Behind the Biscuit: A Deep Dive into the Life and Career of James "Biscuit" Rouse and His Latest Tribute Album to Buddy Miles
Imitation is - as they say - the sincerest form of flattery. So - as a musician - to pay tribute to a performer or band that you admire is really one of the truest, most thoughtful efforts one can endeavor to achieve. Especially when it comes from the heart, from a place where the tempo of your life is dictated by the gentle lub-dub that beats within us all.
James “Biscuit” Rouse hails from Philadelphia and has worked hard to make a name for himself in the music world. With a wealth of experience behind the drum kit, he’s played with iconic artists such as Ms. Lauryn Hill, Sylena Johnson, and Vivian Green. Currently, he plays drums for Gerald Veasley, Screaming Headless Torsos, and Vernon Reid’s Band of Gypsys Revisited and has performed on occasion with Living Colour.
During his time in Band of Gypsys Revisited, James learned to perfect his playing as related to one of Jimi’s (Hendrix) best drummers, Buddy Miles. And so, Biscuit began down the road of paying tribute to Miles just in time for Miles’ induction into the R&B Hall of Fame. Of course, Biscuit accepted the award on behalf of Buddy Miles. On Biscuit & Buddy, James pays tribute to one of his idols, but also includes some of his own music in the process. Biscuit joins me to discuss the spark that led to producing this album and how he paid tribute to Buddy while also showcasing his own bag of skills.
Evan Toth: Biscuit and Buddy is the first-ever Buddy Miles tribute album, and tributes often carry a deep personal meaning. I just wonder what was that transformative moment for you when you began working on the record, was there a specific track or experience that you connected with Buddy Miles in a way that you hadn't before? What brought you here?
James "Biscuit" Rouse: I was doing a Band of Gypsies tour, well, Band of Gypsies Revisited Tour, as it was labeled, with Vernon Reid from Living Color, and, of course, I was doing all the Buddy Miles stuff. It was just one of those things, it was like, "Hmm, this kind of works." I was always a fan of the Band of Gypsies and was inquisitive about Buddy being a singing drummer. At first, I didn't like it, then I was like, "Okay, yes, this can work." Yes, that tour, and then Greg Tate pulled me aside, and we were in California playing somewhere.
He was like, "Yo, you really should do something with this." He said, "I watched you for two shows," and he was like, "I haven't seen anybody else attack Buddy's stuff the way you do." I said, "Okay." Then Vernon chimed in, he's like, "Yes, man, yes, you really should, yes, yes, yes." I was like, "Okay." That was 2017, around there. Then I started really working on it in 2018 with myself, Marcus Machado, and Lez Lemon. It just grew from there. Here we are, with the album done, and out.
ezt: Yes and here we are. It's funny that you mentioned the singing and playing drums. I think that mystifies people. People are always interested in seeing a drummer sing, and how does that work for you? What do you say to people that have never seen that before, and they're always shocked, "That's so cool. How do you do those two things at the same time?"
Biscuit: A lot of focus, [chuckles] a lot of breath control, and muscle memory. It's definitely a lot of-- I studied classical voice growing up as well, so that also helps, knowing how to breathe properly and figuring out how much breath I need to get through a phrase and play a lick or play a pattern. Yes, it's a lot of control.
ezt: It's like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time, right?
Biscuit: Exactly.
ezt: Walking and chewing gum.
Biscuit: [laughs]
ezt: You've worked with a lot of incredible artists in your career, as you mentioned, Vernon Reid, who's a part of this project as well, and Lauryn Hill. How have those collaborations influenced the sound and the feel of this album? Are there any lessons or anything that you learned along the way that really shaped your approach to this particular record?
Biscuit: I view everything as a lesson, what is a good experience or a bad experience, there's always a lesson to learn and take from it. I would say Lauryn always pushed me. I'm the type of person, I never back down from a challenge. It's like I will always try my best to meet the challenge no matter what, and just do it. The challenge with this project was I didn't want it, like the typical thing, somebody says they're going to do a tribute project, and it sounds exactly note for note, or they try to be note for note, and I didn't want it to be that, because you want to do that, just listen to the record. That's how I view it.
