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Curtis Davies
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James Murgatroyd
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Curtis Davies
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Curtis Davies
Hey everybody, it's Curtis Davies from realenglishconversations.com and today I have a special guest. It's one of my old high school buddies, one of my best friends from back in the day and his name is James Murgatroyd. Welcome to Real English Conversations, buddy.
James Murgatroyd
Hey, good to be here.
Curtis Davies
Tell us about your experience in London, England.
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James Murgatroyd
Yeah, so I was listening to a DJ friend of mine, well, a DJ that we like, Giles Peterson, who is a dj, producer, record label owner, and he had mentioned that one band that I've always liked and they haven't really been together for about 25 years called Galliana, who were kind of at the forefront of the UK jazz, funk, acid jazz scene, were doing a couple of gigs last June and one of them happened to be on my birthday in London. And I just had to buy a ticket. I just had to go the band I've always wanted to see. And so I talked to my wife that time, and she was okay with it. So I booked a trip for what was supposed to be, I think, four days. And so I just flew down, spent some time in London. It's a city that I've been through as a traveler. I'm originally from the UK and my parents had moved back there, having moved to Canada. And then I moved back to England for a couple of years. So I've been through London many, many times, but I've never actually spent a lot of time there, I have to say. Like, Vancouver, Canada, used to be my favorite city, but I think London is now my favorite city. I decided this was, like. Wasn't a conscious decision, but I decided to walk. So I walked about 80km in four days.
Curtis Davies
Wow.
James Murgatroyd
I got to see Sister Sledge, who are classic disco band too. So once I booked the trip, I found out what else was going on, and so I booked them. And then Dimitri from Paris, who's a great disco house dj, was opening. That was fantastic. So, yeah. And then I walked around London, tried some food, got my fish and chips. I had a list of, like, classic British things that I missed from when
Curtis Davies
I was mushy peasant.
James Murgatroyd
Mushy peas. Right. Sausage rolls, a good pork pie. What else? Many, many other things.
Curtis Davies
Pork scratchings. Did you have pork scratchings? I did not. No.
James Murgatroyd
I did get. So one thing. I don't know why they're not popular here, is in England and in the uk, Onion bhaji, which is kind of like a onion pakora. Right. Onion appetizer. They're huge over in England, but for some reason, they're not like a thing here in Canada. I don't. There's maybe one restaurant in town that has them. So I had a list of all things. Anyway, I got to meet my favorite dj, Giles Peterson, and met. I met Rob and Valerie from Galliano before the show, and it was great. I had a wonderful time. I danced so much, I had to throw away the shirt that I was wearing with covered in sweat. It was like. It was a very, very hot venue. It's an old warehouse that they've kind of converted into a music venue. And I was lucky enough that my hotel was like, no. No more than 20ft from the front entrance of the music venue. So I was able to have a shower, then pop out and. And hang out with A few members of the band and yeah, it was amazing time. My flight got canceled on the way back and rebooked for the next day. So I actually got a fifth day in London, which was nice because then to spend was that Sunday. So I had a full English breakfast, which was lovely. Proper full English breakfast.
Curtis Davies
Ah. And what's included in the proper full English breakfast for our listeners? How would you describe it?
James Murgatroyd
You've got your beans, your baked beans, your sausages, your black pudding, your potatoes or fries, eggs, of course, and then sauteed mushrooms.
Curtis Davies
Wow. Beautiful, right?
James Murgatroyd
And I managed to not die on the way home from a heart attack.
Curtis Davies
I'm glad that you didn't so you could share that story. So, you know, you live to tell the tale. And many of many of my students know that I'm, you know, I've got that DJ part of me and I'm a huge music guy. How did, how did we connect on that level? What did we end up doing? We ended up connecting and doing quite a few things right.
James Murgatroyd
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out. I can't quite pinpoint the time you and I actually met. I think I remember high school. Well, that part I do remember. Yeah, we met in high school, but I don't remember like when in high school. Feeding the sailors in America's Navy. It takes a passion for cooking and a willingness to push beyond your limits. Learn more about being a culinary specialist@navy.com careers that cook. America's Navy. Forged by the sea, Lucchese has honored the tradition of western boot making for over 140 years. Hand lasted, custom fit craftsmanship you can pass on. Lucchese, built for legacy, worn with pride.
