For our eleventh episode, we kick the dial up to eleven!  Tony and Jim are joined in studio by Producer/Songwriter/Rock Star extrordinaire James Michael to run down the HomeGrown Hits Top Ten.  James brings his songwriting and production sensibilities to bear on our charts, giving a short commentary on each song.  He drives home the point that songwriting and song structure should always trump production quality when crafting and recording a tune.

James Michael is the producer, songwriter, and mixer of many chart-topping rock and pop hits of the past decade.  He is a founding member (along with Nikki Sixx) and lead vocalist of Sixx:AM.  The band's debut album, which James produced, contained the No. 1 Billboard rock track of 2008, "Life is Beautiful".  He produced and co-wrote Mötley Crüe's last studio album, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. He has written for and produced artists such as Papa Roach, Alanis Morissette, James Durbin, Hinder, and Kelly Clarkson.  James spoke to us just prior to heading out on tour to promote the latest Sixx:AM album, "Modern Vintage".

[Recorded 6 January 2015]