Meet Ian James | Musician and Founder of The StirFry Sessions

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The strange part about starting a business is it feels like my whole life has led me to where I am now.

I have labored over the decision to start my own business for most of my life. I always felt that I had the grit and hustle necessary to be successful as an entrepreneur, but could never step off the ledge. I had attempted to start businesses a few times in college and even came close to taking out a substantial loan to buy an old Chicago brewery, but for reasons unknown to me, I was always paralyzed by doubt. What I have now come to realize, is it takes an alignment of circumstance for the choice to do so, to feel like your only option.

Growing up, my father’s side of the family was always very musical. My brother, dad, grandfather and few others all played guitar, sang, played piano, etc. I, on the other hand, was very set on being “different,” and decided that athletics was my way to stand out. Admittedly, I had some success in this and never saw myself as a creative or artsy person. However, shortly into college, my baseball days were over and I had to find other ways to fill my time. I became very involved with campus leadership and derived most of my fulfillment from planning events and meeting the people who attended.

After graduating I gave up on all the event planing/leadership and took a job with the company that offered me the highest salary. Genuinely believing a good salary and steady job would be enough for me to feel content in life I didn’t really think about what I was doing until, wait for it.. COVID. I had been laid off from my job and was living at home in Chicago where the “stay-home” regulations were pretty strict. I became rather depressed and was doing anything I could to keep my mind off the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I took classes to get my EMT license, started painting, and made some questionable investment decisions, but it was through this experimentation that I stumbled upon a ukulele in my house. I spent 5 months learning to play, and right as I decided to move to Colorado, my dad gave me a guitar to start learning a “big boy instrument.”

Since moving to Colorado I fell in love with the local music scene and have pushed myself to begin writing songs and performing them at venues around the city. As I met more people and became familiar with the ins and outs of the culture, it became clear that Denver has all the people, knowledge, and talent to be known for the music created here, but it lacks the community necessary to bring people together. It’s here that I found the motivation for the business I am now operating.

What’s now known as The StirFry Sessions is a company that some friends and I have started with the goal of building a collective of musicians and artists that can all leverage each others strengths to elevate each other to greater successes. No one can be a master of everything required to find success in music, yet everyone seems to be trying to do it on their own. So by creating a place for musicians to showcase their talents and meet others that possess what they don’t, the chances of crafting something meaningful go up exponentially.

The StirFry Sessions, then seemed like an obvious solution to an idea that I could go all in on. The alignment of a passion, a place, a community (or lack thereof), and some previous knowledge of planning events led to an idea to bring those all together. A very long winded answer to the question of “what is my thought process behind starting a business?” I believe when you stop thinking about it so hard and action becomes easy, it means you really believe in what you’re doing, and belief is what’s required to weather the storms as they roll in.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a musician, but I am also very new to a lot of the music world. Though I grew up around music, I never participated until about 3 years ago. I found some quick success on the back of a unique vocal range and strong songwriting ability, which allowed me to go from open mics to paid gigs in a short period of time. But I could not have done any of this alone. I was terrified to perform live and if not for the example set for me by the extremely supportive open mic scene in Denver, I’m not sure I would’ve ever got on stage.

It’s these same people and musicians that I now lean on to support and build a business around. The StirFry Sessions is made by musicians for musicians with the goal to “see and be seen.” Hosting live events around the city we’ve begun booking monthly showcase shows to grow the individual brands of the artists that live in our community. We believe that the only way for any of us to win is if we work together. We are now collaborating with photographers, videographers, engineers, producers, and musicians to put on the best shows possible and create valuable connections between the people involved. If you’d like to be involved please look us up on instagram @thestirfrysessions, we are actively looking to expand our community!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many places to take people around Denver that I’m positive I’m missing some important ones. However, I would probably start with a quick trip out to Boulder to drive up the Chautauqua trail. It’s a quick way to show people the whole area and give them some classic “mountain views.” We’d then stop at the Deli Zone and get a “Kong” breakfast sandwich. We’d end the day by going climbing at the Movement in “Rino” and grab some drinks next door at improper city. I would hope that it is the second Tuesday of the month in which case we’d hangout most of the day and stop in at the Roxy on Broadway open mic. The food, drinks, and ambiance is all top tier. Wednesday would be a similar day, except id want to take a walk around wash park to see all the people and dogs walking by. Then later in the night we’d go to the Mercury Cafe for their late night open mic and grab some coffees (it’ll run till past midnight most times). Thursday I would let them decide a big portion of the day (mostly cause I’m running out of ideas) but I would ensure we stop in at the NY Bagel Cafe in Lakewood to grab a couple bagels in the morning. Friday I would say we sleep in and make breakfast at home, but we would head over to RedRocks and catch a concert cause it’s an absolute must if you’ve never been. Greatest music venue on the planet. Boom. Planned.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
SO MANY PEOPLE DESERVE THIS SHOUTOUT. However, I would remised not to mention the support of my partner, Carly. I am an over thinker and she gives me the support and strength to stomach the risks that I’v been taking on to reach my goals. Beyond this, I want to shoutout the whole Denver music scene. There’s so many people that have been willing to share their knowledge and expertise to make The StirFry Sessions a real thing.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/ianjamesjams/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestirfrysessions/

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Other: musicbyianjames@gmail.com- for show/venue booking for either The StirFry Sessions or for my personal work.

Image Credits
Josh Pruitt from Ivy Wild Visuals