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James Murgatroyd
I remember, I think there was. What was it, grade 10? I think within like the first week or two, there was like a welcome dance. And I think Maybe you were DJing that dance, I think probably. And you were. You were playing vinyl, which I hadn't seen before, because just before I started high school, I. I'd moved from a smaller rural town to Edmonton, which is, you know, probably the fifth largest city in Canada. So. And I was kind of evolving in terms of my musical taste. You know, I'd been into. I've been into kind of Guns and Roses and that kind of metal stuff. And then I was getting more and more into sort of hip hop, especially kind of jazzy hip hop, like Digable Planets, Dream warriors, that kind of thing. And then I think within the first couple of weeks of moving to Edmonton and starting school, I used to watch much music, which is kind of like Canada's mtv. And one of the shows they had was like a spotlight on acid jazz and sort of the British funk acid jazz movement that was happening there. And that's how I got introduced to, like, Jamiroquai Galliano, Guru Incognito, the Brand New Heavies. And those became bands that I started to like and follow. And some of them I've actually seen play live. And you were kind into house as well. And I think either it was through that dance or through someone that I kind of knew in school. We kind of met and connected, and then we used to hang out in your basement and you would teach me how to dj and. Yeah, that was how we met.
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Right.
James Murgatroyd
I remember those sessions.
Curtis Davies
Yeah. Did we ever get my older brother.
James Murgatroyd
Yeah.
Curtis Davies
Dale was really into the stuff that you were into.
James Murgatroyd
Right. So he had a university radio show that time, so we used to hang out with him as well.
Curtis Davies
Yeah. And then what happened was my. My brother was getting out of that show, and I had connections at CJSR by that time, and I schmoozed my brother and said, james and I are going to take over your show. Well, I schmoozed him, or I was really nice and asked him, hey, can we do James and I? You know, he knows acid jazz. He knows that music. Can we take over your show? And we just kind of took over the show.
James Murgatroyd
Right.
Curtis Davies
How many years did we do that?
James Murgatroyd
I was trying to think about that now, because I don't remember when. How long that ran. I'm trying to find anyone that might have a recording of any of those shows because I'D like to listen to them back again. We never really recorded our shows, did we? Or if we did, we never really hung on to them. I don't think I have anything. I have. Maybe we did a couple of interviews that I still have the raw recordings of and maybe a couple of introductions that we've built in the studio, but I don't know. Yeah, we don't have any show recordings. Probably three or four years, I think, is how long that ran. Right.
Curtis Davies
Yeah.
James Murgatroyd
Good times. I kind of missed doing it. It was a. I mean, we were young, and we weren't spending. I wasn't spending as much on records then as I am now. In fact, now. Like, I. I used to dj, and then I kind of stopped, and I kind of became more of a collector. And now that I am, you know, making some money, I'm actually going back and trying to buy the records that I really wanted as a. As DJ as a young kid and pull this into my collection. In fact, there was one that your brother Dale had that I always wanted, which I bought last year, which was a acid jazz compilation called Street Jazz London Kills Me. And there were a couple of tracks that Dale. We used to play on his show that. That I've always wanted. And finally I've got them.
Curtis Davies
I've done the opposite. I sold all my vinyl so it wouldn't melt in the hot sun in Mexico, did record a bunch of it on MP3 and. But not all of it. And then the records are back in Edmonton somewhere. Sold them to a record collector, and so they're somewhere in Edmonton floating around.
James Murgatroyd
And it's interesting. Speaking of records, I was just telling you the other day that I sort of realized the other day, like, I've been buying a lot of digital stuff on Bandcamp, which is a very good platform because they support the artists and the labels directly, right? So you can buy. You can buy digital. Sometimes artists will have vinyl on as well. There are artists on there that aren't even on a label. They're just putting out their own stuff. Some of them are actually doing on vinyl as well. So I built. I've been building a good digital catalog, but then I realized I have no idea how many records I actually have. I have no idea what records I have because I haven't really played them for a long time. So then I realized that through the website Discogs, which is like the IMDb for music, you can actually catalog your collection, right? And it. And interestingly enough, it'll also give you, like, an approximate value from A low, medium and high value point. So I've been starting to do that as a personal project this year. Right. So. And I. One thing I noticed is I bought like, this jazz record many, many years ago for like 12 bucks. And it's now worth about in mint condition, about 300 bucks, right?
Curtis Davies
Oh, it's a good chunk of change.
