OffStage with James Reams August 2004 Have you ever wondered about the offstage world of a professional musician? Every month in this column, bluegrass now will provide a glimpse into the lives of some of your favorite bluegrass stars. To see captions, just move your cursor over the photos!
Brooklyn. The word conjures up a number of images: brownstone stoops and trees, growing; bridges and urban decay; and, lately, exciting new images of renewal. Brooklyn is the home of singer/songwriter/guitarist James Reams, and there's your proof that bluegrass tends to sprout and thrive in the unlikeliest places. It's no exaggeration to say that James probably has one of the most challenging day jobs of any bluegrass musician that ever picked a note. For the last 20 years, Reams has taught learning-disabled children in a middle school on the Lower East Side, a notoriously dangerous and impoverished area. “There are a number of projects there-public subsidized housing-and some of the students I teach are from the projects. It's a difficult area, but it's starting to become a little better. The neighborhood is changing; companies are coming in, and a lot of young people. All of New York, really, is changing!”
 James, Aaron, and Tina a few years ago; photo by Uncle Mike Green Park Slope is the largest brownstone district in America, and James is proud of the home he shares with his companion, Tina Aridas, and her son, Aaron, 13. “This house was built in 1903. It's a typical Brooklyn brownstone. You know how they always talk about Brooklyn having a stoop culture? We have a stoop, and it's like a front porch! All of our neighbors hang out.”
Over the course of his 15-year musical career, James has performed in some historic Big Apple venues, working with some of the legends of traditional and folk music. “I played the Bottom Line, and I've played Lincoln Center. When I first came to New York in the early 80s, I started playing in Greenwich Village. I got to meet people like Dave Van Ronk, Tom Paley, and John Cohen.” Many people don't realize, adds James, that New York City was the birthplace of the recording industry. “Some of the very first country records were actually made here! I think it was 1922 that Eck Robertson and Henry Gililand came up here. The Carter Family recorded here, and Riley Puckett, Jimmie Rodgers, Leadbelly, the Lomaxes . . . this area has a big musical history.” In their bustling little neighborhood, James, Tina and Aaron stay busy at their various pursuits. “Tina and I write songs together; we enjoy doing that,” says James. “With teaching and the musical life I have, I really don't have a lot of time to do anything else! We like to spend time with Aaron; we like to visit Tina's mother.” The little family also enjoys good healthy food, and James says quality raw ingredients are available in his area. “Some wonderful produce comes into New York. On the Eastern seaboard, this is a major stop for truck drivers from Boston to Philadelphia. We get some of the best varieties, and at reasonable prices because there's such huge competition.” James Reams may have made his home in Brooklyn, but his roots, like those of the music he plays, are in Kentucky. “This year we're actually going back to a Homecoming!” he announces excitedly. “Laurel County, the area I was raised in, has the longest-running homecoming in the state. The community leaders get together, everybody makes food and pies, they get all the mules and wagons out, and they have a parade. A lot of people from Eastern Kentucky left the mountain areas and the tobacco farms. This is an opportunity for everybody to catch up!” Visit James Reams online at www.jamesreams.com
 From Tina: "This was taken on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last year. We were on our way to a show in Ohio and were stuck in traffic on the Penn Turnpike. We didn't move for four hours. We made it to the venue just in time for the guys to walk on stage.This photo was taken after already waiting for around two hours and not knowing how much longer it would take until we were moving again. James and two band members (Mickey Maguire, banjo; Mark Farrell, fiddle, mandolin, baritone vocals) pulled their "festival chairs" out of the van and onto the turnpike and made themselves comfortable. If you look closely, you'll see Carl Hayano (upright bass, tenor vocals) sitting in the van behind them. The van is red and has the word Barnstormin' in gold leaf on both sides. It's named the Redbird Express, after a fleet of old NYC subway cars that were recently retired and that had been distinguished by their red color. The photographer is me."
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When he plays locally with his band, the Barnstormers, James' pals from the stoop happily come to his shows. “I've been performing at the Ethical Culture Meetinghouse since about 1984 . . . cherry blossoms and stained-glass windows. It's a beautiful old house with the largest private gardens in Brooklyn!” The Meetinghouse is home to The Park Slope Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree, now in its seventh year. James and Tina handle bookings for the two-day event, held this year on September 17-18. “It's well respected here in the Northeast. The Civic Council helps sponsor it. Last year we had over 700 people!”
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