Renaissance CPA.

• Position: Final entry - Interview

James Crandell's story is a fascinating one. A Canadian, long licensed as a CPA in California and Florida, he's also a bare-boat certified sailor/yachtsman and "serious student of the universe" with strong interests in Eastern thought, mythology, social justice, politics and fine red wine--not necessarily in that order. But his story gets much more remarkable as we find out he's also an award winning, eclectic songwriter/producer, aka as Kenny Butterill, who delivers what has been described as "laid back, rootsy, folksy, bluesy, Americana, alt-country, feel-good music."

Describe your accounting life? Why a CPA?

My accounting career began at Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young) in the early 1980s in South Florida after I moved there from Canada to earn an MBA. I was an original member of the firm's new Entrepreneurial Services Group. I was fortunate to work on non-routine projects, even co-writing and co-producing a 10-week public television series about entrepreneurship. In 1988, the entrepreneurial bug hit and I formed New Business Strategies (www.NewBizS.com).

How did you get your musical start?

Music has been one of my principal interests since the early '80s. But as a songwriter I always wanted others to record my songs. In the '90s I decided to produce some "pitch" demos with Daoud Shaw, who was the first drummer in the "Saturday Night Live" band and who played with Van Morrison and The Jerry Garcia Band. Then in the late '90s, I found a website to post some of my demos at a company called Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA)--the granddaddy of online music that hosted several thousand artists. One day IUMA (now eMusic.com) decided, unannounced, to post charts. My music came out at the top of those charts, so I decided to master 12 of the demo tunes and make a record, which became the "No One You Know" album.

Any parallels between your work in music and being a CPA?

A music release is an artistic endeavor, but it's also a business project. The 80 percent planning/20 percent execution business rule of thumb for success is equally applicable in the arts. Being a CPA and having conducted many planning projects over my career has benefitted me greatly in effectively participating in the music business. My CPA background and domain knowledge of the entertainment industry also allows me to provide advisory services to artists and bands, record labels, etc.--and even to other entertainment consultants.

How do you balance your music and CPA...