James Marvell Sings “I Remember Tampa”

Tampa’s unique history is relived through this passionate rendition of “I Remember Tampa”, as interpreted by James Marvell, former singer for 60’s chart busting group, Mercy. James is a Tampa native who grew up in Ybor City. His dad, Sal, was a renowned barber in Tampa, and one of his young customers back in the 60’s was Mike Baluja, the songwriter who composed “I Remember Tampa”. This is the second Tampa themed song that the two artists have collaborated on. The first was Marvell’s “Tampa, The Perfect City for Me”, which was produced by Baluja. They share an unparalleled love for Tampa. James recorded his version at Dreamlab Recording Studio, where owner, Michael Chauncey, remastered and added harmonies.

James Marvell

Dignity No Matter What

Back in 2010, I wrote a song called “Invisible”, which was my attempt to create an awareness of and empathy for, the rapidly growing homeless population throughout the nation, and in particular, throughout the city of Tampa. Fast forward to 2019, where we find homelessness an inescapable social malady that, no matter how hard we try, we can not ignore. Where once, the harsh reality was mostly contained within certain areas of downtown, now, it has spread to every major intersection, convenience store, interstate crossing, city park, and more. It hurts to see them…it hurts to ignore them…but it must hurt far worse to be them.

The artist, Renato Rampolla, whose photographs are featured in this video, has done an exceptional job of capturing the despair, the hopelessness, and the devastation that the homeless deal with every minute of every day in their lives on the streets. Ron’s 18 month journey into their dark world is a very interesting story, and his book, Dignity No Matter What, is a riveting look into their lives; complete with captions, in their own words. For more information on how to obtain a copy, visit his website at:

https://www.renatorampolla.com/

All proceeds from the sale of the book go to a local, hands-on charitable organization called, Blanket Tampa Bay. You can also find out more about them through Ron’s website.

Unthinkable Thoughts

My New Storefront

I have begun to post my work on Bandcamp, where songs can be purchased individually, or as part of an entire CD. At the moment, only my two latest projects have been posted, but as time progresses I will make most of my catalogue available. Please share my link with friends, family, and fans that you feel might be interested in my work.

I Remember Tampa: Thanks for Listening, Thanks For Sharing

970 WFLA AM Tampa Bay 5/23/13 Reblog

I’d like to thank 970 WFLA’s AM Tampa Bay and their crew, Jack Harris, Tedd Webb, and Corey Dylan for reblogging I Remember Tampa yesterday. It was in May of last year that I originally posted the video on YouTube. In early June, it started skyrocketing in views after Jack mentioned it on his morning show and posted it on his blog. Since that time, it has been seen over 24,000 times, and that number has been steadily climbing every month. I’d also like to thank Dan Perez for posting it and identifying the sources of all the pictures on his wonderful Tampapix website, which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this month. And, of course, I’d like to thank The Tampa Natives Show and its hosts, Mario Núñez, Sally Núñez, and Steve Cannella for inspiring the song through their efforts in preserving Tampa’s rich history, and for believing in my work enough to embrace I Remember Tampa as the show’s theme song. Last but not least, I’d like to thank all the fans and followers of these programs and sites for taking the time to view, comment on, and share the video. I know all this activity stems from our mutual love for this city. Something tells me that this video has only scratched the surface of potential views, and that as long as it remains archived throughout the web, future generations will gravitate towards it and keep coming back when they want to reminisce about the experiences here in Tampa.

I’ll Be With You

In January 2013, I began experimenting with my grandson’s Ipad, and more specifically, with a popular Apple App called Garageband. The first thing that I produced with the help of Garageband was “I’ll Be With You”, a song which reflects on the struggles of the human condition and the way that I have chosen to deal with them. Once the song was completed, I accumulated a few images, put together a lyric video, and posted it on YouTube. As usual, I began to share the video’s link on a few other social networks, including Tumblr, Google +, and Twitter. And as usual, I got a hit here and a hit there, but nothing resembling the viral response I’d love to get for each song I release. But then again, my contention has always been that if one of my songs can move just one listener, I’ve done my job. That is why I do what I do. It’s not for monetary gain or notoriety…I’ve learned to live without either. I write, record, and produce because for whatever reason, which I do not question, I am compelled to do so. It is my calling, and at this stage of my life, my intention is simply to share what I’ve got to give with as many people as will listen. And once in a while, when a song affects someone, the ripple effect that is created leads to some very enlightening moments. This morning, I noticed that one listener had favorited the song on Twitter. His name is Eugene Chung. My curiosity to learn more about this one listener who responded to my post led me through a two hour crash course on solipsism, the singularity, Aaron Schwartz, life, death, compounding technological advancements, the film industry, SOPA/PIPA, and a host of fascinating details betwixt and between. Ultimately, the experience led me to this blog installment, which is dedicated to the serendipitous ripple effect that can sometimes be encountered in the slightest of crevasses on the wild, wild web.

I’ll Be With You