James Andrew Michael is an American record producer, sound engineer, mixer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was the lead singer of the rock band
Sixx:A.M.
Early life
He took piano lessons while growing up and sang in Holland High School's show choir, Vocal Dimensions. As a teen, he played in different local rock bands including The Way We Dress and Night Shift. In the late 1980s, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career.
Career
James Michael has worked as a record producer, songwriter, and/or engineer and mixer with many rock and pop recording artists including
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
,
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
,
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
,
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
,
HammerFall,
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
,
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, author and businesswoman. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hilary Duff, various accolades, including a World Music Awards, World Mus ...
,
The Rasmus
The Rasmus is a Finnish Pop music, rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were in upper comprehensive school.Main source of the band's history: The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (founder, frontman, lead sing ...
,
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...
,
Trapt
Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Nine studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (2 ...
,
American Bang,
Saliva
Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...
,
The Exies
The Exies is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1997. Their name, "The Exies", is short for "The Existentialists". Their two Virgin Records releases, ''Inertia (The Exies album), Inertia'' ...
,
Deana Carter,
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...
,
Lillix,
Sarah Kelly,
Halestorm
Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...
,
Jack's Mannequin,
Brides of Destruction,
Marion Raven and
Victoria Justice.
He put out his first solo album in 2000 titled ''Inhale''. Michael wrote, produced and mixed the entire album and often played all the instruments.
Michael is co-founder (along with
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...
and
DJ Ashba) and lead singer of the rock band
Sixx:A.M. The band's debut album, ''
The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'', produced by Michael, was on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart for 26 consecutive weeks and featured the No. 1 rock track of 2008 and gold-selling single "
Life Is Beautiful". He also co-wrote and handled production for the band's second album, ''
This Is Gonna Hurt'', which debuted at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its second track, "
Lies of the Beautiful People", went No. 1 on Active Rock radio.
Michael produced, mixed and co-wrote (alongside Sixx:A.M. bandmate DJ Ashba)
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
's last studio album ''
Saints of Los Angeles'' that debuted at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200. He also co-wrote the song "
Higher Than Heaven" for
James Durbin's ''
Memories of a Beautiful Disaster'' album released on November 21, 2011. He produced
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...
's new album, ''
The Connection'' (as well as co-wrote the track "Where Did the Angels Go"), which debuted at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Other projects from around this time include writing the track "
People Like Us" for the
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
''
Greatest Hits – Chapter One'' mixing
Hinder's new album ''
Welcome to the Freak Show'' and writing with and contributing vocals for
Halestorm
Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...
,
plus writing and producing "Take a Hint" for
Victoria Justice featured in the show ''Victorious''.
He released a solo song "Learn to Hate You," which premiered on November 26, 2012.
Michael met up with Sixx and Ashba early in 2013 to start writing songs for a new Sixx:A.M. album, which turned out to be ''
Modern Vintage'', released in 2014. It debuted at #1 on the rock charts. The band followed up in 2016 with two albums ''
Prayers for the Damned'' and ''
Prayers for the Blessed'', before going on a successful USA and European tour. The following year, they decided to take a hiatus.
In 2019, Sixx:A.M. released their first song in three years, "Talk to Me," in support of the #TalktoMe campaign against opioid addiction. The following year, James performed on a remake of a Sixx:A.M. song, "
Maybe It's Time," featuring Ivan Moody (
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...
), Tommy Vext (
Bad Wolves
Bad Wolves is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie (The Cranberries song)#Bad Wolves cover, Zombie ...
), Arron Bruno (
Awolnation), Joe Elliot (
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
) and Slash (
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
), all proceeds again were donated to the battle against opioid addiction, a cause important to James throughout his career.
In 2021, Sixx:A.M. released their Hits album, a compilation of fan favorites and a few new tracks most notably "The First 21."
James Michael's 2022 releases include
The Retaliators movie theme, "21 Bullets," written by James and Nikki Sixx.
He then released a solo recording, "California Smile." He is currently working in his recording studios in both the US and UK/Ireland developing new rock and pop artists, focusing heavily on his strengths as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, lead vocalist, producer, and mixer.
Partial discography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, James
1967 births
Living people
American male singers
Record producers from Michigan
Singers from Michigan
People from Holland, Michigan
Songwriters from Michigan
Sixx:A.M. members
American male songwriters
Riverdogs members