Over the last decade, James Durbin has had quite the career. James performed with none other than Judas Priest during his run on American Idol, he’s released a number of successful solo records and even fronted L.A. legends Quiet Riot. He is back with a new solo record, The Beast Awakens, which is a triumphant return to classic 80s metal. James recently took some time to talk about his career and killer new record.
Please press the PLAY icon below for the MisplacedStraws Conversation with James Durbin:
On the decision to make a classic heavy metal record – As soon as Frontier’s Records emailed me and I asked them, “What kind of album do you want me to make?” And they said, “Well, we want to know what kind of album you want to make”, and I said, “Classic heavy metal”, and they said, “That’s what we were going to say”. It was just it was perfect. And I had done three records with the Quiet Riot in my time with them with Frontiers and had never actually had a talk or any communications with the higher-ups of Frontiers during that time. So it’s just a very welcome surprise. To know that I did something enough to spark something in them to want to continue to make music with me, that’s something I really am appreciative of. :47
On developing his style for this record – Riot on Sunset was my first album as an independent artist, and that really taught me a lot. Even the album that followed that, my last solo album, Homeland, which was an Americana singer-songwriter album. Riot on Sunset had some of these themes that I’ve decided to adopt full time on The Beast Awakens. On Riot On Sunset, for instance, there’s a song on there titled “Beautiful” and that song would fit perfectly The Beast Awakens. You can hear the beginnings of it Each album happens at a particular time of inspiration or creativity. I was really into Backyard Babies, a band from Sweden, as well as Michael Monroe, formerly of Hanoi Rocks, his solo material. So Backyard Babies, their guitar player, Dregen, did a bunch of work with Michael Monroe and songwriting and work with him on those albums at that time. So that’s what I was really interested in at that point, which was more of lighter, hard rock. Just straight-up rock. So then with Homeland, that was an album that I wrote every song myself. The first album that I wrote, every song one hundred percent myself, produced it, engineered it, mixed it, mastered it, played almost every instrument on the album. My wife did the photography and I did all the album design and album artwork and all that. That was like a real learning example for me as well of writing and more of a storytelling way, which is what this new album, The Beast Awakens (is about). It’s all storytelling got a lot of it is fact steeped in fiction, so you don’t know where the truth begins and where the fantasy ends. That’s what I get from classic heavy metal. I really wanted to do something like that and this pairing and this partnership with Frontiers has let me do that. 1:54
“The Prince of Metal”
On writing this record –I wanted to bring other people in and I set off to do that at the start of the album, but then the pandemic happened. I will not write songs via Skype. I just can’t do it. I got to be in the room with somebody or whatnot. Like with anything, I’m going to roll with the punches. I’m going to take this as it happens and use this to my advantage. I used that time and that inspiration of that moment to be like, well, it’s either I try to get songs from other people or I just knuckle up and I write this thing myself and that’s what I did. I wrote every riff, every lyric, every melody, every theme, every song title, all of it. 4:10
On his band for the record –I wanted a band to collaborate with. I kind of treated it like that with this one, except I had no collaborators, I was the only one. But it really came out by having Mike Vanderhule on drums, who’s with Y&T, I played some shows with them at the end of 2019, beginning of 2020. Mike was on board, said. “If you’re ever recording an album. I’d love to be a part of it”, and I was like, “Hey buddy, I’m working on an album now. I’ll send you some songs.” Mike and Barry Sparks who played bass, I’ve never played guitar while Mike played drums at the same time. I’ve never played with him like that. I opened for them, but I’ve never played with him. I’ve never played with Barry, Mike and Barry have never played together. But I had my demos that I had recorded myself and sent those without drums and with click to Mike. He did his drum performances on those. Then we sent that with new drums and without my shitty bass to Barry and Barry played on those. So like everything was so individual. But it’s incredible that it all came together. 5:56
“Kings Before You”