James Murgatroyd
A better return than all of my crypto accounts. So there's money in vinyl, right. And I'm so. And I'm only done 20% of my collection, and I'm like, well, maybe I should consider getting insurance for my collection. It's probably about 500 records. But, you know, it's good to know. I. You always wonder, you know, in case of a fire, what would you take? And, you know, I. I couldn't carry out all my records, but it'd be nice to know what I had in case I wanted to start replacing them. If. If I ever lost them or anything happened to them. It's.
Curtis Davies
What a great idea.
James Murgatroyd
But it's an interesting way because like I said, they kind of. They sit on a shelf and you don't really see. There's not like CDs where you can kind of see the COVID so you forget what you have sometimes. And I was thinking, what if I went to a market and I bought something, came home and I realized, oh, man, I already have this. So now with. Now you can see your collection on your phone. Right?
Curtis Davies
Oh, nice. Perfect. With this day and age of technology, you can keep track and organize everything. And with that, if it puts a value on it, if I know you and remember you on how you treat records, you take good care of them. They have an inner sleeve, an outer sleeve. You don't touch the actual surface of the vinyl to get oil and fingerprints on it. And that's how it keeps its worth, Right?
James Murgatroyd
Right. Yeah. And I've gotten a lot more stingy about, you know, because now I have kids. Some of them are in my office sometimes where I keep my records, and I'm make sure they don't touch them, and I make sure I put them away before the kids can get down here and touch them. But, I mean, yeah, the other thing was my trip to London and meeting sort of the DJs that I like and hearing the music that I like really kind of made me want to get more into music and start collecting again. And I almost. I had a booking for a DJ gig at the end of January, and sadly, that got canceled and I was, like, so bummed. But I'm starting To build out, I'm hoping I get rebooked. The venue had to cancel because of the bad weather that we were having here, so hopefully they'll get rebooked. I've started to build out a nice little set list that I'm working on, and mostly some spiritual jazz, which I've kind of gotten into a little bit more, and then some acid jazz and some funk.
Curtis Davies
Cool. So you've got the music hobby, the DJ hobby. That part's not going to leave you. Like it will never leave me. But what are you doing nowadays? What have you. You've done. You've got your own web company, right?
James Murgatroyd
Yeah. So I started my Digital Agency almost 20 years ago. Actually, I'm an agency of one. So whether you want to call that a freelancer, an agency, you know, I. People kind of hum and ha over that, but yeah, it's been going strong. We rebranded a couple of years ago to Holler Digital. It used to be called James Migratory Communications, and that was just too long for people to say. So I changed it and I shortened it to Holler Digital because I'm a bit of a loudmouth. So that kind of made sense. It's been going good. Yeah. We're constantly busy in our. My business has outlasted several others over the years, and we survived a pandemic. We've survived 20 years of growth and industry change, and part of that is due to, you know, I like figuring things out, so I've spent a lot of time learning how to accomplish something for a client or learning how to code something or. Or understanding the principles of design. And so, yeah, it's been really fun. I've always been one that kind of likes to. To build things and put things together. So that was a natural, natural fit for me. And. Nice. Good.
Curtis Davies
And you're. You're always into technology and stuff like that, too, so it's a nice, easy transition for you to, you know, be the chief everything officer. Write that on your bio. Yeah, yeah, right. It's like. Like me, like Amy, my wife, she. She calls herself the chief everything officer of her. Her operation, her gig, her thing that she does. So, yeah. Interesting.
James Murgatroyd
As I get older, I'm realizing that maybe it's time to let go of some of the. The hats that I wear in the business. Right. I don't need to do everything. My biggest problem is that I like to do everything, which is kind of a plus and a minus because then you have full control over everything that happens in your business. But then it's all Dependent on you. And if you get too busy, then, you know, then things kind of have to be left to the side while you work on one thing. So I'm starting to realize that maybe it's a good time to start expanding the business. I'm still having fun and enjoying doing what I do and talking to clients and helping them solve their problems.
Curtis Davies
Excellent. That's good. That's something that you've always wanted to do, and you've always been a very helpful type of person. So that is a natural transition into what you're doing as an entrepreneur as well.
James Murgatroyd
Yeah. I mean, even in high school, I think we had a graphic design business with one of our friends mat there, and we used to do, like, venues for restaurants. So there's always been a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit for me. I used to DJ in, before I knew you, in junior high, that we had a couple. Group of us. We. I think we actually did one or two. We did a pool party. We used to do cassettes. Right. So we used to have. Used to have. One of us would DJ and then two of us would have to queue up the cassettes and fast forward and rewind them, Right?