Another lesson from working with Lauryn is we would take samples of other stuff, and just trying to find your voice. Same thing with Living Color and doing it with Vernon, working with Vernon, and filling in for Will, it's being me, Screaming Headless Torsos, being me in it. With Screaming Headless Torsos, there was Gene Lake and Jojo Mayer, two phenomenal drummers. It's like to fill those shoes, I had to learn quickly not to try to emulate them, and to be me.
They hired me because of me, my personality, which comes out in my playing. Who am I as a person, as an individual, before I even touch the drums, which comes out in every musician's playing or singing? Just learning to do that with this project, that's pretty much it.
ezt: It's interesting, as we may not have it in this interview that we're going to have here, but we were talking just at the beginning of our conversation that you and I are both in New Jersey, and I know you're originally a Philly guy- but, is there a part of that, and I know Lauryn Hill's a Jersey girl, is there a part of that, sort of like, "I'm going to be me, I've got to have my own voice." It's kind of a Jersey thing, you know what I mean?
Biscuit: Yes, yes, absolutely. I'm always going to be Philly, do or die.
ezt: You're a Philly guy, so all right. That's okay.
Biscuit: Yes, it comes out. [chuckles]
ezt: I'm not going to have you switch sides over here.
Biscuit: I can't, it's inevitable.
ezt: Philly's pretty outspoken, too. I think if you're from Philly, everybody knows who you are also. It's the same.
Biscuit: Absolutely.
ezt: You're just separated by a river, that's all.
Biscuit: Yes.
ezt: That's all. Speaking of your own style and your own thing, even though this is a Buddy Miles tribute, other than paying homage to him, you've also written some original songs which are a part of the project. How do you strike that balance between honoring his music and honoring the past and also injecting your own voice here in the project? Maybe you just answered that, but when you were recording, how did you get the idea to say, "Hey, I'm going to add some of these songs of my own as well, they work with this project." How did you decide that?
Biscuit: I just tried to think if he was alive, Buddy was alive today, what would he sound like sonically?
ezt: Interesting.
Biscuit: Try to take what I started using recording and try to, again, implement me in that. Then, looking at lyric content and looking at what's going on in the world today, and that's how the originals came about.
ezt: Buddy Miles is an influential figure in music, but his contributions have flown under the radar a little bit. He's probably a little unsung, what do you hope listeners might discover or rediscover about him through this record?
Biscuit: I hope they rediscover his music overall, and it's very vast. Even in some things that people don't realize that's him. By me playing and not going through the stuff, I recognize his playing style. It's like, "I hope that people will recognize him as a musician overall, not just a drummer, not as a guitar player, not just as a keyboard player, but just as a musician, an artist that deserves his due." I think it helped with him being in the Band of Gypsys, but I think it also overshadowed his image. It's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time.
ezt: Right, right. Everybody knows him from there. Of course, there's those other records are great. In fact, I just was checking my stacks before I got on the phone with you because I thought I'd pull some stuff out. I think I have something maybe filed someplace else, but I'm short on Buddy Miles records and I need to buy some because every time I hear them or every time the whole album comes up, I'm always like, "Why don't I have everything back here," but I don't.
Biscuit: I'm still figuring out more of his library more and more and I've talked to the estate and they're like, "We found some other unreleased stuff," and I'm like, "Ooh." I'm like, "I can't wait to hear this stuff."
ezt: Did you get a lot of feedback in the community that surrounds his music or his family because I know you were involved in his induction recently into the R&B Hall of Fame but what sort of the feedback that you heard from people that love him and love his music that what are they happy about that you are bringing to light through this project?
Biscuit: I've gotten that they're happy someone has taken the challenge. His daughter is happy. I let her hear everything after I finished recording it and she was happy. She was like, "Yes, yes, he would be happy, he would be proud." I think I did the thing.
ezt: That's all you can ask, right?
