Cee Cee James
THE VOCAL TORNADO

What a long strange trip its been for vocalist/songwriter Cee Cee James whose release “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL” is chock full of a total and complete life shifting journey she began in 2001 as her numb struggling existence got pulled into a vortex of change that lasted seven years.

Born as Christina James in the great fertile Northwest of Portland Oregon among the tall fir trees, full rivers and beautiful moist green landscape, Cee Cee's Mother was forced to move the family to California when Cee Cee was five years old.  At 12 years old she had put together her first band and performed at the local church with a blond wig and bright green eye shadow.  Throughout the coming years she was in and out of rock/blues, cover/original bands and formed her first original blues band, Stone Blue in San Diego in the mid-90's.  By the late 90's she had honed her song writing skills even more and began recording song demo's in San Diego and Los Angeles. In late 1999 her first CD, "Spiritually Wet," was released.  After a sad divorce in 2001, and the loss of her 2nd Partner to cancer in early 2004, she bid her long time Southern California musicians farewell, and by December had sold her house and was driving herself back to Portland, OR to metaphorically be born again, stepping into her true self as a woman and human being.

Feeling the continual push from her fans for a new CD, Cee Cee had planned to immediately begin writing and recording when she got settled.  By April of 2005 she had put together a strong band of stellar Portland musicians who very quickly began to get into some of the best blues clubs Portland had to offer.   However, the studio sessions for “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL” would continue to be out of Cee Cee’s reach until late 2007 after yet another move even further North into Washington State where the intense spinning vortex of change finally let go of her life and “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL” began to take shape.

Like the green moist Northwest where she was born and now come home to, “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL” is rich and full of soul provoking lyrics set into contemporary roots and blues based musical landscapes inspired by Rob “Slideboy” Andrews, Cee Cee's songwriting partner and husband.  Rob "Slideboy" Andrews cut his musical path playing bass in the Bay area for 35 years as a sideman for Filmore Slim, Luther Tucker and many other deeply traditional blues lineups.  He set the bass down when he married Cee Cee and began playing rhythm and slide guitar where his previously untapped natural songwriting skills began to come through.

Cee Cee’s production, arranging skills, and talents were honed and sharpened in the writing and recording of her highly touted late 1999 pop/funk release “SPIRITUALLY WET,” where she worked side by side with Los Angeles based producer Kaylene Peoples and mixing engineer Rich Mouser. 

"SPIRITUALLY WET" won the 2000 Los Angeles R&B Independent Artist of the Year Award and is full of contemplative lyrics set to "feel good," track heavy, "ear candy" music that dives lyrically into many of the subjects that Cee Cee will always feel passionate about. 

Freedom to be who you are and letting other people be who they are without judgments or condemnations; the benefits of positive and negative experiences in life; challenging the rules and restrictions we place upon our souls; the questions behind the hunger for love; natures reciprocation in love and in our creative paths;  how change in ones personal life has a world wide affect; and how we really don't need to worry about where we are going, as we are always guided to where we need to be and go for our soul's growth.

As a result of the invaluable studio experience with "SPIRITUALLY WET," Cee Cee had a heavy hand in the writing, production and arranging on “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL," which has been described by Don Wilcock, Editor In-Chief of BluesWax.com as "an undiscovered classic with massive crossover potential."  “LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL" expresses that seven year chapter of change and includes a huge shift away from the pop and funk she had been previously writing and recording on “SPIRITUALLY WET.”  Hiking on Cowels Mountain in Santee, CA outside of San Diego in the late Spring of 2001, Cee Cee says "I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan whispering to me from the Heavens... "Go back to your roots girl.. go back to what you do best," which I intuitively knew was blues, low-down roots and soul."  Beginning with the sad angst of lost love in the first song and title track, to the final victorious tribute about the man she lost to cancer in “Spirit of the Shaman,” "LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL" weaves Cee Cee's stark, vulnerable, and revealing lyrics, around her Cherokee roots and her life changing relationship with the desert.

