April 17, 2005
Interviewed by Mary Bentley

Pieces of a Dream has come a long way in the 30 years they’ve made music.  What started out as a school band has evolved into one of the more popular smooth jazz bands in the genre.  With the release of their 17th CD, Pillow Talk, an upcoming 30th anniversary DVD in the works, and plenty of tour dates nationwide, there’s no sign of stopping for this group.  SmoothViews had the opportunity to chat with group leader, keyboardist James Lloyd, about this landmark 30th anniversary.

SmoothViews (SV):  I want to start by talking about the new album, Pillow Talk.  It’s been out for about two weeks now.  I’m enjoying it a lot.
James Lloyd (JL):   Thank you.  Not even two weeks.Do you have any favorites yet?

SV: I do.  “Trifling” - and I’m not sure whether I like it more because Ramona Dunlap does a really good job with it, or because I can identify with what she’s singing. (Laughs) It might be a little of both.
JL: (Laughs) Okay.

SV: And I like the cover of “Sailing” a lot.
JL:  Thank you.  That was my wife’s idea.  She had actually put the bug in my ear maybe about four years ago.  I didn’t think too much about it.  I kind of put it on the back burner, and then when I was getting material together for this one, she mentioned it again.  I went and got the original and listened to it about a couple of hundred times and then I took a stab at it.  That’s what came out.

SV: And I also like “Wake Up Call” too.  I like the fact that it comes directly after “Sailing” because “Sailing” is kind of soft and quiet, and “Wake Up Call” is so totally opposite of that.  I like how there’s a juxtaposition between the two different styles on that.
JL: We tried to construct the order of tunes on the album like a live show set list.  You don’t want to put too much slow stuff back-to-back or too much fast stuff back-to-back.  We wanted to give it a roller coaster type flow, with a balance of things, mixing up the moods and the vocals, kind of spreading things out just as we would do for a live show.

SV: As a matter of fact, as I was listening to the CD I thought about how good those songs would sound live.  And they did.  I was at the show up in Berks.
JL: Well, thank you.  You were at the world premiere then.

SV: This is your 30th anniversary.  I’d like to know how you keep things sounding fresh over the course of 30 years.  How do you keep your sound?  It’s a very identifiable sound and anytime you hear it, you know its POAD. 
JL: I tell you, it’s not easy, because you have to do three things all at once.  I call it the process of past, present, and future.  Past meaning you have to give your long time supporters, our Pieces fans, what they’ve come to expect from Pieces.  As you said, the Pieces sound.  You’ve got some people who go way back with us.  Present, we have to stay abreast of what’s happening in radio and what people are taking to at the present time.  Contemporary jazz, by definition, means jazz of today – these times.  You have to stay abreast of current times, and keep your pulse on the industry as a whole – where music is currently.  And then there’s the future.  Where is music headed?  You don’t want to write a song that’s so timely that by the time it comes out, it’s outdated.  You have to, in a sense, look towards the future to where music is headed, and at the same time where I would like to see it headed.  Sort of push the envelope towards that direction, or just try some different things; experiment on one little thing, do that from within.

SV: I think you kind of did that with the first song, “House Arrest,” at least through my interpretation anyway.  It’s not staying within the genre box.
JL: Right.  I’ve always been into that kind of sound, even years ago.  Of late, I’ve been blessed with a pretty successful song with Walter Beasley called “Coolness,” which has that house vibe.  I also co-wrote Najee’s new single, “Second To None,” with him.  He and I co-wrote Pillow Talk’s first single, “Forward Emotion.”

SV: That’s right.  So, how would you describe the Pieces sound?
JL:  I was just getting ready to ask you that.  You said when you heard it, you felt like it definitely has the Pieces signature, the Pieces sound.  What do you think that is?  How would you describe it?

SV: I don’t know how to describe it.  I know it when I hear it.  I can’t really say it’s a particular groove.  Maybe it is.  I just know it when I hear it.  Hey!  I’m not supposed to be the one answering the questions! (Laughs)
JL: I just turned it all around. (Laughs)  You know, that is kind of hard even for me, and I’m in the group and have been forever.  I guess it’s certain things in the piano, or certain melodies with the sax.  It’s really hard to describe, even for me.  I was hoping that maybe somebody on the outside looking in would have a different view or better take on it.

SV: It’s what happens between you and Curtis when you get together and make music.  It’s what happens that’s so identifiable.
JL: The thing is we’re in a sense known for our versatility.  We’ll go from grooves like “House Arrest” to “Sailing,” from “Wake Up Call” to “Trifling,” from “Those Three Words” to “Pillow Talk.”

SV:  You now have 17 CDs out.  Does it get easier or harder to come up with good music after that many CDs?
JL: I wouldn’t say it gets any easier.  It’s always hard work to try and do something following three totally different rules simultaneously, past, present, and future.  It may sound profound and poetic, but there’s a lot to it.  [It’s] easier said than done, for real.  You don’t want to diss your fans and long time supporters, but at the same time not make every song like the stuff we did 10 years ago.  How long would it take to become outdated?  We all know some people that are still stuck in the 70s or the 80s.  I’m not talking about musical artists, but people. (Laughs)  You look at them and it’s as if time marched on and they’re still holding on to that anchor.

