ellabady -- aka Radio K's former "Beatbox" co-host Egypto Knuckles -- plus a roster of rappers including Phingaz and ToneKrusher Smith. Their stuff ranges from playful De La/Tribe-style romps to stoner-ish Cypress Hill tracks to a couple of dark and experimental tracks. They have a show Saturday at the Dinkytowner to promote two new releases, "Background Sampler, Vol. 1" and an EP by the duo Green Sketch called "So Long ... For Now" (9 p.m., $5). ...

Cloud Cult is down in Texas at the South by Southwest Music Conference as you read this, "previewing" its new album, "Feel Good Ghosts," due in stores April 8. But the forever eco-friendly band has made the disc available sans the cardboard (as a download) a few weeks early at Cloudcult.com.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

See how local bands are faring at South by Southwest on our blog: startribune. com/poplife.