The top E string is missing, the pick-guard is peeling off, and the instrument is slightly out of tune. Still, the boy with the striking brownish olive eyes looks down at the neck as he forms bar chords establishing a catchy melody out of E, A, F-sharp, and B.

CCHS, meet James Morris, the freshman who released his musical debut album, “Fall,” on December 12th. However, before you go out and buy his twelve-tracked, alternative-rock album , first meet the man behind the music.

When asked about his heritage, Morris said that he comes from a predominantly Italian family but is also half-Jewish. He was torn from Georgia to move to California when he was three and currently resides in Coronado. Some of his favorite things include meatballs, matzo ball soup, Linkin Park, and Rise Against.

Though Morris jokes that his father has “claimed” to play the guitar, he assumed the role as the musician of the family as early as age six, when he started playing the piano. After he reached his eighth birthday, he began teaching himself guitar, drums, and bass, “I basically got it down in a week and have been improving from there,” said Morris.

While Morris has been playing music for nine years, he began writing his own songs only eight months ago. He also experienced his first recording sessions this past summer at a music camp called “Day Jams” where he recorded ten original tracks with his counselor, Tony Calabro, who is a record producer for Motor House Music.

Recalling the recording experience, Calabro said, “James has so much talent for such a young person. As a producer you don’t always enjoy the music you are recording, but I genuinely really like James’s songs so playing the drums and mixing the music felt really natural.”

In discovering his own style, Morris is influenced by bands like Rise Against, whose songs are often open-ended and applicable to almost every situation. Evident in “Fall,” Morris places value in leaving his music for the listeners to interpret,

“I don’t like it when songs say you must feel this way or that way. I have never liked things that are set in stone.”

Produced under an independent label, the album cover takes a minimalist approach, featuring a pearl background with a black scribbling of “James Morris” that transforms into various intertwining strings leading down to a black and white distorted picture of Morris. Notable songs include “Storybook Ending,” “Light up the Alleys,” and “I’ll Be Gone.”
Currently, Morris is working under an independent label, but he has been receiving calls from Warner Bros. saying “they are interested.”

Avoiding the word “famous” because it sounds “sort of snobbish,” Morris said that in the future he wants to become a nationally known musical artist.

In the meanwhil, or at least before fame hits, he does little everyday tasks to promote his music.These include playing benefit concerts for community service hours and listening to his demo CD each day while cruising over the Coronado Bridge to Cathedral.