There are few places New York City based singer/songwriter Derek James hasn’t been. Performing live for the very first time in Australia, James soon found himself paving his way through the streets and clubs of Southern France with an assembled band of French musicians in toe, playing these catchy original compositions that were constantly bouncing around in his head. His music encompasses his experiences, and his experiences have been anything but ordinary. Stray, James’ debut album, was written in the basement of a family’s home in the suburbs of New York, where he worked as a live-in nanny after returning from Europe. Unusual job yes, but you name it and he’s probably done it – bar mitzvah and wedding video’s editor, spa package salesmen, and once even passed out bottled water at malls to name a few. Unwavering persistence, and focus, in his pursuit to create the best music possible combined with a genuine sheer love to perform and have fun while doing it, was the bases for recognition in 2005 when James was a finalist in the Williamsburg Singer/Songwriter Competition. The talents of Godfrey Diamond (Aerosmith, Lou Reed) and drummer Nir Z (John Mayer, Genesis) also saw this ability and passion exuding from James and lent their skills on Stray. James has been called, “a bluesy, ballsy Buddy Holly for the iPod generation” with a “sultry voice is enough to make anyone’s mama blush” (SilverSpringPenguin.com). James now makes his local rounds at NYC premier venues such as Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery, and The Knitting Factory. With a consistently growing buzz and crowds growing with every show, he’s now able to prosper from his first love: music.