Monticello man releases new CD

Photo courtesy of Rachel Friedman
RECORDS CD — James Friedman of Monticello has released a CD to benefit childrens’ cancer causes and HIV outreach centers.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — James Friedman has always had a passion for music. Now he hoping his skills with a guitar and microphone will be able to help others in need of medical assistance.
    Friedman, a resident of Monticello, has released a new, self-produced CD of original songs and two remakes, with 100 percent of the profits going to children’s cancer cases and HIV outreach centers. His CD, “One World, One Heart,” is currently being sold in Houlton, Presque Isle and Caribou areas.
    The idea of creating an album to benefit others came naturally.
    “I am a cancer survivor myself,” Friedman said. “I had testicular cancer a few years ago, and then this past September, I was pretty close to buying the farm. I actually died a couple of times on the operating table and then slipped into a coma.”
    Friedman was initially hospitalized for a split esophagus, causing blood to flow into his lungs. He awoke from the coma toward the end of September with the sole purpose of finishing the CD he had been working on. He has been working on the album since November of 2010 and began recording Dec. 1, 2010.
    Fittingly, the first song on his album is entitled “December First,” which is a soulful song of hope that features himself on vocals and guitars.
    Friedman returned to the Monticello area in 1992 after spending many years on the West Coast. He has his own recording studio in Monticello, where he also offers guitar lessons and rehearsal space.
    Friedman is the son of world-renowned physicist and UFO expert Stanton Friedman, who currently lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Stanton is the original civilian investigator of the Roswell incident in New Mexico. His grandfather was a pastor at Riverside Wesleyan Church in Blaine.
    According to his bio on the music website, www.reverbnation.com, “Friedman, has been in the music scene since his childhood. He started performing really at the age of 9 where he was found singing in a bowling alley in Los Angeles. Asked to perform a part in a local opera, he excelled in his part and earned triple pay for a gig well done … the bug had bitten. He went on to play in local LA bands until his move to Northern California, where he found a bunch of like-minded musicians that maintain a brotherhood until this day.”
    Contributors to his album include members of Y&T, Ian Gillan, Helix, Survivor, The John Norum Band, Kingdom Come, Social Unrest, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Torque and the Twelve.
    His CD is available at Yorks Bookstore in Houlton and Aroostook Music in Presque Isle. Additional outlets in Presque Isle and Caribou are also in the works. For more information on the CD, contact Friedman by e-mail at: rockdude412003@yahoo.com or by calling 532-8934. He also can be found on Facebook.