On his vision for touring behind this record –I think it’d be best to jump on a tour. I feel like that’s where this could get wings much more. But of course, those spots are all very coveted. Money talks, of course, in those cases, what record labels are going to pay tour support and all that stuff for those kinds of tours. But I also think that music speaks. I think that music speaks. Hopefully, this is an album that can do something like that and open a door to when that all happens. But, yeah, I definitely look forward to getting on stage with Mike and Barry and a few of my guitar players that I had play on the album. And that’ll kind of be the core of the band, maybe bring in a keyboard player or something, a couple of cats that played on the album…I’ve thought about would it be something like, if you’re familiar with Airborn, they’re kind of an AC/DC-adjacent band, killer band and the music is explosive and yet they go out there and black jeans and t-shirts. Just all black with like a black scrim banner that says “Airborn” on it. So I can see doing something like that and just letting the music speak. But on the other hand, if there were a budget, it’s again money talks, if there’s a budget and we’re able to have a trailer and sets, I’d entertain a load intentionally low budget thing to kind of bring some of that essence of 80s, an 80s big concert like a Dio Sacred Heart or Iron Maiden Book of Souls or something to the stage. That’d be funny to go see that in a club and you get that kind of Spinal Tap “Stonehenge” thing going on, but really play into it that that could be fun. It really all depends. I’m really not sure yet. That’s something I think I’d want to let the fans kind of decide how they want to hear it. I don’t know how I’d go about that, but it’d be interesting. 9:06
“Evil Eye”
On whether American Idol helped or hurt his career – It’s definitely been a mixture of both, but I believe that Idol is it’s a catapult, it’s a stepping stone. It depends on which direction you launch off of it. It depends on if the wind is right. It depends on if you have the right product, if it’s the right time, if it’s culturally or socially this or not. I feel like I’ve had great success with everything that I’ve done, whether it be a big success or small success, whether it’s two hundred albums sold or it’s 40,000 albums sold, they are still albums sold. In this day and age of music sales and music consumption, a sale is a sale and a victory should be celebrated. So with anything of that nature, it’s really what you do with it. We’re all given the same opportunity coming off Idol. It’s done, the show is done. It’s like there you go. That’s what we did for you. Now it’s up to you to do what you can do for yourself. That has to do with the team that you bring on and the people that you surround yourself with. Sometimes they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing, and sometimes they’re just wolves, or sometimes they’re sheep. A wolf is definitely going to go out there to bat for you more than a sheep is but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you’ve got to be fearful of as well. So I’ve encountered all of the above and I’ve found it’s best to work for yourself unless you’re a shitty employee, 13:07
On leaving Quiet Riot –Creative differences, really at the basis of it. I really want to spend as much time with my family as possible. It’s very difficult to give somebody your entire calendar year and all you ask for is one week off to go camping with your wife and kids. If that can’t be worked out, then, my wife and kids take precedence over everything, whether it’s something I really want to do or not really want to do or no matter how fun it is or anything. My dad wasn’t that type, and so I feel like he did a lot of good but it’s kind of overshadowed by the negative choices that he made and how those affected his life. I just want to be on the other side of that. I want to take what he did and didn’t do as examples and really live a better example for my own kids. 15:07
Quiet Riot “In The Blood”
On Frankie Banali – (He could be) crazy, sometimes, I’ll be honest, but at his core, he was a good guy. We all have our days We all have our times. But at the core of it, I really enjoyed the time that I got to spend with him. We didn’t have the closest relationship. But what we did do and what we did accomplish and the fans that we entertained and the shows that we put on and it was awesome. We got to be in Mexico and we celebrated his birthday with a mariachi band and dinner and everything, and I’d get those guys out of their hotel rooms and go across the street to go ride go-carts and play arcade games and stuff and just go do different things, get out of your room, turn off CNN. Why keep sitting there watching the same shitty news unravel, and why not just go outside and do something that you wouldn’t have done otherwise? 16:25
