MyDailyJoe Exclusive: The Tesa James Interview by Justin Melo
Justin Melo caught up 
with rising country star Tesa James from Sulphur, Louisiana for this exclusive interview. Tesa James is currently preparing for some upcoming spot dates as the opening act for Taylor Swift. James just released her limited edition “The Assassination of Tesa James EP” that was produced entirely by the legendary Ted Perlman and Peggi Blu.
Be on the lookout for the upcoming interview with Tesa James by Joe Klein that will be online everywhere soon.
The Tesa James Interview
By: Justin Melo
MyDj: In terms of the music, the debut single is “Beautiful” so go ahead and tell our readers about that song.
Tesa James: The single came about like this… I have a baby sister who is not married yet. She was somewhat broken about it at the time, so it was a song to encourage her. I wrote that song for her future wedding. I got it out of the way to get ready for her [wedding]. I sat down at the keyboard and just began to play around. The song just came out and I put it away because none of this was taking place at the time. I sang it to my sister and she liked it a lot. She told me that one day when she does get married, she wanted to use it. That is how “Beautiful” came about and we are getting ready to release it in July. I am really excited about it.
MyDj: That is a great story. When you wrote the song, did you already have the music for it? On the other hand, did you write it and put it away?
Tesa James: I play keyboard by ear and very little. I am sort of like a challenged musician. I just sat down at the keyboard and began to play the few notes that I know. I put a little melody to it and the words just came to me. It sort of all came together and it took me about two days to write. A little bit of the melody came to me because as I said, I am not a great musician and I don’t play very well. It just came out that way.
MyDj: I must ask, have you had the chance to use the song yet for your sister?
Tesa James: No, I haven’t and that’s the sad part (laughs). I was hoping to sing it at her wedding for the first time, but this has come up before that. She told me that I could use it (laughs).
MyDj: (Laughs) I imagine she’s still pretty excited at what’s happened with the song considering the original idea was written for her.
Tesa James: Ha, you’d have to know her, but she’s eating it up. In fact, I’ve written a couple of songs off past events that have happened to her. She told me that when the CD comes out, I need to make sure that I let people know which songs are about her! (laughs). She’s the show hog, but she’s very excited.
MyDj:That’s great. Tell our readers about how Ted Perlman came into the picture because he’s a world-renowned musician who’s worked with Burt Bacharach, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Bob Hope, Dr. Dre and many others.
Tesa James: This has been a crazy experience for me because I wasn’t looking for this. I was out singing on a stage about three years ago at my local church. In fact, I had only started singing at the church because there was a girl from the music team that stepped down. Someone pushed me about singing so I decided to help out. Three weeks later is when my manager Julian [Williams] came to church and heard me sing. He thought I had a great sound and told me that he wanted to work with me. We didn’t know what to expect, but I gave him a call and we sat down and had a little meeting. In about two years, nothing had really happened. We had gotten in contact with some big producers at one point but things fell apart. It was a live and learn moment in my life. Everything fell away for about two years after that.
Through another connection, Julian [Williams] made a connection with Ted Perlman and told me to go down and meet with Ted [Perlman] and possibly lay down some tracks with him. Julian [Williams] sent off my stuff and Ted [Perlman] was interested in working with me. I had no idea where it was going to go. I got on my computer and started researching about Ted [Perlman] and when all his amazing accolades came up, I thought it was a joke [that he was interested in working with me].
My husband and I, we spoke to my manager and he got us on the phone with Ted [Perlman]. That’s when everything changed. We went down and started to lay down two songs. Ted [Perlman] is amazing and very quick at what he does. He’s a genius and it works for us because I send my really bad playing with my vocals to California and he takes them and arranges all the music around the melody that I give him. He is just phenomenal and he’s a genius and a perfectionist. It’s been a really amazing experience.
I wake up every morning and ask myself why in the world I’m sitting in this studio and how I got here. My publicist, he asked me about my story and the thing I told him was, I hadn’t been in any studios besides the local studio here to lay down my scratch demo.