Biscuit: Yes, that's all.
ezt: One of the songs on the album, "GI Gina" explains a sort of resilience. What happens on that track?
Biscuit: [laughs] No, it's just that song, I just was waiting to hear what you're going to say about the song.
ezt: No, I'm just going to ask you, well, if you want to laugh, every time I see that title, I think of that movie G.I. Jane. Remember G.I. Jane with Demi Moore in the '90s?
Biscuit: Yes.
ezt: I was thinking of that one. That song is about resilience and self-empowerment through turbulent relationships. Maybe you could share a little personal story or experience that shaped that song's message.
Biscuit: That song was because of a young lady that I dated that was in the military and every time I would drive on 95, and the closer I got to her exit, I'd start twitching and breaking out because it was good at points and then it was crazy at other points. It was about her. [laughter]
ezt: It's true...
Biscuit: It's true.
ezt: -the interesting part here is deciding when a relationship is right and when it's not right. When it's just too much for you.
Biscuit: Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
ezt: You've been surrounded by, as we talked about before, so many musicians throughout your career. What was it like to bring together this diverse and talented group that you used on this album? How did you go down the list of folks, who to use and how did that materialize the personnel?
Biscuit: It was just the right thing and the right ones at the right time for the right songs. It wasn't nothing I should say magical or like, "Oh, I think this one should do it or this one should do it." It was just, "Hey, can you do this song?" It was simply like that and it just worked out.
ezt: Right. You're producer, you're vocalist, you're drummer here, you're wearing a lot of hats on this project. What was that like juggling those different tasks? What was your favorite part about maybe being a drummer, maybe not?
Biscuit: I enjoy all of it to be honest, because it forces me to be creative and try to think out of the box and just do whatever is in my heart to do at the moment. That's pretty much it.
ezt: Where did you record the album? Was it around here? Was it in the Tri-State Area?
Biscuit: At home. [laughs]
ezt: Oh, okay.
Biscuit: In my old apartment.
ezt: Nice. You got a great sound in there.
Biscuit: Thank you.
ezt: Yes, you're welcome. As I mentioned before too, you were involved in Buddy's R&B Hall of Fame induction and that's a major moment for his legacy. What did that mean to you being a part of that with his family and this fusion of your career and his body of work? What were some of those thoughts going through your mind while you were doing that and preparing for that?
Biscuit: Of course, it's an honor to do that, especially standing in proxy for someone that you revere as a model for what you do, and then to see other people that are there to receive awards. It was just like, "Wow, I'm nobody yet, I soon will be, but I'm standing here with them." When we were taking a picture at the end of the night and I'm looking at the line I'm like, "Wow, okay." I've never been one to be starstruck, but it was just one of those moments like, "Wow, okay. Yes, we're here."
ezt: What's next? What do you think is next for you? What are you working on? Obviously, you're always working with a lot of musicians in a lot of different projects, but what are you working on recently or soon?
Biscuit: I'm working on trying to get a booking agent and do shows. Then just working on writing more songs. I've already started for the next album, I'm 60 songs in already. [chuckles]
ezt: Wow. 60? Six zero?
Biscuit: Yes, six zero.
ezt: That's a lot.
Biscuit: Yes, while waiting for the album to come out, I was like, "I'm either going to go stir-crazy or focus my energy on writing." Also, just working on my wife's record and a few other artists, whoever calls, and I just finished producing a friend's record. His name is George Burton, jazz keyboard player. That's out. Just take on small projects and just be a musician and an artist. Just stay true to being a musician.
ezt: Why don't you tell people where they can find out more about you and more about if they want to purchase this album or where they can find out stuff about you online or elsewhere?
Biscuit: You can go to my website. You can find me on Instagram @biscuitrouse.
ezt: On Instagram. I just followed you today.
Biscuit: Okay. I haven't been on today. Yes, that's pretty much it. The music is on all music platforms. Yes, that's basically it, Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, the whole kit and caboodle.
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