Michael James Muccigrossi better known by his stage name Micky James, is an American singer, songwriter and musician.

Life and career

Early life

Micky James was born Michael James Muccigrossi in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, United States. James was introduced to music at an early age. He has stated that seeing a videotape of the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan show “ultimately led iminto being a performer and a guitar player and down the road a song writer.” James spent his formative years playing in bands. He toured extensively with his last group, the Karma Killers, before they disbanded in 2018.

2018–present: Solo career

James released his debut single “Give It To Me Straight” in 2018, with the song premiering on Billboard and Sirius XM’s Alt Nation’s Advanced Placement. Soon after, he made his Los Angeles debut at the Roxy Theater supporting

the Struts The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby, Derbyshire in 2012. The band consists of lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies. The band has cited its influences as: Queen, The ...

. James's 2018 single “Rest of the Best (feat. Dreamers)" was added to regular rotation on Sirius XM’s Alt Nation. After its release, he joined Alt Nation’s Advanced Placement Tour featuring the Regrettes and Welles. In 2019, James released the singles “Walk the Line” and “Cry Baby.” On July 31, 2020 his most recent single “Kings” premiered via

Wonderland Magazine ''Wonderland'' is a British bi-monthly magazine based in Notting Hill, London, dedicated to lifestyle, fashion and popular culture. It was launched in September 2005 by editor Huw Gwyther under Visual Talent Ltd., after proposing the business i ...

. The song was featured on Spotify’s New Noise playlist and garnered critical acclaim, with one critic calling it “a cool six-stringed groove fest with a message” and another “a defiant uprising of the generationally damned and disgruntled, as well as the most authentic rock n’ roll you’ve heard in years.”

Musical style and influences

James has been compared to David Bowie, the Clash, T. Rex, and the Rolling Stones. He also counts early-aughts New York City bands such as the

Strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

and

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

as influences, stating that the Strokes’ debut album ''

Is This It ''Is This It'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Strokes. It was first released on July 30, 2001, in Australia, with RCA Records handling the release internationally and Rough Trade Records handling the United Kingdom release. ...

'' “got me into singing...when I listened to that record, I kind of found my voice.”

Discography

Singles

* "Give It To Me Straight" (January 2018, Dirty Canvas Records) *"Tie Me Up" (October 2018, Dirty Canvas Records) *"New Heart" (October 2018, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Rest of the Best feat. Dreamers" (November 2018, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Walk the Line" (March 2019, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Cry Baby" (September 2019, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Kings" (July 2020, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Shiver" (June 2021, Dirty Canvas Records) * "Not Okay" (September 2021, Dirty Canvas Records) * "New York Minute" (January 2023, BMG) * “James Brown” (March 2023, BMG)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Micky Living people 1993 births American rock singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters Glam rock musicians Musicians from Princeton, New Jersey