Bermudian artist Michael “Mr Mikey” James’ latest album may be called ‘Party Blazer’ but it has a serious side.“This album is a fun party album,” Mr James told The Royal Gazette, “but track one is called ‘Reality Tells Me So’. It talks about the last four years that Bermuda has been going through with all of this gun violence and unemployment.”The song was inspired by the 2006 shooting death of one of his friends, Jason Lightbourne, 18. It changed his life.“I started to write more about my community,” said Mr James. “I always write a nice party song or fun song, but this song is a good reality song to reflect on and to try to get past this point.”Mr James has been performing on and off in Bermuda for the last 20 years. His career got a real boost in 2005 when he went to Jamaica to perform.“It has not been easy coming out of Bermuda,” he said. “The Island is more geared towards service and international business. Being limited with a high school education it gets hard securing jobs at times. I have had different jobs and what not, but I kept coming back to the music.”His first single was called “It’s Over” and was produced in Bermuda. After it came out a friend invited him to come to Jamaica to rework it. At Music Works in Kingston, Jamaica he touched up the track, added percussion and revoiced it. The result was a hit in Jamaica.“I made The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica,” he said. “That changed my life. That weekend I played in the two biggest clubs in Jamaica and got a lot of good reviews and pull-ups. I was excited about that. Famed reggae DJ David Rodigan came to Bermuda that year, and he encouraged me to keep on trying. I had been doing a lot of singles. They get played here on the radio but local musicians, in general, don’t get enough air play. To build our careers our music has to reach people’s ears. You have to be able to market it. You have to keep pressing.”Mr James said it’s not easy for musicians in Bermuda, because there is no independent record label or Government machinery trying to promote them.“In Jamaica, the Department of Cultural Affairs is involved,” he said. “The newspapers are involved. And Jamaica has some big independent labels down there and they are networked with companies in England, Japan and America. You get some major signing of artists because they have access.“Even Trinidad is somewhat the same. They have incorporated the music into their tourism package. I am very outspoken when it comes to things like this. Bermuda is so driven to international business and insurance. We do need a better hotel market. We also need things not just for tourists to do, but also for locals to enjoy.”Party Blazer is available at Music Box, Soundstage, and Warwick Sports Source and on several different online music sites including iTunes, Amazon.com, CD Baby and others.