Curtis Davies
Yeah, yeah.
James Murgatroyd
This was before CDs were a huge thing. Right. And then we had CDs, but we still had some old stuff on tape. So we'd have a guy rewinding, fast forwarding the tapes. We'd have another guy taking requests. Right. And yeah, we did a. We did a junior high party once that went really, really well. And then. Yeah, that was. That's kind of. That was the beginning of my dj, my DJ career. I think that's awesome. The music has changed, but the passion is still there.
Curtis Davies
Mm, yeah, exactly. And now you just have to dig for the good music to find it.
James Murgatroyd
It's so much easier now with. With Bandcamp and Spotify and Beatport and all of these digital outlets. Right. A lot of. A lot of labels are reissuing their stuff on digital, which makes it a lot more affordable and accessible to. To get those kind of music that you were looking for as a kid.
Curtis Davies
So we just go to the record store and buy records like we did in the old days.
James Murgatroyd
I bought more vinyl in the last two years, and I haven't set foot in a record store, and I kind of feel really, really bad. Right. Especially if you're ordering a record on record store day and you haven't even gone into the record store. But there's. You know, it's quicker and easier and just. You know, and you get. I like to get the digital too, especially if it's like house music. Uh, I've kind of. I'm trying to put jazz and funk and, and stuff on vinyl and then just keep the. The house music to digital because it's easier to mix and it's more portable that way, right?
Curtis Davies
Yeah, yeah, totally. And it's really easy having everything on a USB stick that you can put into any device now and, And. And throw a party, then hauling around heavy crates of. Of vinyl records. They used to weigh so much back in the day. You used to have one arm and my arm. And we used to haul records up two or three flights of stairs to a radio station.
James Murgatroyd
I don't know if you played. We did a gig at a club called the Rev and the DJ was up. You had to climb a metal spiral staircase that was super, super tight. And we used to have these large buckets full of records that weighed. Weighed a ton of. Right. And you do like two steps and you have to pause for like 10 minutes to catch your breath and then do two more steps to get up all the spiral staircase. That was crazy. I got so lazy that my turntables lived at the Black Dog where we had a residency for about two years. They just.
Curtis Davies
Oh, yeah.
James Murgatroyd
I got tired of bringing them back and forth. So they lived there for about two. A year and a half. Two years. Right. And they finally stopped smelling like smoke, which is nice.
Curtis Davies
Oh, yeah. Because back in the day, people smoked in. In the bars. And now you can't do that, which is a good thing. It's a stinky, unhealthy habit. And now everybody on around the World knows who you are and how old we are now. Cassettes, eight tracks. Vinyl. Wow.
James Murgatroyd
Reel To Real is coming back. Um, labels are starting to reissue, like, old jazz stuff is starting to be reissued on. On Reel to Reel. I know, like Old Sun. I think it's Sun Raw or Pharaoh Sanders stuff starting to. I'm seeing a lot of Reel to Real coming back. Right. If you look at Facebook, Marketplace, it's all. For me anyway. It's all like Reel to reel players and DJ stuff.
Curtis Davies
Yeah. One of my favorite influential DJs, Carrie Chandler, has been doing some mixes on Reel to Reel that are absolutely fascinating. You can find those on YouTube, I'm sure. But yeah, really cool. And I've seen Dimitri from Paris as well. I saw him four or five years ago here in Mexico. So he was. I was. I stood right in front of him and it was amazing.
James Murgatroyd
He's good. Yeah, I played Edmonton once too many many years ago. So it's good to see him again.
Curtis Davies
Where can people find you?
James Murgatroyd
James if sure it's Holler digital.com come and say hi and check it out. If you need a website, we're there to help you.
Curtis Davies
That was a great conversation and as usual we used a ton of interesting vocabulary and express expressions. Of course these conversations are great for improving your listening skills, but if you are like most of our listeners, you have a job where you work in an English speaking environment or you are living abroad and even though you speak enough English to communicate, it can feel difficult to speak with the fluency you want and it can feel frustrating trying to understand fast spoken English, especially especially with native English speakers. If this is a problem that you're facing, I would love to help you. Every day I work with students just like you to improve their skills and finally speak English easily and with confidence. Each of my lessons is totally personalized to your needs, which will allow you to feel progress and to get results within the first few lessons. If this sounds like something you need and you'd like to get started, you can visit realenglishconversations.com and check out our courses. Or you can click the link in the description area to book a trial lesson with me and get started right away.
