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Meet James Michael

Meet James Michael- a producer, mixer, songwriter, and the lead singer of SIXX: A.M.

 

#1 Rock Song, 4th of July…I’ll Never Forget This Moment

Happy 4th Sixx:A.M. fans…Yesterday was a day that I’ll remember for a long time. It started with the news that “Lies Of The Beautiful People” had reached #1, which in and of itself was enough to make it an amazing day. But, it just so happened that Motley Crue was in Nashville so Nikki and I were able to celebrate together. We hung out all afternoon and had some great laughs reflecting back on our nearly 12 year friendship.  We couldn’t help but think of how far we’d come since the day we first met…
Flashback to 1999: Nikki had called me and asked if I would want to write some Motley songs for their new record. I eagerly said “yes” so we arranged to meet at my apartment in Hollywood. Upon arriving, Nikki gets out of his car and steps right into a pile of dog shit! So we spend the first half hour digging shit out of the treads of his converse high tops with a stick and laughing our asses off. This clearly set the tone for the decade long friendship that followed! If my memory serves me, that day we wrote “Hollywood Ending” and “Dragstrip Superstar” (two songs that ended up on the New Tattoo album. From that day on Nikki and I knew that we were meant to be writing partners because it was effortless and fun (two qualities that hadn’t been present in music for either one of us in a while).
Fast Forward about a year: I’m driving down the 101 listening to the radio after leaving Nikki’s house and “Hollywood Ending” comes on the radio…I remember telling myself “I’ll never forget this moment”. Then there was “Rest In Pieces” which is a song that we wrote for Saliva. It ended up being a big hit for them and as a result I was able to afford to pay my rent on time for the first time in many years! “R.I.P” actually got me my first publishing deal so it truly was another pivotal moment in my life. Then of course there was the incredible success of The Heroin Diaries and “Life Is Beautiful” followed by the Cruefest tour and Sixx:AM performing live for the first time.
And yesterday “Lies Of The Beautiful People” is #1 on the Rock charts;  and we’re just getting started with the album, This Is Gonna Hurt; The Soundtrack To The Book … All of these memories me to this point: over the past 12 years, I can remember countless times where I’ve said “I’ll never forget this moment” and so many of those times involved Nikki.  So, as I ended my night at the Motley Crue show (truly one of the best Motley shows I’ve seen) I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude for having so many “I’ll never forget this” moments. I don’t know how I got so lucky.
-James

“Lies of the Beautiful People” is the #1 Rock Song!

Today “Lies Of The Beautiful” became the #1 rock song in the U.S. – a first for Sixx:A.M.  When we were in the studio writing and recording the song, we had no idea the response would be so strong and we are sincerely grateful to all our fans for supporting “Lies” and pushing it to #1.  Hearing from people about how the song has inspired them has been the biggest reward.  Thank you to all who have supported and believed in us.

Dj, James, and Nikki

Mexico City

Finished our first full South American tour with Motley Crue and now we have 3 shows in Mexico and one at Rocklahoma before going into Pre Production in Dallas for the Massive Show were putting on this summer…So many Bells and whistles in the show…Pulling out all the stops for you guys….So as i am working out here on the road with Crue there is also so much positive energy building behind the new SixxAM album and my new book…..As i sit here un showered and disheveled i am preparing to do another thing i love “Sixx Sense Radio show” and then ill grab my camera and head into Mexico City for a few photographic opportunities and then to the venue to rip it up with Motley….Squeezing every drop outta life….

I am excited to eventually do something with SixxAM,But what? Tour? Documentary?One night only Event or ?

Were scratching out heads and wondering what we could do to maximize all this magic…

Nikki

Blogging at the devil

South america has been wonderful with Motley…We have 30 years of music and Chaos together…But what i didnt see coming was how many SixxAM fans are here…i see hundred of t shirts,cd’s and my book everywhere i go…..Sorta caught me off guard…Very proud of Motley and its so exciting to be in Sixx AM too..THANK YOU>>

Ill update you more………SOON……RIGHT NOW>>>I NEED COFFEE>>>>Nikki

You Are Not Your Skin…

Over the past couple of weeks, so many of you have shared your very personal and heartfelt reactions to this record.  I’ve spent hours reading your messages and have been moved deeply by so many of your stories.  From the moment THIS IS GONNA HURT was released, it became clear that it was resonating in a way that I never could have anticipated.  It’s incredible to see how songs like LIES OF THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE and SKIN are inspiring people to come forward with brutal honesty and talk about insecurities that have consumed them their entire lives.  We all have them.  My question for you today is this…What about a person defines who they are? If there were no distinctive or defining traits about our appearance (if we all looked exactly the same) then what would it be that made us all different and how would we discover that about each other? Since we are NOT our skin, who ARE we?

-James

 

Wow…

What a wonderful week of book signings mixed with the release of the new SixxAM album.Its been so emotional and i feel proud to be part of this project with DJ and James…Whats your Favorite song so far and why???..Nikki

Raise Your Voice!

The response to THIS IS GONNA HURT has been incredible!  Thank you for all of the amazing comments on Facebook, Twitter and right here at sixxammusic.com!!!  Your opinions and the discussions have been so inspiring.  In fact we’ve already had some great debates over at http://tinyurl.com/yfvrdh9 and i have no doubt that we’re just scratching the surface. I love that you are all starting to raise your voices and tell us about your personal experiences and how certain songs affect you or relate to you. This is exactly why we do what we do. I’m honored to have all of you in my life and I’m honored to be a part of yours! Love, James

It’s Just Beginning…

Sunday morning. 9:30am. 2 days before THIS IS GONNA HURT is released. I don’t know why but this release feels different than any other record release I’ve ever been involved with. Usually there is an anticipation and a nervousness about how well the first week of sales will be and whether or not the record will “chart” (after all we are in the music BUSINESS), but this is very different for me. Those concerns don’t seem to exist. At least not in the familiar way. There is only one recurring thought that consumes me this time…WILL THIS RECORD AFFECT YOU THE WAY IT HAS AFFECTED ME? I am excited to hear from all of you as these songs find their way into your lives. I look forward to sharing this phase with all of you. I remember one day as a kid, I was standing in my fathers art studio watching him finish a painting (he is an artist and one of my biggest inspirations). I anxiously watched every brush stroke for hours, anticipating what color he would chose next and wondering what was going through his mind as he’d step back and ponder and then move in for another frantic series of swipes on the canvas. It was truly like watching a mad scientist at work…finally he reached down and picked up the small paint brush that he used to sign all of his paintings. As he finished signing his name, I eagerly asked “Is it done?” He looked at me with a smile and said “No, James…it’s just beginning!” I never forgot that.

And so here we are, about to lay our brushes down and say to all of you…”It’s just beginning!”

I’m so excited! -James