For Brent Jameson, the lead singer of Jameson and the Sordid Seeds, success in music is largely based on proof.
To get anywhere in the industry, musicians have to demonstrate a solid backing and a promising future, he noted. Jameson, 25, believes he and his band have the necessary proof to make it.
In October, Jameson and the Sordid Seeds will uproot their lives in the Flathead and take their music to the West Coast to live in Eugene, Ore. From there, the reggae-soul-rock band will tour along Interstate 5, running up through Portland, Ore., and Seattle. They also have a 10-day tour in Arizona at the end of October.
As the first signees to the new music label Rockin Soul Records and with their first album, “Two Shoes in Mary’s Basement,” the band hopes to tour 180 days of the year, Jameson said.
“We’re really excited to play up and down the I-5 until something pops,” Jameson said.
That something could include breaking into the larger music circuit and booking shows in major venues. But even if that doesn’t happen right away, the move is a big step for the Whitefish-based band.
The story begins like many do: in Las Vegas. A businessman there heard then-22-year-old Jameson’s demo and wanted to help him along. He used his connections to get the young musician an audition at the Palms casino and resort, and after getting the job, Jameson played there every Tuesday through Friday for a year.
It was also a time for Jameson to prove he could overcome addiction.
“I had a really long battle with drugs and alcohol,” Jameson said.
His move to Vegas came after he got clean, which may seem like a counterproductive move for someone looking to remove himself from the drug and alcohol scene. Jameson, however, sees it differently.
“If you want to be clean you’ll be able to be clean anywhere,” he said.
While he was playing shows in Sin City, an opportunity arose to present his music to Interscope Records, but the deal went sour. At the time, the music industry was struggling to adjust to a modern market, Jameson said, and there was not a lot of capital available for unknown talent.
“It’s kind of like when you go to a bank with no credit,” Jameson said. “You’re not going to get a loan.”
Looking back, he considers his time in Vegas a success because of the hard knocks and life lessons learned. It was further proof that he was on the right track, he said.
But at the time, the setback was a crushing one. Jameson moved back to Whitefish to start over and formed his band with local musicians Sean Cooksey on the bass guitar, Jared Fisher on the keyboard and David Brabham on the drums.
The group quickly developed a strong following in the Flathead, Jameson said, drawing crowds of 200 to 300 people consistently for the past six to eight months. This fan base was more proof of the group’s viability, he said.
During this time, Brett Janiga heard the band’s music and felt it could eventually be a self-supporting endeavor.
Janiga decided to invest in Jameson and the Sordid Seeds by starting Rockin Soul Records. It was Jameson’s songwriting that pulled him in.
“I believe the public should be able to hear it,” Janiga said.
The decision to move to Oregon is one that should help the band earn more attention and fans than it could in the Flathead, despite the solid foundation here.
“We have to get exposure for the music,” Janiga said. “We just have to keep getting it out to the public.”
Signing on to a Montana-based label with a Whitefish-created band was a turn Jameson wasn’t expecting.
“What I was trying to work for in Vegas happened here,” he noted.
Jameson and the Sordid Seeds play a combination of rock and roll, reggae and soul music, a combination the lead singer believes stays true to his goal of “originality.” Instead of comparing the music to other musicians, Jameson says, “If you listen to the whole record, you’d say it sounds like us.”
Rockin Soul Records is funding the shift to Oregon, and the money will be used to buy a 15-passenger van, which Jameson said they have already named Betsy. The band is expected to tour for five years, and should know whether or not the move was worth it by then.
“I’ll be 30 and I’ll know if I need to go to college or not,” Jameson said.
The band will also look different when it meets up in Eugene. John Hoglind will take over drums and Dan Kaufman will be on lead guitar. Janiga will also be in Eugene, but not in any sort of managerial position. Instead, he will promote the band online and help them make their way to the next level.
“We’ll know what that is when we get there,” Janiga said.
For more information on Jameson and the Sordid Seeds, visit http://www.myspace.com/brentjamesonmusic. The band’s music is available on Amazon and iTunes.