The Lower Third

Music, painting, creative excursions in a larger sense have been a part of my live since as far back as I remember. I grew up on a ranch in the country where the nearest neighbour was half a mile away so I spent most of my free time by myself, left to my own devices. I discovered early in life that drawing and painting were things I could do plenty of since they didn't cost very much. Later as an early teenager, I bought my first electric guitar and amp which gave me my first taste of creating with sound. Continuing throughout my life, I went through phases where I'd spend more time honing one particular craft until I reached a stage where I built up a name for myself or aim for a goal  and work until I would reach it before moving on to jump another creative hurdle. I never took any artistic form as serious as perhaps I should have... it was more of a challenge for me to set a goal of reaching a plateau in any given art form and reaching or surpassing it ,then moving on to accomplish another. Or it could be that I hadn't yet found my true calling, one form which I will continue to work with for the rest of my life. 

I returned to music in 2002, after discovering that with the aid of a computer, one could compose music as with an entire band or orchestra. This was a eureka moment, for all of my life I've had music running through me and for the first time, I could set this down and actually bring it to fruition. I then began to learn the art of mixing assorted instruments to achieve certain sounds and still continue to learn ,for with every music software package, a new blend of sounds can be created. Different moods can be set more easily on one software package than they can on others, so understanding which music software makes a certain kind of sound is just as important, I feel, as the music I am attempting to produce. This I find most interesting. It's been just over 4 years since I first began working with music again and I am still in awe of what more can be accomplished. I am now standing atop the iceberg and looking down I see much which is revealed and am now composing and learning but underneath the water, in the dark and deep where I have yet to see, awaits the obscure unknown. I wish to someday find that place where the true music resides within me til it becomes a living and breathing part of my entire being.

I haven't yet set a goal which is unlike me, so perhaps this is my true calling and will continue creating in this many faceted field called music.

I still continue to draw, paint, write and am involved with many other creative outlets but music has taken a number one position on my list of priorities. I like to mix genres with my art as I've done with with music videos, combining a song with images of my videotaped drawings, with the camera moving slowly, detailed so as to slowly reveal the entire piece. The drawing on the cover of my first CD is one which I did about 15 years ago, entitled 'The Lower Third' which is is where the name of the band came from. But as far as strictly music goes, I continue to write in a wide array of genres. Beginning without any specific style in mind, I allow the song to build itself as I compose. What results is all instrumental, ambient, ethereal   sounds ranging from soft and subtle to harsh, dark and throbbing. My first CD was released in early 2006 which contained these assorted genres, so the album was difficult to label by various reviewers and critics. The CD was intended to encompass the variety of sounds that I enjoy working with to make the listener aware of the scope I find appealing to work in. A few songs are somewhat danceable as well. Although the intention for dance songs is pretty much non-existant, they just happenned to turn out that way.

Here are a couple of out takes from reviews done on the CD:

Lunar Hypnosis ~ ...Crane is obviously talented at creating luxurious tapestries of sound and I look
forward to hearing how his talent unfolds in the months and years ahead...

Grave Concerns ~ ...Mainly electronic, yet often sounding warm and organic rather than cold and mechanical, The Lower Third's self titled debut is both interesting and unique. As a whole, it is a rhythmically interesting and ultimately compelling collection of dark, intricate, electro-ethereal soundscapes.

I enjoy writing music that can allow the listener to close their eyes and drift off, allowing the music to carry them away to wherever their imaginations will let them. Being able to meld with another person in this way is always the intended goal, for by doing so, I feel I am connected with this person for a brief time. This idea in itself is an astonishing one and very much an appealing one. The musical path I walk, brings me much joy and I will continue composing for as long as I am able to, for I believe I have finally found my true calling in life.

James Crane
Sat., Feb. 10
2007

Web : http://www.myspace.com/thelowerthird