Mikey Jukebox is the musical project of Mikey James based in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. Before going solo, James was a member of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

based band Longwave. After leaving the group, he returned to Rochester to for
The Mercies
and eventually Mikey Jukebox. Much of his songwriting was influenced by a “1950’s Memphis &

Rock ‘N’ Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

” phase ( Bill Haley,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

, Chuck Berry,

Sun Studios Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label ...

-era

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

) combined with a passion for Klaxons,

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and a love for

French House French house, also known as French touch, filter house and tekfunk, is a style of house music originally produced by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Euro disco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance m ...

music and early Source Records. Songs from the record have charted on indie charts and had songs featured on hit TV shows including '' Gossip Girl'' (''Open Up Your Heart''), '' New Girl'' (''New Radio & You're Gonna Be Mine (Some Day)''), '' Ben & Kate'' (''New Radio''), ''

Traffic Light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...

'' (''Insatiable (Gone)''), ''

The Lying Game ''The Lying Game'' is an American teen drama mystery television series developed by Charles Pratt Jr. It premiered on ABC Family on August 15, 2011, and ended on March 12, 2013. The series was produced by Pratt Enterprises, Alloy Entertainment, ...

'' (''Insatiable (Gone)'') and the fil
The Secret Lives of Dorks
(''Hello Dreamer & Ghost of Rock 'N' Roll''). The song that is the biggest example of James’ perfectionism and smorgasbord of influences is ''Hello Dreamer''. There are four recorded versions of this song that James considers “some 1970s teen idol song.” Of the song, James remarked, “I consider myself by all means a glam rock-er at heart (

T.Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

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, Sweet,

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, ''

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'', Mott the Hoople), and the song really lent itself to it in ways. In the end I was trying for an epic “ Station to Station” thing production wise". James now fronts another solo project
Admirers
, due for release o
Ardent Music
in July 2013, a boutique label based in Memphis at the legendary

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Arden ...

Releases

Insatiable EP
(2008)
Just What We're Sayin' (single)
(2009)
Mikey Jukebox
(2010)
Mikey Jukebox (Analog Remaster)
2011)
We Don't Stop 'Til the Kids "R" Dancin' EP
(2011)

References

{{Reflist Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)