78 Photo Essay: James McCauley, keyboard and bass player
Words by Terrell Manasco | Image by Blakeney Clouse
James McCauley leans back on a sofa in the rear of a coffee shop, one leg crossed over the other, a pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head. Casually dressed in a baseball-style T-shirt and faded jeans, he exudes the manner of the quiet-yet-hip musician. Sipping a hot beverage ("some mocha espresso affair"), he tosses wry bon mots like miniature grenades as he waxes nostalgic about Les Paul guitars, analog synthesizers, and a band called Wiley and the Checkmates.
"My dad was a bass guitarist. His brother was a very good pedal steel player," James says in a quiet voice. "We had an upright piano. My sister and I would peck out melodies for hours, then take the bottom panel out and make horror music by raking the strings until our mother told us to stop."
As a teen, James took guitar lessons at a local music store after school. "At Walker, we were all issued one guitar and a Led Zeppelin cassette,” he laughs. “I got a Les Paul clone and a friend got a real Les Paul," he says. "It was competitive, so we learned a lot quicker."
While his friend preferred the blues, James gravitated toward a progressive rock style that became the precursor to early-80s arena rock. He counts the band Yes and its bassist-founder Chris Squire as one of his biggest influences. "I never stop learning from him," James says.
After high school, James fortified his musical education with classical guitar lessons from Michael Patilla, as well as learning the keyboard. He later sold all his "cool analog synths" but has since acquired another one. "I recently purchased a Korg DW-8000 from 1985," James says. "This one makes all the sounds you hear in Madonna's music, Howard Jones, etc."
In 1996, James played Matt Patton a few recorded samples of some keyboard tracks he had made with his friend Nathan Brown, using his sequencer and Brown's synthesizer, which led to the formation of the band Model Citizen. After Patton recommended him to Oxford, Mississippi soul veteran Herbert Wiley, James did a three-year stint as the touring bassist for Wiley and the Checkmates.
James went on to play in numerous projects with drummer Randy Quillen, including the Vorpal Sword, and is currently the bassist for Evil Eye (both bands were formed by Joseph Higgins). He is also a member of the Birmingham-based band MRYGLD (pronounced "marigold"). "They are extremely professional," James says. " I am very lucky to be working with them."
In addition, James plays keyboard and bass with Smashley, a group he dubs "the rock and roll flagship of Jasper" and a "force to be reckoned with."
"It would not be that way without James," adds lead singer Jonathon Timmons, who has just dropped by. "We were a year and a half into Smashley when the original bass player left. James came in and we said, 'this is the guy.'"
"I knew I would be in that band before I even knew they existed," James says with a subtle grin. "Timmons and I both live (near each other) in Thach. I was outside my house and I heard music through the trees, and I was like...'I don't know how, and I don't know who those guys are..but I'm going to be in that band.'"
Now he can get a real Les Paul guitar—and a new Led Zeppelin cassette. 78