In a candid interview on The Logan Show, SIXX:A.M. vocalist James Michael has ignited a spark of hope for fans of the rock supergroup, expressing a strong openness to the possibility of creating new music and returning to live performances. The singer, whose bandmates include Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist D.J. Ashba, revealed that while no concrete plans are currently in place, the bonds within SIXX:A.M. are as strong as ever, fueling a desire to rekindle their collaborative spirit.
"We have not discussed it," Michael stated when questioned about future endeavors, as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "I would be open to that. I mean, Nikki and I text quite often, and I literally was just texting with him the other day, and I was, like, ‘Dude, we gotta start creating again at some point. We gotta create something together.’ And that’s the other thing that I’m so happy about, is my relationship with them is, I think, better now than it ever has been. Time has passed. The exhaustion, the burnout is all a thing of the past, and now it’s just kind of the legacy that we all can be proud of and can enjoy."
This sentiment of renewed camaraderie is a significant departure from the pressures that may have contributed to the band’s hiatus. Michael elaborated on the creative process and the positive evolution of his relationships with Sixx and Ashba. "I would absolutely revisit… I would absolutely get myself into a creative situation with Nikki and D.J. again, because it was so fruitful. And honestly, it was really enjoyable. We laughed our way through making those records – all of them. Well, ‘Prayers For The Blessed’ and ‘Prayers For The Damned,’ there wasn’t a lot of laughter. It was sheer exhaustion and just stress. But for the rest of the records, we really did enjoy making those. We really were great friends and loved hanging out together, and just got excited every day that we had a studio day booked."
The vocalist further emphasized his eagerness for a potential reunion, stating, "So, would I do that again now? Yeah, I absolutely would. I would love to hear what SIXX:A.M. would do now."
A Legacy of Collaboration and Hits
SIXX:A.M., formed in 2007, emerged as a unique musical entity, its name an amalgamation of the founding members’ surnames: Nikki Sixx, D.J. Ashba, and James Michael. The project initially began as a creative outlet for Sixx, conceived to craft a soundtrack for his New York Times bestselling memoir, "The Heroin Diaries." Over the years, the trio evolved into a formidable force in the rock landscape, releasing six studio albums, a live album, and a string of successful singles that garnered significant airplay and fan adoration. Among their most notable hits are "Life Is Beautiful," "Stars," "Lies Of The Beautiful People," and "Maybe It’s Time."
The band announced their hiatus in 2021, marking the end of an era for their dedicated fanbase. However, the enduring appeal of their music is evident in their impressive streaming numbers, with over 500 million streams across digital platforms, underscoring their continued relevance in the global music scene.
Recent Releases and a Glimpse into the Past
The band’s catalog has seen recent activity with the release of "Prayers For The Damned & Blessed Deluxe Edition" in June 2025 via Endurance Music Group. This special limited-edition three-LP set, available on smoke-colored vinyl and all streaming platforms, brought together their 2016 albums "Prayers For The Damned" and "Prayers For The Blessed." The deluxe edition included brand-new renditions of "Maybe It’s Time" (Piano Version) and "Prayers For The Damned" (Piano Version), alongside an alternative mix of "We Will Not Go Quietly."
This release followed the 2021 album "Hits," put out by Better Noise Music. "Hits" served as a retrospective celebration of SIXX:A.M.’s most popular songs and fan favorites, also featuring five previously unheard tracks and mixes. This marked the band’s first official album of new material since 2016 and was conceived as a companion piece to Nikki Sixx’s book, "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx."
To date, SIXX:A.M. boasts three U.S. Billboard Top 20 albums. Their comprehensive discography includes "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" (2007), "This Is Gonna Hurt" (2011), "Modern Vintage" (2014), "Prayers For The Damned," and "Prayers For The Blessed" (2016), in addition to three EPs: "X-Mas In Hell" (2008), "Live Is Beautiful" (2008), and "7" (2011).
Reflections on the Hiatus and Creative Burnout
James Michael’s earlier comments in June 2025 to Tim Louie of The Aquarian shed further light on the reasons behind SIXX:A.M.’s extended inactivity. He explained that the band’s formation was never intended to be a long-term, high-pressure commitment. "When SIXX:A.M. formed, we never really had the intention of being a band," Michael recalled. "We were three guys that were pals and loved creating together, and, really, the first music that we created for SIXX:A.M. was so outside of the bounds of what was going on in music at the time. We enjoyed that. That’s kind of like a guilty pleasure. We loved the fact that we could just break the rules of what was going on in music at the time, so we carried that through pretty much our entire career."
He continued to describe how the dynamic shifted as the band evolved into a touring entity. "But we reached a point where we admitted to ourselves that we were a band that had to go out and keep being a touring band and do all of that stuff that bands do. We always said to ourselves, ‘Hey, let’s keep doing this as long as it’s fun,’ and it’s not that it ever stopped being fun, but we did reach a point where we all looked at each other and said, ‘I think it’s time for us to put a period at the end of this sentence. I think it’s time for each of us to go on and do other things.’"
Michael articulated a concern about creative stagnation, a fear of reaching "diminishing returns." "At least for me, there was… I don’t want to call it a fear, but there was this concern that we were going to reach the point of diminishing returns, you know? I didn’t want to have albums that I looked back on with regret. A couple of songs that we did towards the end, to be quite honest with you, I was not as excited about. I’m not ashamed of them, but I feel like had we kept going, there would have been a larger handful of those types of moments and of those types of songs."
