Michael James is a New York-born producer/mixer/engineer and has also been a an A&R rep as well as an solo artist himself. He's worked with New Radicals, Hole, Far, Robben Ford, L7, Edwin McCain, Chicago, Reverend Horton Heat, A.J. Croce, Butterfly Boucher, Jane's Addiction, Maia Sharp, The Coronas, and Jawbreaker and many more.
At 19 years of age, Michael met former Blue Cheer member Ethan James (no relation), the owner and creative nucleus of Radio Tokyo. Michael had just recorded a single, which cost him $15 in studio time. Ethan happened to walk past the control room as the mix was being played, and offered Michael a record deal on the spot. Ethan took the disc to KROQ-FM DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, who debuted it on his legendary show, "Rodney On The ROQ." It was later added to the station's playlist. From there, Michael joined the band Waves Of Grain, whose indie release "Catch Me I'm Falling" placed Top Ten on several college radio playlists; it was later licensed in the UK, France and Germany.
Radio Tokyo and Sub Pop
By then however, Michael decided he was to be a producer and engineer, not an artist. He served as a staff producer and chief engineer at Radio Tokyo from 1986-90, where he recorded classic rock giants such as Ray Manzarek (The Doors), John Lang (#1 songwriter of "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie"), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), and L.A. session aces Abe Laboriel (Larry Carlton) and Alex Acuna (Weather Report). An unsigned band from New York called Too Much Joy came to L.A. to record a demo at Radio Tokyo, which had become a Mecca for credible indie bands. Michael was given the chance to produce a few tracks for the band. When Too Much Joy was signed by Alias Records, they asked Michael to produce the album Son of Sam I Am. Rolling Stone, New York Times and Billboard praised the album and Michael went on to produce the band's major label debut for Irving Azoff's Giant Records.
Michael soon encountered a band called L7, who asked him to produce their debut album, Smell The Magic for Sub Pop Records. Sub Pop liked it enough to ask him to produce several other artists on the label, including Reverend Horton Heat, who generously offered to perform at Michael's wedding reception! And then there was Courtney Love and her band, Hole, whose Sub Pop debut he produced. Michael was taken with Courtney's sense of style, as well as her sense of where she was destined. "My goal was to keep the intensity while highlighting the pop element," he says. Michael went on to work briefly with Jane's Addiction, Mazzy Star and the critically acclaimed Geraldine Fibbers.
The Major Labels: Find The Good Stuff First!
After an introduction from Sheryl Crow and Beck bassist Dan Rothchild, venerable WEA and Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman tapped Michael to be Head of A&R and Producer at his Warner/Discovery label. Michael made it a point to listen to the boxes of unsolicited tapes that came in until he found Canadian band, Sal’s Birdland, which he signed. Later, they changed their name to Artificial Joy Club and Michael brought them to Interscope Records for their second album. The band's first track wasted no time in ascending to the Top 20 of the alternative airplay charts. Michael quickly found his next hit, New Radicals. Working under the radar and without a record deal, he and singer Gregg Alexander slipped into the studio during downtime to work on the album. Not only did Michael mix, but
