FIXTITLE Brad James (final).docx
TRAVELING TUNES
The Story
Of
Brad James
Brad James from Port Orange, Florida is highly recognized throughout the realm of truckers and accepted as their very own entertainer. He remains true to the industry as he belts his choice of country lyrics from the driver’s seat into his camera-phone, connecting directly with his listening audience. In the past year, his amount of loyal viewers continue to grow immensely each day. What’s happened is that Brad has become a celebrated and much talked about favorite among our trucking world as a “driving-singing sensation.”
Since joining the trucking company, Marten two months ago, he was placed in a brand new, 2015 Kenworth T680. Being able to travel from state to state for a living, while also sharing his talent as a singer songwriter, it would be safe to say that Brad’s career is about to take off in both directions. He has 23 years of experience in trucking with no intention in slowing down any time soon.
Brad was six years old when his family relocated to Miami, Florida. He was originally born in Ontario, Canada in the city of St. Catharines December of 1966. Looking back on his childhood memories, Brad recalls being comfortable singing in his church choir as a teen. Not knowing then that years later his voice would help make him internationally known. At that time, he wasn’t as interested in the hobby, unaware of the capability hidden within his gift.
He grew up in the city area, resistant of the beach scene. At 16, he went to work for a major department store taking on a variety of roles such as; cashier, stock clerk, any type of customer service required. He welcomed the responsibility. With some money saved up, he purchased his first vehicle. A beige 1974 Chevy Nova.
During his later high school years, he knew that a part of him wanted to travel. To see the country. Contemplating his future plans, he debated on getting a pilot license and flying for a commercial airline. This in turn would not only suffice his itch to explore, but allow him to literally be on top of the world. He went on to attend two years at a community college in Miami, studying the field of mechanical engineering. Immediately after, he put in another year at the University of Miami. Without his complete focus on his academics, he opted out.
Brad moved to Daytona and landed a job as the manager of two businesses. The building operated a liquor store on one side and a night club on the other. For three years he ran both gigs, juggling the demands and long hours of each. He switched jobs and went to work at a grocery store unloading trailers during the night shift. It was then when it all became apparent to him and it just clicked. “It blew my mind,” he said. “I was the one doing all of the work while the driver stood there with his clip board, checking things off.” He was on to something! After three years at the supermarket, Brad made his move.
By the age of 26, Brad enrolled at the MTA Truck Driving School located in Orlando, Florida. Following weeks of training, he received his CDL and began the search for his first trucking company. Fresh out of school in 1992, he found a company based in Evergreen, Alabama. They started him out with a trainer for a few weeks and then cut him loose to run solo. Finally! Brad took to the road as if he had to make up for lost time. “I was single then, so I stayed out for four, sometimes six weeks a duration,” he says. His first truck was a green and white, International Cabover with a 36 inch sleeper. It didn’t take long for Brad to settle in behind the wheel. Two years after driving on his own, the company promoted him to a training position. As a trainer he helped further educate and develop other drivers’ techniques to ensure their success as a professional trucker. He stayed on for a total of seven years before the business was bought out.
With the change of events, Brad returned to Daytona in 1999 and began running local for a pickup and delivery outfit until 2010. It was in-between this time, in 2003 when Brad met his wife, Patricia. It was during the reception of his brother’s wedding, in which he served as the best man, Brad’s attention fell on a woman that came in support of the bride. He recalls, “She was related to my new sister-in-law and we just hit it off.” The two were wed the following April in Florida on the same date, exactly six months later.
Patricia was a property manager of an apartment complex in Daytona, while Brad continued his career in trucking. When the economy reached a standstill, his employer took a huge hit. Leaving Brad to receive the punch. He distanced himself from the transportation industry and focused on running his own lawn business. A year later, he returned to the inevitable. Back to pushing pavement. Trucking requires a skill that many don’t possess and it offers a life that makes it hard to walk away from. Each driver’s passion for the road is fueled by their own personal reasons, but if they leave the business it’s not usually for long. Most of the time, they’re just trying to find that ‘right fit’ to call home. Brad found a regional job out of Green Bay, Wisconsin hauling paper products throughout the southeast. After a while, he switched trucking companies and was back out for up to four weeks at a time.
August of 2014, Brad was in Texas checking out the Great American Trucking Show hosted every year at Dallas. In visiting with the Marten booth he became acquainted with Tim Norlin, Marten’s Director of Recruiting. After the two talked for a bit, there were a number of reasons that convinced Brad to drive for Marten. He states, “I noticed right away, the benefits they were offering are better than any other company I had looked at. Plus the pay per mile and most of my perks were available after 30 days instead of 90. They also have a faster turnaround along with newer equipment.” Brad explains that the relationship that he and Tim share speaks volumes about the company, in general. He hauls temperature controlled freight to all 48 states and is still able to be home every two weeks with his family. To this date, Brad has accumulated over 2 million miles over his entire lifetime of trucking.
During his time spent in his truck, Brad lets us in on his life from the front seat of his cab through videos posted on his Facebook music page. “I’ve always enjoyed singing. I’d sing karaoke whenever I had a chance,” he says. When he decided to pursue his trucking profession 100%, he found that he wasn’t able to go out and sing as often as he was used to. So he found a way around that. On his phone he could record himself singing, but it would not let him post on his page the audio file. It had to be the complete video. On December 2nd, 2013 Brad posted his first music video. Little by little he became more popular, the more he began to share videos of him covering different songs.
Toward the end of February, Brad shared his “Detention” video and it immediately went viral. It sent a large amount of traffic to his Facebook page to hear more. Since his singing has put a spotlight on him, he plans to continue representing the trucking industry by singing for the drivers and about the drivers. “My biggest dream is to make my own cd. I’m in the process now of gathering music and material, but I need it to be trucking related. It’s the only way I’m going to do it!” His singing talent strictly dedicated to the trucking people has landed him a spot on the Truckers Gone Wild Cruise for the next two years. He will be performing a private show for a group of truckers choosing to vacation on the cruise. For his notoriety as the singing trucker, he’s been featured in a number of trucking publications showcasing his debut as a singer.
On his down time, he tries to squeeze in visits with his family and friends. Their two boys, 8 year old Braden and 6 year old Carter keep them on their toes. Also in the picture are Patricia’s oldest sons, Devin and Jarrett. Her oldest son, Jarrett is 20 and recently bought Brad’s lawn service. Devin is 18 and a senior in high school. With his busy schedule of steady assignments for work and maintaining his responsibilities as a husband and father, Brad finds sanity in singing.
His sole purpose of being a voice for his fellow truckers is to give an insight into what truckers do and why. He wants his music to embody every aspect of the nature. “This is our job. It’s what we do and we love it…. It’s trucking.”