SV: They become a parody.
JL: I don’t want to say it really gets easy, but I don’t think it necessarily gets harder as time goes on.  I think it gets easier in the sense that as time goes on, what is commercially acceptable – digestible by the public – becomes more and more broadened.  So the limitations become greyer and fewer, which leaves me more directions to go and to venture into.  In that sense, it becomes easier.  It’s not such a small space that I have to confine myself to.

SV: I want to talk a little bit about your fan base.   When I saw you up at Berks, I was in the back so I could take it all in.  I got a really good vibe that was going on between the band and the audience.  It seemed very familiar on both sides – both the band and the audience were very comfortable with each other.  That leads me to believe that you’ve got people that have been with you for a long time, from the start even, who basically grew up with the band.
JL: That is so true, especially being up at the Berks because that’s right next door to Philly where we all grew up.  I’m sure a lot of people were there from Philly that grew up with us, and a lot of faces that I’ve seen.  Not just that.  [It’s] not only the people that we know, and know us personally, but people that know our music that we’ve never even met.  They’ve grown up with us through our music.  It’s deep.  Just getting that sense from them – feeling that vibe and giving it back to them.  It’s like a big circle.

SV: So, you started this band when you were a teenager?
JL: Actually, I was a pre-teen.  I was just about to turn 12.

SV: Did you think you’d still be doing this 30 years later?
JL: I had no idea.  Back then, it wasn’t “I want to be a musician.  I want to be a recording artist.  I want to go on tour.  I want to see my name in lights.” There wasn’t any of that.  I went out for band.  I was already a piano player.  I was classically trained.  I started when I was six.  I had a good ear.  I could play things that I just heard on the radio and on records.  I just kind of learned it from there, which I didn’t really know was a big deal for somebody who was 8 or 10 years old.  I couldn’t read music.  Besides, they didn’t have sheet music for those things, so I would just play them on the record player.  Do you remember those?

SV: Oh yes!  With the needle.  You had to put a quarter on top of it –
JL: But first you had to move the lamp over so you could open it up because it doubled as furniture. (Laughs)

SV: Right.
JL: That’s where it all started.  I just went to try out for band and I made it.  The band turned out to be a jazz band with 17 people.  The instructors taught us jazz, blues, how to improvise, and things like that.  Here we were, we were doing performances at our middle school and go to other middle schools and perform.  It just sort of grew and grew.  Then we formed a smaller combo for a talent show at our middle school.  We took 3rd place. 

Then the summer came.  We started rehearsing together in Danny Harmon’s (drummer’s father) basement.  He would teach us even more jazz tunes.  He hipped us to people like the Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, Art Tatum, and Ahmad Jamal.  We’d learn all these jazz standards.  At the same time, since we were young – 12, 13 – we were playing LTD, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Brothers Johnson, and stuff like that.  So here we were versatile from way back then – even though we didn’t have anything out.  I had no idea back then that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life; that this was going to be my job or my career.  It was just fun.  We were doing block parties, wedding receptions, and dinner dances.  Next thing we know, we were the house band for a TV show in Philly, City Lights.  And I’m 13 years old.  Every week we’re playing in and out of commercials.  Each week they’d have a different musical guest.  Sometimes the musical guest would use a track, but most of the time they would use us.  So, we’d get to back people like Dave Valentin, Clark Terry, “Iceman” Jerry Butler, and Grover.  That’s how we first came to play for Grover.  There was this place called The Bijou in Philadelphia where Grover recorded his live album.  We used to open there all the time for different artists, like Betty Carter and Deneice Williams.  I was maybe 14 or 15, and Grover was in the audience.  We asked him to come up and sit in with us and play “Mr. Magic,” and he did.  Here we are playing “Mr. Magic” with Grover at the Bijou.  Talk about getting chills and living a dream! 

Soon after that, he announced that he was starting a production company and took all of us out to dinner; me, my parents, Curt, his mom and dad, his [Grover’s] wife, and his attorney.  We went to this really exclusive restaurant in Philly.  He announced that he’s putting us on the map.  He’s starting a production company and basically, we got a record deal.

SV: And you were 15 years old?
JL:  Yes.  I was 16 when the album came out.  I was a senior in high school.  I got skipped in the middle of the 8th grade, so I graduated at 16, and I had an album out.  This was 1981. 

So here we are now, we have an album out that Grover produced.  Now we’re going on tour with him.  I had a choice of whether I wanted to do this tour thing or go to college.  Of course my parents wanted me to go to college and get my education.  I’m glad I didn’t listen to them.  I had to make up my own mind.  It’s my life.  I figured that people go to college when they’re 40 and 50 years old.  Grover’s ready to take us on tour now.  I might not have that opportunity again.  I think that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.  We went all over the world touring with Grover and opening for him as Pieces, and playing as part of his band too.  It was like doing double duty – on-the-job training, all over the world for years.  He played on our albums and we played on his.  It was just awesome.

