THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411190045
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
FROM THE DEPARTMENT of Great Accomplishments: Johann Gutenberg came up with the printing press; Alfred Nobel gave us dynamite; James House sang for Dustin Hoffman in ``Ishtar.''
House, however, plans to be playing much longer than that 1987 money loser.
The performer, who wrote everything on his ``Days Gone By'' album, is one of a legion of songwriters working on building a reputation as a singer. His current single is ``A Real Good Way to Wind Up Lonesome.''
These days, House is far from lonesome. He's on a national tour opening for Mark Chesnutt and Aaron Tippin that comes to Scope tonight.
``I'm on the Chesnutt-Tippin tour till Dec. 17,'' said House, who grew up in a musical family in Sacramento, Calif. ``They're a couple of rockin' boys, and the audiences have been incredible.''
Eventually, he would like to tour with Reba McEntire, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brooks and Dunn or The Mavericks. House sang harmony with the latter on ``Oh What a Thrill.'' Raul Malo, The Mavericks' lead singer, sang harmony with House on ``Take Me Away.''
House penned ``Ain't That Lonely Yet,'' a Dwight Yoakam hit; ``In a Week or Two,'' which helped Diamond Rio stay on the charts; and ``Wherever She Is,'' a Ricky Van Shelton hit.
``I come from the school of `Write Your Own Music,' '' he said from Nashville, where he's been putting down roots since 1988.
House is blown away by his wife's achievements.
``She's a model and she's on TV more than I am,'' he said. ``She's made videos with Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie. She stomps me, bumps me out of the picture. I wrote `This Is Me Missing You' about her.''
More family pride: ``My son, Jordan Taylor - he's 3 - he loves country. If MTV is on, he gives it a Bronx cheer. Or he'll hear me sing and say, `Daddy, I like that song.'
``I say, `Who's your favorite singer?' He says, `Daddy, of course.' ''
Daddy's favorite singers could fill a notebook: Buck Owens, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Marty Robbins, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, Van Morrison, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
One of House's earliest lessons, though, came from listening to Hank Williams Sr. But he draws on a different inspiration when he sits down to write.
``Good food, a meal at the end of the day. Anything that's home-cooked,'' he said. ``I'm more inspired by life's ups and downs - relationships between people - than politics.'' MEMO: CONCERT FACTS
Who: Aaron Tippin, Mark Chesnutt, James House
When: 8 tonight
Where: Scope, Norfolk
How much: $17.50; to order, call 671-8100
Information: 441-2163 by CNB