Narrator: Daniel's Music Foundation presents, a Just Call Me By My Name Artist: James Ian, from Los Angeles, California.
Description: James Ian, playing guitar and singing on stage in front of a large rusticated hearth.
James (Singing): You got me livin' for the nighttime, baby--your body on mine until the sun comes up. Make it last forever, baby, 'cause it's never enough, it's just never enough.
Description: James, sitting in a blue classroom, with guitars and musical instruments in the background. He has short curly hair, and is wearing a light orange t-shirt.
James: My name is James Ian, and I'm a singer-songwriter. Music, to me, means connection and expression--I feel that it allows for us to break down language barriers, and connect on a very emotional level with people from all walks of life.
Description: Photo of James, speaking to an older woman using a wheelchair.
James: That is the common ground, you know, when we can't speak someone's language. I've seen people from different countries, you know, that can't communicate with each other verbally, but they can do that with music
Description: Photo of James as a child, surrounded by several other children holding cups.
James: I was always sick as a kid. Like, I went to the hospital a few times for asthma, and I was actually diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 3, right before I turned 15. When I got that diagnosis, I was like, "I'm gonna try to hide this", because I do not want to talk about this to anyone--I don't want anyone to know.
Description: Photo of James wearing a graduation robe and mortarboard, standing next to a young woman.
James: I then went to college, and my college was built on a hill. And so walking was just really, really difficult. My body was changing, and it was just exhausting. And so I essentially was like, "I don't want to really deal with people"
Description: Photo of James sitting and practicing the electric bass.
James: And so I just shut--I just kind of shut myself off from the world , and started like really going heavily into music because I was just kind of alone all the time
And just listening to music and like, "I'm going to learn instruments and stuff, and I can express myself through music". It just felt like, this was my calling--like I felt like, "I'm a musician". Like, that was my identity, and like this--I just shot off on this whole really cool course.
Description: Photos of James performing live, and socializing with people.
James: I was like, playing live, and meeting people, and having like, the time of my life. And so music, honestly, it saved my life, when I got that diagnosis.
Description: Footage of James performing at the Third Annual Danny Awards in a large music hall. Behind him is a video feed displaying the music video for his song "Spaces".
James (Singing): Spaces, spaces--I'll make this world a better place, yeah. Spaces, spaces.
James: I live in a world that--it was not made for disabled people. It's inaccessible in many, many ways, and still is today. And so, I've had to be very, very creative in how I navigate that world, and get from point A to point B, and chase my dreams, and do the things that I want to do
Description: Footage of James singing in a recording studio.
James: And so, that creativity is also carried over into music, you know--my disability is progressive, so, sometimes if I'm fatigued, you know, it takes a lot of energy to play an instrument. Or, I have to get very creative with how I play and do things--because of the fatigue, and because of my disabilities.
Description: Black and white footage of James sitting on the rocks by the beach. He is holding a guitar, and writing in a notepad.
James: I think that's also carried over into lyrics--In terms of writing lyrics. I think it's really given me a lot of range in terms of the things that I can write and sing about.
Description: Footage of James performing at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
James: Joining a label for musicians with disabilities is important to me because it's validating. Labels are validating for non-disabled musicians--for any musicians.
There are so many barriers to being a part of a label as a disabled person. Not from the disability itself, but from how society views it, or inaccessibility, or just being written off because we have a disability
Description: Clips of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, and the Woodstock museum.
James: A really, really lifelong goal has been accomplished, playing on the original site of Woodstock in 1969. I feel really really good--really really excited, and just, ready for people to hear new songs--I'm pumped up.
Description: Footage of James performing at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
James (Singing): Wanna enjoy every second, from every kiss to every touch--I don’t want no distractions, wanna focus on right now.
James: I chose to include "Nighttime" on the EP, because it's a song about romance--to show that many disabled people are romantically desirable, and they're in relationships, and, they do all of these things that non-disabled people do, so I think it's really, really important to showcase that.
James (Singing): You got me livin' for the nighttime, baby, your body on mine until the sun comes up.
James: I think I lead a pretty cool life. I'm following my dreams, and I'm doing the things that I want to do. And so I want non-disabled people to see that our lives are desirable.
I want them to see me as desirable, romantically--see me as someone that you'd want to hire, see me as someone that could be the CEO of an organization, or a company, or see me as a multi-platinum music artist, or an Oscar-winning actor, or a Grammy winning artist.
That's what I want non-disabled people to see disabled people as. Because we do that, and we can do that.
James (Singing): Make it last forever, baby, 'cause it's never enough, it's just never enough. Give me all of your love.
[Audience applause]
James: Thank you
Narrator: Visit danielsmusic.org/recordlabel to learn more, stream, or download today. Daniel's Music Foundation: Changing Lives Through Music Since 2006.