SV: That was great that you had someone like that who was there for you.  Things could have turned out a lot different if he wasn’t.  What would you say to young musicians trying to get a foothold in this business who perhaps don’t have someone like Grover in their corner?  What would you tell them?
JL: We were very blessed to have someone like Grover.  For anyone up-and-coming, trying to get into this business, [I’d say that] now is a better time than it was five or 10 years ago.  It’s a heck of a lot easier for an unknown artist to try and break into the business than it was awhile ago.  There’s a lot more space and room for everybody.  The thing to remember is to surround yourself with people that you can trust.  Not everybody’s going to have a mentor like Grover to help them do things, but at least surround yourself with people you can trust.  That’s number one.  And get as much exposure as you can, whether it’s for pay or for free.  It’s called paying your dues.  You don’t always get paid.  You don’t always get the big bucks.  Sometimes you have to do what you need to do, in order to do what you want to do.  The best thing is to get heard as much as possible, play as much as possible, and practice as much as possible.  You never know when the opportunity is going to knock on your door.  Be ready.

SV: You said, “Surround yourself with people you can trust.”  You’ve followed your own advice because you’ve had the same manager since the beginning, Danny Harmon, correct?
JL: Yes, Danny Harmon, and his brother, Bill Harmon, is the Road Manager.  It’s like a tag team effort.

SV: You seem to have found a good home with Heads Up.
JL: It’s like now they’re a part of the family.  I really think it’s a good relationship.  The label really works hard – everybody there.  And they’re all cool.  I’m not just saying that because we’re on the label or I have to because I think it will get back to them.  Dave Love is a very hands-on type of President.  He gets involved in the music.  He’s not just a suit.  He’s into what tunes are going on, arrangements, stuff like that.  He’s very into it.  I guess being a musician himself [he’s a trumpeter] he understands where we’re coming from as an artist as well.  It’s really cool.

SV: What is the secret to the success and longevity of Pieces?
JL: Our live show.  For awhile, we were one of the workingest bands without an album out.  There was a three- to four-year span where we didn’t have anything.  We were touring more than some acts with current product.  We try and definitely take our live show to the next level from where the album sets everything up.  We try not to stretch it so far that you don’t recognize the tune, but why would somebody pay 20 - 30 bucks per person to see something that they’ve already spent 15 - 17 bucks on?  Our live show has always been intense and energetic from every member.  [We have] tightness, yet spontaneity.  We’re liable to just bust out into anything.  We feed off each other and we feed off the audience.  I think that’s one of the things that keep us around for as long as we have been, and sets us apart from others.

SV: You and Curtis are the founding members of the band and Eddie’s been with you for awhile. 
JL: Eddie’s been with us for 10 years.

SV: Tell me about the kind of working relationship that you have with Curtis.
JL:  It goes through changes.  If you look at the credits on this latest project, there’s not a whole lot of collaboration on his and my part.  We’re in totally different places geographically.  I’m in Ohio and he’s in Jersey.  Between that and our gigging schedule, it can get kind of difficult to get together.  Me, on the one hand, I’m constantly writing.  I’ve got my home studio here and most of the stuff is done here.  Consequently, I have all of these tunes that are just waiting.  Some of them, either they don’t fit Pieces or there are too many to go on a Pieces album.  So now I’m trying to become the go-to cat for radio stuff.  I did seven on Nestor Torres, four on Alexander Zonjic, including his first and second single, the single on Walter Beasley, I co-wrote the single for Najee, and many of the singles for Pieces as well.  I even worked on the Ladysmith Black Mambazo project.  I produced “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.”

SV: Pieces has a DVD coming out soon?
JL: We ran into some difficulties with that, so it’s going to be put on hold for right now.  Feel free to blame me for that.  I’m just such a perfectionist.  You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.  This will be a first for Pieces.  We just had to put it on hold for a second.

SV: What inspires you when you write?
JL: Everyday life, really; things that I’ve been through – the good, the bad, the ugly.  Different sounds inspire me, other music that I listen to.  I believe you really are a product of your environment.  I draw from everything.

SV: I know you’ll be at Blues Alley in May (5/17 – 5/21), but what else is coming up?
JL: The CD release party at Blues Alley on May 17.  Blues Alley is like our second home.  We’ve been playing there for 25 years.  Is that ridiculous or what?  I’ve been playing there since I was 16 years old and I’ve seen some of those people there since the beginning.  I’ll just be getting back from St. Lucia.  I’m part of an all-star band, all of these celebrities… and me. (Laughs)  This is being put together for the St. Lucia Jazz Festival.  It will be myself, Sunny Emory, Morris Pleasure from Earth, Wind, and Fire, Everette Harp, and Nelson Rangell.  It should be nice.

SV: Sounds great.  Well, I have one more question for you.  At the end of the day, what do you want people to get from your music?
JL: Emotional.  I want them to get uplifted.  I want them to feel that no matter what might be going wrong, and there’s always something going wrong somewhere, it’s alright.  It’s all good.

SV: Well, thank you for chatting with me, James.  I’ll see you in May.
JL: Thank you.