I’ve followed the career of musician Jamie Notarthomas since I first met him 20 something years ago. He was new on the music scene and had received his first recording contract. Like anyone with half a brain, he took it to his lawyer, Allen Cohen, to give it a once over. As he guessed, there were some loopholes which really needed closing before he signed. Attorney Cohen handed the contract to his paralegal and told her to ‘fix it’ because she knew what needed to be fixed.
I was that paralegal and was quite impressed with the young man who knew what he wanted. His long brown hair was held back with a rubber band, and his khaki pants were clean, but bulging with car keys and a guitar pic or two. His smile was genuine and had an easy going way about him, referring to himself as a “long haired hippie type.” I was sad to see him go and wished him luck.
Imagine my surprise years later to see him again while dining on the deck of “Papa Joes” in Sodus Point. It was a hot and sticky August night about 2 years ago, and everyone was waiting for the band to begin. They were setting up and I didn’t realize it was Jamie until I saw the long brown hair, still held back with a rubber band, and his smiling face glowing with the sheer joy of performing. I doubt he remembered me, but I was thrilled to see he was still performing. Although still not well known nationally, he is one of the area’s busiest nobodies around, performing over 200 shows a year. He is more than just a one hit wonder.
His latest cd “The Crow Convention” is a compilation of songs he did that night for the first time, a lot of them tongue-in-cheek, but mostly showing his brilliance as a songwriter and how much he has grown. The self-described long haired hippie had become a troubadour for the ages. He sings the gamut from comical (“Cayuga County Crow Convention”) Honky Tonk (“Life IS” ) to whimsical (“Deet Deet Deet”) and to philosophical (“Moon”) somewhat of a requirement for every songwriter worth his salt in creative spirit.
The haunting Celtic themed “The Silence” reminds me what I need to do when I am battling with writers block. Like always, I get in the car and just drive. Slipping his cd into the player, I listened to it over and over and I traveled the back country roads of Wayne County. His words stayed with me until I was ready to head home.
Thanks, Jamie. Pleasure to hear you again and look forward to seeing you when you come back to Sodus Point. I’ll remember what you’ve no doubt experienced in your heart one night. We are the lucky ones you choose to share it with. Available online or http://www.jamienotarthomas.com/
Do yourself a favor and listen to one of the most talented somebodies anyone has ever heard.
“Now imagine a place where there’s hardly a sound, where the forest meets the bay
Where the loudest thing is the song of one bird almost half a mile a way
Oh, the breeze on the leaves, and the waves of the sea
Let your soul be born anew
It erases, forgives, it’ll heal and you’ll live
When the Silence talks to you.”
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