GINGER ST. JAMES
WHAT MAKES GINGER ST. JAMES SO DAMNED HOT?
THIS HAMILTON ARTIST MAKES HER MOVE ; AS A
BURLESQUE ENTERTAINER BECOMES A SERIOUS SINGER
The first thing you remember is her hair; what IS that wild streak of fuscia colouring in the middle of her brunette hair? Heck, her name is GINGER St. James, right?
Right indeed. A tiny firecracker of a woman, raised on a farm near Hamilton, full of piss and vinegar, has become a serious artist who combines, night after night, two great American traditions: Burlesque and the blues.
You CAN take the girl out of the farm, and you CAN take the farm out of the girl. Seriously, people, there’s a smart and sassy sophistication that’s part of the private and public persona of this woman that certainly belies a childhood of bailing hay, mucking out the cowshed, and feeding the animals.
St. James found her way into the entertainment business the way most kids do — a guitar at 13, a cheerful streak of exhibitionism (“ I’m on stage; look at me!”), talent contests, and — a defining moment — a guest appearance with a burlesque troupe in a little theatre. A challenge, she says now, looking back: “I was a little nervous backstage, and then it’s like "bring it on!’”
In 2002, she first appeared on the Toronto scene as a member of Les Coquettes as a sultry singer; her affection for good old rock and roll and the lure of footlights led her to Broadway songs. And Les Coquettes, one of the first burlesque troupes in Canada to revive the old vaudeville tradition, led her to form her own group in her hometown, the Steeltown Sirens . St. James also toured the variety circuit with famed Canadian mentalist Mysterion the Mind Reader and a host of other macabre performers.
Eighty shows later, St. James had emerged as a singer as well as a saucy soubrette with slithery moves, legs to die for and a smile to melt the ice in your gin and tonic. Along the way, she worked as an artists’ model, took the femme fatale role in Lucky 7, an indie film feature (and she’s currently involved in two other independent movie productions) and performed as a guest with many well known Hamilton bands. In 2009 she formed her pedal-to-the- metal backup group, which she named — of course! — The Grinders.
Backed by her band, (Snow-Heel Slim, Greg Brisco, Tyrone Ramsey, and Andre Tellier) it was her voice, sultry and surprisingly strong, that took her to her present level as one of Ontario’s most exciting new artists. This was, after all, an artist who could handle show tunes, swing, rockabilly, country and good ol’ rock and roll; from her gut-wrenching version of ‘Tennessee Waltz’ to the originals ‘Boom Boom Room’, and ‘Lonely Cryin’ Blues’. Most of all, though, she developed a taste for the blues — which she vivaciously mixes with the rest of the musical genres she loves.
Like burlesque, the blues is as American as the Fourth of July, grape jelly, and deep-fried chicken. The blues are tough, raunchy, have an undercurrent of humour and speak to the concerns of the folk who drink, dance, work two jobs and need to unwind at the first possible opportunity.
The first folk to take notice were the editors of View Magazine, Hamilton’s guide to what matters in Steeltown — in 2008 she was picked Best Female Artist, and the honour was repeated last year as well (along, it must be added, with a citation as “Sexiest Hamiltonian”).
Ginger St. James has now well and truly broken out of her role as a Hamilton phenomenon; the rest of us are discovering her. She’s just released her first recording, aptly titled Spank, Sparkle and Growl — launched with much enthusiastic support at key clubs in Toronto as well as in her hometown.
Now, with the confidence and smarts she’s acquired since she shed most of her clothes at her first burlesque shows eight years ago, she has become a singer with the heart and soul and sexiness of the blues. And an entertainer who demands that her audience laughs and dances their asses off.
This hotrod and hootenanny loving gal is the real deal.
Ginger St. James, in short, has arrived. And you should — you will — pay attention.
- R. Flohill
- S. French
""Ginger St. James cleverly mixes vaudville, cabaret, rock and roll and tease like a bartender fixing a million dollar drink. By far one of the most outstanding performers in Hamilton and beyond!" - Lou Molinaro C101.5fm
"A sultry singer with a surprisingly lithe and powerful voice, razor wit an vaudevillian sense of showmanship. Its no put-on." ~ Hamilton Magazine
"When I first heard them on her website (myspace.com/gingerstjames), I thought she was singing covers of long lost songs."One, called The Boom Boom Room, is filled with the double entendre of the wink songs of the '30s with Ginger teasingly inviting you into her "boom boom room." Another, Swing About You, is a coy little enticer that could easily have been written for Louis Armstrong."
~ Graham Rockingham. The Hamilton Spectator.
"Ginger St. James is a wily performer whose inhibitons is only rivaled by her talent in both burlesque and in song".Ric Taylor, View Magazine!
"From the moment she stepped on stage the crowd was spellbound. They were treated to one of the most exciting acts in Hamilton.
Her voice is superb, and I have lost count of how many people both in the music ndustry and without who gave comment and always in favour!" ~ Brian Furlong, Art Hus
"She is and adept and experienced artist in her own rights, and exudes star power wherever she goes. She certainly has the talent, drive and looks to take her far in this industry." Bruce Hotchies, Daze Management. Scotland.
