“Be yourself and play what moves you. James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it’”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James is putting the soul back into guitar, groove by groove

New bands rarely strike gold from the jump; assembling the right players can be tricky, and the timing and mood are a big part of the magic. But the chemistry between guitarist Jimmy James and his bandmates in Parlor Greens exploded the first time they got in a room together.

“I think it was the same night we flew in,” James says. “A groove started happening, and the next thing you know, [it became] ‘West Memphis.’ You catch a certain vibe, and there it is.”

James and his bandmates – organist Adam Scone and drummer Tim Carman – connected through their record label and consummated the whole soulful affair in a Loveland, Ohio, studio. That opening improvisation turned into West Memphis, a highlight on the resulting debut album, In Green We Dream, released in July.

James, who also plays in the Seattle soul and funk combo True Loves, cut his teeth listening to his mom’s record collection, which included plenty of Motown and Stax R&B, groups like the Temptations and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and classic country singers Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline.

“The thing that really got me into guitar is when I first heard My Girl by the Temptations, later to find out that it was Robert White, the session player for the Funk Brothers,” James says of Motown’s house band. “Then, hearing I Second That Emotion by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, which was Eddie Willis who played the lead line. That’s really where it started.”

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From the first notes of In Green We Dream’s Driptorch, the organ-led trio recall the aesthetic of legendary New Orleans funk pioneers the Meters and Memphis’ Booker T. and the MGs. 

On the leadoff tune, James grabs the spotlight with Leo Nocentelli-inspired guitar figures, laying a foundation for Scone alongside Carman, who also hits the skins for Boston garage blues rockers GA-20.

Armed with his lived-in 1964 Silvertone, James is a master of funk playing, alternating between clean single-note lines deep in the pocket and the jazzy chording. But he’s conscious not to overplay, and he and Scone leave each other plenty of room for exploration. For the self-taught guitarist, feeling is always the top concern. 

“Be yourself and play what moves you,” he says. “James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it.’”

• In Green We Dream is out now via Colemine.