JAMES MICHAEL Doesn't Rule Out New SIXX:A.M Music: 'All Three Of Us Would Say The Door Is Not Shut'

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" podcast, SIXX:A.M. singer James Michael spoke about whether there are any plans for the band to record more new music or play live shows in support of the "Hits" compilation album, which came out last year. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's a good question. And yeah, there's a lot of interest in that…

"We kind of went into hiatus, we kind of went away without really letting people know why. And the reality was that we were all really burned out. We were three friends that started this band as just a bunch of guys in a room making up songs together, and it just turned into something so much more significant over the years. And we were so lucky and so blessed to have the more-than-a-decade-long career that we've had so far.

"The best way that I can answer the questions about what is the future of SIXX:A.M. and what's going on with them is we have no plans right now to do anything moving forward. But I do talk quite regularly with both Nikki and D.J.," he continued, referencing his SIXX:A.M. bandmates Nikki Sixx and D.J. Ashba. "And we all love what SIXX:A.M. was and became so much that… Would I love to make another SIXX:A.M. record? Absolutely. There's nothing I'd love more than getting back in the room with Nikki and D.J. and the whole gang and just experiencing that.

"I would say all three of us would say the door is not shut [to future SIXX:A.M. activity]. It's just with SIXX:A.M., we never were supposed to be a band in the first place. When we started, we were just, like I said, three guys getting together and making up songs. And then we recorded those songs. I wasn't supposed to be the singer; we were just eventually gonna find a singer to actually record — take my voice off and put somebody else's voice on. But just through circumstances, it just ended up taking off. And I'm just grateful for that experience. It's just been amazing."

James also talked about his working relationship with Nikki and D.J., saying: "To answer the question what it's like to work with Nikki and D.J., it's that chemistry that you hope you find when you are in this music industry. You hope that you get lucky enough to meet a guy or a couple of guys that you just jell with and that you can work with on every level — professional and personal. And that's what it's been like.

"I think that there were tough times; there were very, very times being in SIXX:A.M. because we're three very, very opinionated people. But 99 percent of the time, those strong opinions are also what became the strong support group for one another. When I, as the producer of the albums, would just reach a point where I didn't know what the next right move was, I always had my two very, very skilled partners to lean on and to just say, 'Hey, I need your input on this. Where should we go?' And it was just always that kind of a give-and-take relationship.

"SIXX:A.M. was always very much a democracy; we all brought ideas in and we all collaborated," James confirmed. "We love that process so much. We laughed our way through a decade of making music. That's the part I look forward to the most, is just getting the three of us in a room together, because it's just non-stop laughter. And usually what we come up with ends up being something I'm very, very proud of."

"Hits" was released in October 2021 via Better Noise Music. The album was a retrospective celebration of SIXX:A.M.'s biggest hits and fan-favorite songs that also included five previously unheard tracks and mixes, marking the band's first official album with new material since 2016.

Inspired by the release of Sixx's "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx", SIXX:A.M. members Michael, Ashba and Sixx made "Hits" available as a companion piece to the book.

To date, SIXX:A.M. — whose name is a combination of all of the members' last names (Sixx, Ashba, Michael) — has three U.S. Billboard top 20 albums and a string of hit singles, with its full catalog consisting of five studio albums — "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" (2007),"This Is Gonna Hurt" (2011),"Modern Vintage" (2014),"Prayers For The Damned" and "Prayers For The Blessed" (2016) — and three EPs, "X-Mas In Hell" (2008); "Live Is Beautiful" (2008) and "7" (2011).

In a January 2022 interview with Antihero Magazine, Ashba, who has spent the last year promoting his ASHBA solo project, spoke about whether there are any plans for SIXX:A.M. to record more music or tour. He said: "SIXX:A.M. has always been a labor of love. It's weird with SIXX:A.M., we all three are currently still full-blown members and we are very proud of everything we've created. James has mentioned recently that he's kind of retiring, kind of stepping away from music, which is sad to hear, but the guy has done so many great, great things in his career and the songs he has been a part of. He has a lot to be proud of.

"Now, that being said, the three of us at any given time could call each other and go, 'Hey, let's do one more tour. Let's write a new song,'" he continued. "That's just how we are. We don't ever plan anything. So, I would say, never say never, but I have no intention of doing anything further with it. I think we've put a nice bookend to SIXX:A.M. with the greatest hits and if something else were to happen so be it, but I think we're all pretty satisfied with what we've done with that."

Last December, James also told Australia's Rock Lives Here that there are no plans for SIXX:A.M. to do anything else at the moment. He said: "It's funny — every time SIXX:A.M. made an album, we said to ourselves, 'This is the last album we're gonna make.' We said that on 'The Heroin Diaries' soundtrack. We said, 'This is a one-off. We'll never do this again.' Then we did 'This Is Gonna Hurt', and it was, like, 'Yeah, this is gonna be our last album, for sure.' And then we did 'Modern Vintage', [and it was], like, 'This is gonna be our last one.' So we've been saying that since the beginning.

"When we put together this 'Hits' album, of course, we had in mind that if this was the last thing that SIXX:A.M. does, we want it to be right and we want it to thoughtful and we want it to be meaningful," he explained. "And so we really set out with that intention; we wanted to kind of put a nice bow on this decade of music that we've created.

So, as of right now, we don't have any plans for anything — no touring, no new music or anything. And that's why we're so excited to be sharing this 'Hits' album with everyone because it may be the last thing we do. I don't know. We'll see. That's one thing I've learned with SIXX:A.M. — I never say never."

James has just released a solo single, "California Smile", via all streaming music services.