On most days, anyone walking down Third Avenue West by the bank will be serenaded by a gentle folk singer, who in recent times traded his guitar in to have cash for food.
James Demings considers himself one of the few troubadours that perform on Prince Rupert streets in exchange for a nod or a bit of money.
Troubadours emerged in the Middle Ages when they sang their songs for entertainment in courtyards. This modern day troubadour, or busker, has chosen the streets as his venue to practice and share his gift — with or without his guitar.
“I have a determination to continue to pursue my music so I felt if I get on the street with it I’d get better,” Demings said adding, “and of course I make a little bit of money as well, which is good because I need the money.”
There are a few other troubadours in the city that compete for the public’s attention. To spread their music evenly across the community they have claimed a spot for their own. Demings has chosen to perform in front of the CIBC bank.
“It’s been a hit since I started doing it. At first, I got a little opposition but mostly people appreciate me out there,” he said.
He plays finger-picking songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Diamond and some of his own tunes, which can also be viewed on YouTube. Recorded sitting in front of a garage door, a younger Jim Demings, as he calls himself on his channel, sings Deep Down.
“I wrote it to an ex-flame to say ‘I forgive you’.”
The sentiment in his music is born from his past of highs and lows. The first 13 years of his life were spent in Nova Scotia until his parents moved to Prince Rupert to fish. A year later, he picked up a guitar when his brother started playing and he taught himself how to jam. From then on, music became his dream.
Circumstances in his life led him to busking the streets. Plagued with sea sickness, he couldn’t be a fisherman like his father. He never finished school, which he admits limited his employment options. Then, at 19-years-old he held his daughter for the first time.
The song Take It Away was inspired by her.
“I just want to tell you, there is nothing that could take this love away,” he recited the lyrics with eyes closed. He said the song is on the loss of his ex-wife and the separation from his daughter, who he now speaks with over the phone.
When he was married, he said he worked for the City of Prince Rupert as a “Garbrologist” or garbage man. He also performed at various venues in the city in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
“Situations in my life, like losing my brother that played guitar, and my wife and I broke up, caused me to change course for a while. I only did music for a time off and on,” he said.
He traveled around the province, singing for his livelihood. In Courtenay, where some of his family live, he received a licence to busk. But, he was given a designated area to play where there was little traffic, and he couldn’t make enough money.
Then he tried busking in Prince George where he said the tips were good. But the weather would fluctuate from hot to freezing cold. In Prince Rupert, the weather is more ideal.
“Even when it’s raining I have a lot of undercover areas. I can still play. The only thing that gets me is too much wind,” Demings said.
Although the tips may be better in Prince George, Demings has a permit as an on-call taxi driver in Prince Rupert, which gives him another form of income. Pursuing his passion for music has not always been enough to keep him from spending a few nights on the streets.
“I was sleeping on cement. It was horrible, it was the first time for me,” he said adding that he now has a place he rents. But in January, he had to sell his guitar to a pawn shop — choosing to use the money to feed himself.
He plans to make enough money in the next month to buy the guitar back and each day, he continues to sing, holding out his weathered ball cap, collecting funds. His faith guides him to believe in himself and he trusts that if he does his music, God will support him.
Ultimately, he’d like to have a camper-van to travel the province and busk in other towns. For now, he’s content singing in the rain under the protection of the bank’s roof overhang working toward getting his guitar back.