One has to wonder if Tim McGraw knows that should anything happen to him, James Downham can ably step in and fill his shoes.
Or at least, he could have … back in the day.
It wasn’t always like that for Downham, who back in his younger days had dreams of picking up a guitar and becoming a rock star - something akin to Bryan Adams, perhaps. But dreams, and especially ones that involve bright lights and screaming fans, have a funny way of taking a turn.
“It was quite accidental, to be honest,” Downham said of his pivot from rock to country music. “Life just happens. I started out wanting to be a rock star and then I wound up in a Tim McGraw tribute act. Friends of mine had the act and they were in Listowel for Paddyfest and they already had a singer but he left and they needed a replacement. I started rehearsing with the band, and I didn’t think I could sing country but one day it just clicked.”
It was odd for Downham to accept that he might be more down home than downtown when it came to a music future, but the more he figured things out the more that world opened up to him. One of his musical goals had been to get a song out on radio, something in his early days that wasn’t clear to him what that actually meant. He went through it all: took part in The Shot, a singing competition in Kitchener, which he won; hired an agent and then got down to promoting himself. It turned out to be a break-even proposition.
“A year and a half later I got this cheque in the mail, and I kind of almost fell off my chair because I thought there had been a mistake,” he said. “I called my wife over and it turned out that the song that I had released to radio had been picked up on the CBC SiriusXM country station. I was surprised because I didn’t think it was country music.”
But that’s all it took. Downham went back to work and came up with more music, which got picked up again. He was gigging and people were telling him they loved country music and appreciated his style.
Apparently spending 12 years singing Tim McGraw songs really did rub off.
“I just sort of embraced the direction I was going in and I haven’t regretted it - it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “The country music scene in Canada is a pretty small community. If you’re in rock then you’re kind of on your own, which is what makes country feel special. I’ve been to the Canadian Country Music Awards, and the ones in Ontario as well. I’ve just become part of the scene, which has been really good.”
He jokes that for the CD cover photo of his latest release The Long Way Home might’ve been the last time he actually wore a cowboy hat, but he’s developed a country soul. In joining an online songwriter’s group Downham began meeting and working with others who were like him, and every month they would meet and get into smaller working groups to write and record. That’s how he met his producer, Matt Koebel, and how he came to work with fellow artist Amanda Kind. She joined him for the track We’re Okay and said that they share similarities in musical tastes, making the collaboration a good fit.
“James and I like the same kind of sweeping, emotional melodies that soar with tight harmonies, and we write easily together because we like similar things musically,” she said. “We’re both fans of everything from traditional artists like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash or 90s country stars like Garth Brooks and Martina McBride, but also modern stuff like Lady A and Little Big Town. All of our duets - from We’re Okay to our new song, Another Round - have that anthemic-style chorus melody with lots of energy and emotion paired with authentic story-centred lyrics.”
That Downham found his way into country music in the manner he did doesn’t surprise Kind, as she finds him to have a smooth and sincere voice just like McGraw. He’s also laid back, which serves him well as a performer.
“He’s got this way of making people feel like they’ve been friends with him for ages, even if they just met him,” she said. “And yes, he still prints physical CDs … and people buy them! And the merch - I’ve never seen anyone sell a t-shirt or make a new friend like James Downham. He’s just a really likable guy.”
Kind is not kidding about the CD thing; Downham wanted to have something for people to get so they could take his music with them after his shows, but it also gave him the self-permission to write more so he could fill that CD up with the music bouncing around in his head.
“There are 14 tracks on The Long Way Home, and I know people don’t put out full records any more - they’re just doing a few singles because it’s more cost effective to do it that way,” he said. “But it was also because I am old school and I remember back when I was younger I’d go out and get an album or a CD and the first thing I would do was pull out the liner notes and read the lyrics. I’d see the pictures and find out who played on what tracks and just absorb the artwork around the music. I wanted to do that and a lot of people told me I was wasting my money, but this is something that people can do to support the artists they like.”
It’s been a wildly original road for Downham to travel since those university days, and he’s not afraid to do things his way. In looking ahead and trying to forecast what is coming, Stratford’s country star has no idea but he’s keeping an open mind about whatever it turns out to be.
“I’ll be happy if I can continue to write great songs and work with high-quality musicians because music is a passion of mine,” he said. “If I can keep doing that but I don’t make a dime, I’ll be happy. I’d love to be playing Boots and Hearts, and I’d love to be driving down the road and hear my song on a big radio station, but I’m keeping my mind open to the possibilities of what’s to come. The music business is crazy and no one really knows what it takes to be successful, and it can all change just like that - one song, one person listening and making a decision to feature it in some way. Who knows, maybe the phone’s going to ring one day, but I’ll be happy to go along for the ride for now. I’m having fun.”
