A Dirty Dozen with NATHAN JAMES – May 2025

According to a recent press release: “Fresh off a sold-out tour with In This Moment and Kim Dracula, James next hit the road for the America’s Rejects Tour alongside Attila, Butcher Babies, and DED. James won fans over every night with his raw energy and is planning his next live appearances, so stay tuned. Nathan James’ discography includes hard-hitting singles like “Hanged Man” and “Secrets of the Shadows” (feat. Paleface Swiss), while “Alienation” served as the first single from his forthcoming debut album, set for release in Summer 2025. The song premiered on SiriusXM Octane’s Test Drive with Jose Mangin. With his raw energy, commanding stage presence, and genre-blurring sound,  James is poised to be a defining voice in modern heavy music. Together, CrowdKill Records and Gravel Road are committed to empowering artists, giving them the creative freedom, resources, and support they need to thrive in today’s evolving music industry.” We get Nathan to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

My newest song “Alienation” is just an ultimate banger for anybody who likes the sound of music. You don’t even have to like a specific genre. I feel like it’s a song that resonates with so many people and can be enjoyed by so many different listeners: just from the melodic chorus and what I’m talking about with feeling out of place and misunderstood in this world.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

What got me into music was photography. I was a professional photographer for several years, shooting for artists and brands. I did a photography gallery called “nightmares.” They were six photographs I shot and they were each named after different insecurities that we go through in our life. I was thinking of a different art medium that could be used to go along with this photography gallery, and I thought “what if they were songs that correlate with each photograph?” So that is how I got into making music and I made the six songs that were horrendous but from doing that, I realized, wow, this is really what I want to do and make my main priority and have it become a full-time career.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

There’s never been a certain song or album or artist that has made me want to do music, but I do draw a lot of influence from both the hip-hop and metal community. In terms of artists that I really like a lot, they would be Marilyn Manson and Eminem. Two different genres of music, but I really like to incorporate both sides in my music.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

It would 100% be Marilyn Manson or Eminem.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

If I’m not doing music related stuff, I like to just be in my room and watch movies or TV shows, go to the gym, go on walks, or go to concerts.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

For someone who has never listened to me before, the comparison I would give would be like a heavier Marilyn Manson, but with a little bit more hip-hop elements in it.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Since I am a solo artist, but perform with a live band, me and my bandmates don’t hang out regularly outside of touring and rehearsal. But when we are together, I would say Tommy my drummer is the one to always have the recommendations of where we should all go eat and get food. He’s very particular about that and always wants pancakes lol.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I have never been starstruck but I was really excited to meet Jonathan Davis, the lead singer of KORN. It was really cool. When I walked up to him, he knew my name and said he likes the music and what I’m doing with my art, so that was a very big compliment.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part about being a musician is being able to create, and then being able to perform your songs live in front of people. Also having the impact for other people to enjoy what you create is an amazing feeling; that’s all any artist wants is for other people to like what they’re creating. If I could no longer be a musician maybe I would go back to doing photography. I don’t know. I’m kind of over photography. I’m not sure what I would get into but I’m sure it would be something having to do with the arts.

10. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Yes, I once did a last-minute rush performance for this competition of the bands thing. I can’t even remember what the name of it was, but it was an absolute disaster. I performed one song live that was brand new, and the structure of the song was totally different. I was also performing with people I’d never played live with before and it was under 24 hours to prepare. We had to perform the song and it was just not good. I didn’t really have any performance history ever and it was televised to several people. And I just wish I would’ve never done that, but you live and you learn. That was early in my career and now it’s just funny, but at the time I was just like “oh my God, what a mistake.”

11. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

If I could go back in time and be a part of any recording session for any artist ever, I would probably want to be a part of something that Marilyn Manson, Korn, or Eminem made.

NATHAN JAMES LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

Category: Interviews