Daily Inspiration: Meet James Goudreault

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Goudreault.

Hi James, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up the son of a Japanese Mother who survived Hiroshima and a French Canadian Father who had a forty-year career in the Aerospace industry. They both loved music as my mother wanted to be a professional opera singer in Japan. They moved from Japan to Los Angeles and I was born in Culver City. We moved to Orange County in 1968, and that is where I have been ever since, now residing in Irvine with my wife Andrea Grant, and our beloved Chihuahua, Samurai.

My music journey goes something like this…the minute I expressed an interest in music at the age of 8, both my parents jumped in with full support and the rest was history. I started playing the clarinet in elementary school bands. I commenced private lessons with a local clarinet guru and practiced 2-3 hours a day. I later picked up the piano and the alto saxophone. In High School, I qualified for Orchestra, Woodwind Ensemble, Marching Band and Jazz Band. My freshman year in 1980, FVHS was selected to march for Ronald Reagan’s inaugural parade. So, they flew our marching band to Washington DC where we marched behind the Air Force marching band and were featured on CNN. My sophomore year I joined a band that almost got signed to Island Records. We opened for some big acts over the years, at one time we had Josh Freese on drums who has since toured with Sting, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, and Devo to name a few. That same year, I became the youngest player in the Bellflower Symphony Orchestra as second chair Clarinet. Fountain Valley High at the time was the largest High School west of Mississippi, with my graduating class sanding at 1200 students strong. I graduated as a valedictorian with a 4.2 GPA with an emphasis in Science and Music and went on to choose between multiple college acceptance letters.

I wanted my university experience to be based in California, and my two top picks were UC Berkeley and University of the Pacific. I knew if I entered Berkeley in their ‘Letters and Sciences Program’ that it would be more science influenced. But UOP had an exciting major called ‘Entertainment Management’ that was totally new to universities at the time, and it taught the business of music. From music law, record label management, client and studio management, the list goes on. And it required you to study in their Conservatory of Music and its business management school. It was the perfect blend I felt of music and business to make it not just another liberal arts degree.

So, I went for it, and squeaked out a 3.8 GPA, even while joining a fairly raucous fraternity for four years. I was able to spend 7 months studying in Japan at Nanzan University in Nagoya where I learned how to read and write Japanese and studied woodblock printing and Japanese business. After graduating I started building my own music studios while immersing myself in the work world not totally knowing what I wanted to do. Fast forward years later, and I found myself leaving a 30-year Luxury Retail Management career. During those years I built a home recording studio called ‘Studio G’ that was more of a personal space for writing, composing, and production. Studio G allowed me to partner with a friend of Michael Jackson when he started the rap label MJJ Music, and I also partnered and toured with one of Prince’s DJs and played saxophone at his after-concert parties.

Towards the end of my management career, I met my wife Andrea Grant, a super creative force. She does ‘spoken word,’ a genre lesser seen these days. So, I partnered with her to help compose soundtrack music for her many projects and most importantly her short films. We have completed three films to date, and we are always working on more. I also helped her build her social media agency, Copious Consulting, that we manage to this day.

With all this history being recounted, the road can often be long, but I could not have achieved the experiences I’ve had if it wasn’t for perseverance and consistency. Those two values keys are critically important to achieving any goal in life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This is always a hard question to judge. I feel like every creative and non-creative alike have their own external and internal issues when it comes to their progress and forward momentum. But I think the number one asset in anyone’s toolbox is access to a positive network. If you haven’t established one, then there is no time like the present to start. And by positive, I mean a network that has the ability to assist you with issues and career choices and keep motivated. It takes time obviously, but your network is everything, you just can’t do it alone. I had a decent network coming out of college but realized I had to keep expanding it over time. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I had to focus more on creatives to round it out, which meant, playing and gigging more, and just being aware of personal opportunities wherever possible. I would say that building a solid network is the greatest challenge for anyone regardless of their industry.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My career path has been interesting. While simultaneously pursuing a creative music career I also worked in luxury retail management. I was responsible for staff and merchandise responsibilities for major luxury brands around the globe. The plus side to that experience, is that it allowed me to hone my interpersonal and management skills which inevitably gave me a huge advantage later on because I had no issues around people and developed the ability to quickly bond with anyone I deemed necessary to help me move forward. This is such a critical factor for anyone trying to further their career. The people skills I learned from my management career allowed me more opportunities in my music career like the ability to meet influencers early in the day even before social media took hold. And once I left that industry, I parlayed everything I knew into what was a burgeoning social media landscape. I learned the value of social interaction nearly nine years ago, and I’m still involved in the learning curve to this day.

What’s next?
I think ultimately, my goal is to share my work with as many people possible and work with as many inspirational people as possible. What’s definitely on my bucket list would be to receive a Grammy nomination and then possibly win it. That would be the equivalent to Michelin stars given to an outstanding chef in creative relative terms. Having spent decades on my craft, I think it’s only reasonable to expect a peer judgement for everything you’ve sacrificed and put your heart and soul on the line every day. Beyond that, I want to pay my music talent forward to the youth of today. I look forward to donating my time either speaking or teaching them in the studio or on an instrument. Our youth is everyone’s future, so they deserve all the help and encouragement they deserve.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://copious-consulting.com/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/james-goudreault

Image Credits
Vestige Photography on my solo pic only