Real English Conversations Podcast for Global Professionals
Host: Curtis Davies
Guest: James Murgatroyd
Date: February 22, 2024
In this lively and nostalgic episode, Curtis Davies welcomes his long-time friend and former radio show co-host, James Murgatroyd, to explore their shared love of music, especially the UK acid jazz scene, record collecting, and the ongoing influence of music in their professional and personal lives. They swap stories of DJing days, talk about favorite artists, and reflect on evolving music technology—tying it all to confidence, communication, and professional life as global English speakers.
Journey Highlights
“I just had to buy a ticket... the band I've always wanted to see.” (James, 02:28)
Iconic British Experiences
"I had a list of, like, classic British things that I missed." (James, 04:14)
High School Connection
"I was getting more and more into sort of hip hop, especially kind of jazzy hip hop...And that's how I got introduced to, like, Jamiroquai Galliano, Guru Incognito, the Brand New Heavies." (James, 08:57)
Radio Show Days
“We just kind of took over the show…probably three or four years, I think, is how long that ran.” (James, 11:03)
Early DJing Techniques
“We used to have one arm and my arm. And we used to haul records up two or three flights of stairs...” (Curtis, 21:51)
Record Collecting Evolution
“I realized I have no idea how many records I actually have...through the website Discogs, which is like the IMDb for music, you can actually catalog your collection.” (James, 13:10-13:55)
Vinyl Value and Insurance
“This jazz record many, many years ago for like 12 bucks. And it's now worth about...300 bucks.” (James, 13:56)
Children and Collections
Digital vs. Physical DJing
“It's really easy having everything on a USB stick that you can put into any device now and, And. And throw a party, then hauling around heavy crates of. Of vinyl records.” (Curtis, 21:41)
James’s Agency Journey
"We rebranded a couple of years ago to Holler Digital...because I'm a bit of a loudmouth. So that kind of made sense." (James, 16:49)
Letting Go & Delegation
"Maybe it's time to let go of some of the hats that I wear in the business." (James, 18:32)
Entrepreneurial Roots
From Junior High to Today
“The music has changed, but the passion is still there.” (James, 20:33)
Changes & Trends in Formats
"Reel to Reel is coming back. Labels are starting to reissue, like, old jazz stuff..." (James, 23:17)
The Joy of Meeting Musical Heroes:
"I got to meet my favorite dj, Giles Peterson, and met...Rob and Valerie from Galliano before the show, and it was great. I had a wonderful time. I danced so much, I had to throw away the shirt that I was wearing with covered in sweat." (James, 04:26)
On the Monetary Value of Vinyl:
“A better return than all of my crypto accounts. So there's money in vinyl, right.” (James, 14:11)
On Changing Music Technology:
“I bought more vinyl in the last two years, and I haven't set foot in a record store, and I kind of feel really, really bad.” (James, 21:06)
On Sharing the Load:
“I got so lazy that my turntables lived at the Black Dog where we had a residency for about two years. They just...I got tired of bringing them back and forth.” (James, 22:43)
On Being Hands-On:
“My biggest problem is that I like to do everything, which is kind of a plus and a minus.” (James, 18:32)
| Timestamp | Segment | Content Summary | |-----------|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:20 | James’s London Music Trip | How Galliano reunion spurred the trip; UK culture highlights| | 05:52 | Describing a Full English Breakfast | James's breakdown of the iconic meal | | 06:47 | How Music Bonded Curtis & James | Early high school connection over music/DJing | | 10:59 | The Radio Show & DJ Evolution | Taking over the university radio program | | 13:10 | Cataloguing Music with Discogs | James's journey into organizing his record collection | | 16:49 | Entrepreneurship & Agency Life | The story and spirit behind Holler Digital | | 20:33 | Early DJing with Tapes; Lasting Passion| Stories from junior high and the DJ journey | | 21:41 | The Shift from Vinyl to Digital | Comparing DJing methods—physical vs. digital | | 23:17 | Comeback of Reel to Reel | Observing music format trends and nostalgia |
"James if sure it's Holler digital.com come and say hi and check it out. If you need a website, we're there to help you." (James, 24:18)
This episode will resonate with English-speaking professionals who love music, appreciate stories of cultural connection, and seek inspiration for building skills and confidence in the international arena.