The first professional studio I ever worked in was with Ted Perlman and Peggi Blu – that’s intimidating and it was very overwhelming at the beginning. [Nevertheless] when you go in there, he and his wife Peggi Blu, they’re phenomenal people. They’re so sweet and make you feel very welcome. It really calmed my nerves. When you look at everybody he’s played with, produced for and worked with, and Peggi Blu who also has this amazing career-signing with and for everybody, it was very intimidating to go in there and work with them. Ms. Peggi has a great ear to hear where my vocals need to go. She sat in the studio the whole time coaching me and pushing me to do my very best. She really helped me to capture the emotion of the song. There is so much more that goes into recording than what people realize. Its a very intense process but when you get it right its worth it.
Thankfully, they are wonderfully nice people. It’s been a very cool experience. I don’t know why or how this is all happening but it’s been very cool.
MyDj: Was the chemistry with Ted Perlman natural?
Tesa James: Ted is such a funny guy! He keeps you laughing the whole time. He’s a very comfortable person to be around. He’s such a genius and does everything very fast. All of that digital stuff, I lay down the vocals and he re-arranges it with the music and has the song done in twenty minutes. That’s before he goes back and mixes and masters everything. He’s really fast but he’s so nice. We work together really well; I think we do, I don’t know, you’d have to ask him (laughs). He’s been a super great person.
MyDj: I did get a chance to ask him actually and he is blown away with your talent. Every artist nowadays has a story. You were singing in church when you were discovered by your manager and a few years later, you’re working with Ted Perlman. That’s all we know about you at this point – who is Tesa James?
Tesa James: Oh, wow. Tesa James, I am your average American girl. I’m a mom and a wife. Basically, that’s what my life has been up until this point. I’m from Sulphur, Louisiana, way down here in the South where the heat is crazy. I was raised down here and I have two younger sisters – one we already spoke about who probably will kill me for giving all that information out (laughs). I also have one older brother and we were all raised by our parents.
I’m just a southern girl who wasn’t really expecting all of this. This amazing opportunity came out of nowhere. I was at church and God opened up a door. Things are starting to go in another direction and it’s been a fun experience. It’s eerie at the same time… but it’s fun.
I’m like every other mom and wife around the world. We do what we do. We take care of the house and take care of the kids. That’s been my role.
MyDj: Now you’re really stepping into your own. You’re working with Ted Perlman and you just released the single “Beautiful” and “The Assassination of Tesa James EP.” What are you’re thoughts on the current state of country music?
Tesa James: I love it. I love the direction that it’s going in. I love the old stuff but I do love this pop-country direction. I love this new sound coming out. It reaches the next generation so we don’t lose it. I love where the music has been but I love where it’s going too. I know in the past, country has been very keen on staying a certain way and keeping you’re music the way its “supposed” to be done. But, we have all these amazing artists like Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood, all these artists coming out with a great sound. I really enjoy it and love listening to it. I think country music is life. That’s what country music is, it’s about life experiences. You have your pop stuff that gets a little crazy here and there but country music is about life experiences – heartache, joy and everything else. That’s what I love about it.
MyDj: What’s next up for Tesa James?
Tesa James: I don’t know! (Laughs). The near future, the first thing we have to do is get the album completed. That’s what we’re working towards. We’re getting ready for the single to come out as well. I’m taking it a day at a time and just seeing what happens. This past month is when everything has started to go really fast. A lot of things have been happening so I’m trying to take it one day at a time. I’m staying focused and pulling everything back. I’m trying to stay very calm and collected with my thoughts to ensure I get everything done. I don’t know what the future holds but I think it’s going to be exciting.
MyDj: I appreciate your time Tesa and we wish you the best of luck. “Beautiful” I’m sure is a great record and working with Ted Perlman and gearing up for a Taylor Swift tour is unbelievable. Do you have any last words before I let you go?
Tesa James: I appreciate your time. Thanks so much for taking out the time to interview me.
Artwork by Urbanista Graphix
