James Mearon Morrison wears many hats: a talented musician, photographer, budding filmmaker, and board game designer, while at the heart of all his projects is a desire to promote the arts and music scene in the Peace Country.
“There’s a lot of music talent here, and I wanted to showcase people who might not otherwise record their music and help those aspiring for more commercial success,” said Morrison.
Throughout his school years, Morrison was a member of the Grande Prairie Boys Choir. He then completed his Bachelor of Music in Jazz with Distinction at MacEwan University, majoring in Recording and Production.
He returned to Grande Prairie in March of 2020. Morrison then began making field recordings of his own material and that of other local musicians. He also began documenting the local music community, starting with photography and later expanding into film.
He uses his social media following to promote upcoming events and is compiling the footage to create a documentary with a long-term vision.
“Lately I’ve been thinking more about a quote I heard credited to The Office, something about appreciating that you’re in the good old days while they’re happening,” said Morrison.
“Working on the songs and stories in the recordings really gives me a chance to appreciate better how cool the happenings of what I would describe as the scene really are.
“There’s also a certain inertia about being one year into a seven-year documentary.”
As if he wasn’t busy enough, he has also developed a board game, similar to the card game War, but with “way more strategy and politics.”
Morrison has his hand in so many projects that you almost forget he is first and foremost an excellent songwriter.
He is currently working in the studio, planning to release five songs on the Long Story label. He will be performing at The End Of Hibernation concert, April 18, at the Fairview Theatre, alongside Matt Patershuk, The Cecily Phelps Band, and Sheamus from Pretty Damn Close.
Keep up with local events by visiting his Instagram (@on_the_music_beat).
Kurt Furstenwerth is a musician and the founder of Long Story Records based in Bluesky, Alberta.
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