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
Compared to some other gear-repair posts I’ve done, this one is really pretty basic, but as someone who is often trying to repair something for the very first time, I always appreciate if I can find out ahead of time what’s involved and how difficult it is. So in that spirit, here’s a very short how-to.
The good news is that this is a very simple fix: it will take you less than fifteen minutes. All you need is a small-ish Phillips-head screwdriver and some WD-40.
Step 1 (of 3) is to open the case. You do this by unfastening all of the screws on the bottom side of the keyboard. Actually, you probably only need to remove the screws along the perimeter. there are a half-dozen or so screws more in the center of the keyboard, but it doesn’t seem that they connect to the upper housing. I did remove all of the screws and didn’t have a problem, but I’d try just starting with the perimeter screws because I think that’s all you need.
All of the screws are of the same size and length, so you do not need to keep track of which came out of which hole.
Once the screws are removed, lift the housing from the front. Pay attention to the two ribbon cables that connect the lower housing to the upper housing. You do not need to disconnect the cables; they are long enough that you can lift the upper housing with the cables in place.
The squeaking sound you hear when you press your problem key is caused by friction between the key and the spring that provides resistance to your playing (and, of course, returning the key to its starting position). A tiny bit of WD-40 sprayed on the spring should quickly resolve the issue.
Play each key repeatedly and check to make sure it’s not squeaking. If it is, give it a shot of WD-40. Do not overuse the spray.
When all the keys are quiet, lower the upper housing and replace all of the screws you removed in step 1. That’s it. I did have a squeak return after about a year, but this process is so easy I did not really mind repeating it. I suppose you could consider other lubricants if this fix doesn’t last long enough for you, but I have no specific recommendation.
Best of luck!
