For the small number of avid fans who will actually note the change, the “Journeyman James” era has begun. I have been interested in putting more of my music onto the streaming services (where I have raked in over $1.19 in royalties to date!) and have been struggling with how to brand myself for the larger world.

Going out there with my real name (as I have up to now) poses a few challenges, not the least of it is the commonness of my name. It is utterly humbling to do a Google search of my name and find so many people with the exact same name (a list which even includes several musicians!) Having a unique (or, at least more unique) monicker is a pretty important part of crafting an identity in the larger world.

On the other hand, there is something so pretentious about a stage name. I just don’t see myself asking everyone to call me “Sting”, as I suppose Gordon Sumner had to do when he was starting The Police. There’s just something about a stage name that, while not exactly dishonest, does somehow go against the goal of an artist (if I can use that word to talk about myself!) to form a connection with his audience. Locally I’ll continue to use my own name when performing, but now I have a catchy monicker for my global efforts.

The impetus I had for the new name came from a song lyric that I’ve been working on, and the specific word: journeyman. Historically, a journeyman is a man who has completed his apprenticeship and was not bound to his teacher. In modern usage, though, a journeyman (as described by Merriam-Webster) is

an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful

It’s maybe not the word that most people want used to describe them, with its connotation of mediocrity, but then again, self-promotion is only going to get you so far in this game. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, put music out there that I hope people will enjoy, and just let it be whatever it’s going to be.

—J