Cee Cee’s soul and artistic influences are all over the map.  “Raw and Real,” is her criteria.  “Out of the box," as she calls it.  “Performances, music and lyrics that push the envelope of the soul straight down into the gut of life.”  Howling Wolf, Big Mamma Thornton, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Marriott; then dippin’ into the soul of things - Mavis Staples, Ike and Tina Turner, Bill Withers, Ray LaMontagne, Chris Whitley; and of course the funk - James Brown, Prince and everything in-between.  Cee Cee feels them all and it’s obvious in her ‘low down and gritty’ performances where as she says, “My thing is... in all my writing, singing and performance is to make the songs come alive for people.  To open up the mind, heart and soul with the fire of an intense gut wrenching performance full of vulnerability, honesty and truth.  What else am I up on that stage for?"   Cee Cee does just that and more, inspiring strong CD sales with her intense ‘take no prisoner' performances where the audience climbs inside the deep ache and gut in every note she sings and evokes on stage.

“LOW DOWN WHERE THE SNAKES CRAWL” is somewhat tame compared to the kind of energy Cee Cee and her band bring to the live stages they play, but the songs needed to be written after those seven years of intense change in order for her artistic soul to embrace and express the shift and move forward with the significance of those seven years defined by WikiAnswers as "7 signifies divinely determined completeness."  Kyle Deibler, President of the Phoenix Blues Society, describes Cee Cee's process in this 'completion' perfectly:  “Cee Cee James writes songs from a place of emotional honesty that few artists care to reveal. The result is an intimate, sometimes guttural view of a woman who isn’t afraid to face her demons and work out her life’s lessons. This is definitely an excellent record from a female artist who isn’t afraid to bare her soul. I applaud her for that.”

On May 8th, 2010, Cee Cee released "SERIOUSLY RAW - Cee Cee James - LIVE AT SUNBANKS," through FWG Records, specifically for her fans. "It was a wild and unbelievably hot and sweaty day, but my band was tight and the fans were off the hook!  When I got the recording, I thought, 'this is it!'  'Cause my Fans had been hounding me for a CD like this for years!  So I'm thrilled to release this CD for them."  As Al Lundy from KZUM 89.3 - Nebraska says... "Cee Cee James and her bands latest release was recorded live and is APPROPRIATELY entitled "SERIOUSLY RAW."  This CD delivers 13 tracks of RAW EMOTION, with the RAW POWER of a diesel engine rolling over the Snoqualme Pass!"  

Yes 2010 was one hell of a year for Cee Cee James, but her fans know her journey has truly just begun. In February 2011 she came off her first wildly ground breaking tour into France, The Netherlands, Holland and Germany and will be back in October 2011 and will be headed back in October 2011 and May 2012 by popular demand. By the late summer of 2011 she should have her third CD of originals ready to bust out.  Expect NOTHING BUT RAW REAL HUMANITY out of this woman. Expect fearless humble bravado in her writing and her performances. Expect CEE CEE JAMES to be around for a LONG TIME.

Audio Samples
	I Got A Right To Sing The Blues	[ MP3 ]
	Done Love Wrong	[ MP3 ]
	Black Raven	[ MP3 ]
	Love Makes Change	[ MP3 ]
	Make It To The Other Side	[ MP3 ]
	I'll Ask The Questions, You Tell The Lies	[ MP3 ]

	Cee Cee James - Low Down Where The Snakes Crawl Style: Blues Cee Cee James has a voice made for the blues – deep, raspy and full of soulful emotion. Often compared to Janis Joplin, her voice and feeling for the blues have brought her scores of fans through her intense live performances, and is now captured on CD for the first time. Featuring 11 original tracks, Low Down Where The Snakes Crawl brings together a tight, well-rehearsed band with a strong, solid voice that is sure to blow you away.  Catalog #4516 (Released February 16, 2010)	$12.99
	Cee Cee James - Seriously Raw Style: Blues (Live) With her sophomore release, “Seriously Raw: Live At Sunbanks,” we hear that Cee Cee James’ voice has picked up greater experience and deeper feeling, as well as a closer understanding and comfort with the blues form. She fires things up on 10 blues and roots classics, as well as four scorching originals – proving she’s a force to be reckoned with in today’s contemporary blues scene. Cee Cee does not disappoint, following up the enormous buzz created by her first release with an even stronger and more captivating performance. Comfortable and in her element, she gives us everything she’s got as she shows respect and admiration for those who have inspired her along her journey with the blues. Catalog #4532 (Releases September 21, 2010)	$13.99

This site is © Copyright Blue Skunk Music 2005-2012, All Rights Reserved