The financial aspect was also not a primary driver for the band. "Listen, we never did SIXX:A.M. for the money," Michael emphasized. "We never did it to put money in our bank accounts. So we thought, ‘Why are we doing this if we are not feeling the same way that we used to feel about what we are doing?’ When we did ‘Prayers For The Damned’ and ‘Prayers For The Blessed,’ I think all three of us knew at that time that it would likely be the end of our album making."
Despite the hiatus, the camaraderie remains. "We still get along great," Michael revealed. "You know, every time I sit down and decide to put on one of our records just to kind of relive old memories, there is such an electricity about it. I have to admit, a part of me kind of goes, ‘What if we just tried something else? What if we just tried something new?’ I will bet you that both Nikki and D.J. have those same moments."
He concluded his earlier reflections by reiterating his current stance: "We don’t have anything planned, and I’m okay with that, because I feel like we wrapped things up very earnestly and very respectfully. But, yeah, every once in a while when I go back and listen to things, I’m, like, ‘I know we could make some more cool stuff.’ I know we could. Especially with where we all have grown as human beings, so the idea of that… I mean, let’s put it this way: I am very sincerely retired, and I’m enjoying that, right? But SIXX:A.M. was a magical thing, and there’s always going to be a part of me that thinks there’s something cool right around the corner."
Guitarist D.J. Ashba Echoes Optimism and Reflects on Band Dynamics
D.J. Ashba, when interviewed on SiriusXM’s "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" in May 2025, also conveyed a positive outlook on the potential for future SIXX:A.M. activities and maintained strong contact with his bandmates. "Yeah, I talked to Sixx, like, two weeks ago," Ashba stated. "We talked for quite a while just to catch up. We’re still all great friends. Me and James talk, but James lives in Ireland now. He’s pretty much just at a point in his life where he’s kind of… I mean, I read it on the Internet like you guys do. He’s putting out videos where he’s retired. And I have nothing but mad respect for James and Nikki. There has been talk, ‘Hey, let’s get together and create some new shit.’ But if it never happens, it never…"
Ashba further elaborated on the unique nature of SIXX:A.M., characterizing it as a "labor of love" rather than a traditional band. "SIXX:A.M.’s been weird," he explained. "It’s a labor of love. We’ve never looked at it like a band. I know the world and the label, when ‘Life Is Beautiful’ hit, they’re, like, ‘You guys are now a band,’ and we’re, like, ‘No. We’re just three producers, three best friends that love to create songs together.’ So we’ve never truly looked at SIXX:A.M. like a band. We still, to this day, don’t have a drummer. Every time we tour, we have to get a drummer. But it’s one of those weird, weird projects that the radio loves us. Every time we release a song, it seems to get a lot of love there. The fans have been incredibly supportive."
He expressed a clear preference for the creative process over extensive touring, suggesting that a return to the stage would be contingent on the core members’ desires. "And listen, I’m open to doing… That would be the only way I would come back and do a band thing would be if Nikki and James wanted to do another tour. I’d absolutely be down for that. But outside of that, I have no interest of joining a new band or doing anything band-wise. But that would be the one exception, for sure. But I would say, I don’t know, honestly. I think we’re all pretty open to the possibility of us doing something else in the future. We’ve never really closed the book on it. I’m down. I know Sixx is busy doing his thing, and James is doing whatever he’s doing. So I think if the timing was right, I think we’d all be probably down to do something in the future."
Ashba emphasized the effortless and therapeutic nature of their songwriting chemistry. "We’ve just never seen ourselves like a band," he repeated. "And we just love writing songs. It’s a lot of fun. It’s therapeutic. It’s effortless for us. When we get in a room, we can’t write songs fast enough. It’s just this weird chemistry the three of us have, and we laugh our way through every record we’ve ever made. We’ll sit on the floor in hotel rooms and order pizza and just laugh our way through the lyrics. And we just always have had such a fun time. And I think it’s because the lyrics to our songs cut pretty deep in all three of us. We all dig pretty deep into those wounds. So I think laughing our way through it is kind of a weird… it’s very therapeutic, I think, for the three of us. It’s our therapy session."
The Likelihood of New Material vs. Touring
When host Eddie Trunk posited that the likelihood of another SIXX:A.M. record or a single might be "maybe a little higher than actually going out and playing shows," Ashba concurred. "Yeah. I have no idea. I know if we three were to walk into a room, we’d have four songs written easily before we left the room. That’s just how we’ve always been. I can’t explain it. Something magical happens when we get in a room together, and it’d be hard for us to be in the same room without writing a song. So, who knows? I don’t know what the future holds."
The Road to Hiatus: Burnout and the Need for a Break
Ashba also provided context for the band’s hiatus, citing the intense touring schedules of all members. "I do know at the time, I had been touring with GN’R around the world, like, six times or something crazy," he explained. "We would tour for, like, eight months out of the year, and then as soon as I’d get off tour with GN’R, SIXX:A.M. would book me to go out on another tour. So for six, seven years, I really didn’t get much of a break. And I know Nikki was kind of doing the same thing with Mötley. So me and him were burning hard at both ends of the candle. So I think everybody just needed a break. We were just so burnt. And I think it was much, much needed at that point."
The combined perspectives from James Michael and D.J. Ashba paint a picture of a band that, while officially on hiatus, maintains a strong fraternal bond and a shared creative spark. The door to new music and potential live performances remains open, fueled by a mature appreciation for their shared legacy and the enduring magic of their collaborative synergy. The possibility of SIXX:A.M. revisiting their unique sound, now with the benefit of time and distance, is a prospect that will undoubtedly resonate with their dedicated global fanbase.
