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About James: James Michael certainly brings a broad range of sources to his music. Born in Holland, Michigan, James Michael is the son of an art scholar whose endeavors took the family to London for extended stays at regular intervals. It was there that a young James Michael flipped on the radio and heard the very beginnings of punk and New Wave, drawn particularly to performers such as Joe Jackson and Gary Numan.
Piano lessons were part of James Michael's life early on, though he rebelled against his classical training at age 15, when he quit against his parents will. A year later, however, he was back at it, paying for lessons himself and immersing himself in jazz as well as playing in rock bands. A desire to learn more about theory and composition led him to Columbia College, a fine arts school in Chicago. James stayed at the school for about a year, then headed west, to Los Angeles, with musical dreams and plenty of forbearance. There were jobs during the day and bands at night. There was one busted deal and a short stint in a group called the Riverdogs, which had released albums for a major label and toured in Europe. James Michael continued to hone the songwriting craft he'd begun as a teenager, but he ultimately reached a point where he planned to chuck music altogether. Instead James wrote a song which ended up being the first track for his solo album, Inhale, which was released in 2000.
From there James has moved on to enjoy a successful career as a multi-platinum music producer, song writer and mixer, working with such artists as Alanis Morissette, Hilary Duff, The Exies, Saliva, Motley Crue, Scorpions and Meat Loaf to name a few, and has joined forces with Nikki Sixx along with DJ Ashba to complete Sixx: A.M.
Sixx: A.M. was formed as an audio accompaniment to Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx's autobiography The Heroin Diaries. The 13 tracks that make up The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack coincide with the book's chapters, painting a surreal musical portrait that utilizes the over the top theatrics of the '80s hair metal and glam rock scene, spoken word pieces, electro-industrial beats, and the occasional burst of circus music to tell the tale of Sixx's rise to stardom and legendary fall from grace. James' collaboration with Nikki Sixx began when they crossed paths at Motley Crue manager Allen Kovac's Beyond Records where Michael released his solo album.
"Meeting Nikki was a life-changing experience for me," he explained. "He has always been a believer and a supporter. Any time Nikki and I do something together, it affects both of us in a major way." He and Nikki have been talking about The Heroin Diaries project for years, according to Michael, who first began collaborating with the Crue member for their comeback album New Tattoo.
"We had so much fun writing together we instantly became close friends," said James of the experience. "It was just too easy and too much fun, so we began writing together for different artists. We just enjoyed the process...it was so satisfying." James Michael is not only the voice of The Heroin Diaries soundtrack but also lends his skills as a producer, writer and musician to the project. Michaels also mixed the album.