![]() As the oldest of three children coming up in Kansas City, Missouri, Sebastian James was instilled with a love of music by his father who is a full-time musician. He recalls that when he was only two or three years old, he listened intently as his father played songs from popular rock artists like Dio and Queen, and “anything in-between,” and leaving him with jitters when hearing so many iconic songs for the very first time. Recognizing early on that he possessed his own inclination and talent for music, James enjoyed whistling, singing, or tapping along to the music he had heard. When he was ten years old, the official embarkation on his musical journey unfolded when he received his first instrument and began learning to play the drums. Years later, he is now seeing the fulfillment of his youthful efforts in the release of his very first album. “I started playing with my father when I was 13 years old,” James said. “He had a group that gigged locally and regionally and after his drummer left, I was able to convince him to let me play. From about 13 to 18 years old, I played in cover bands, and it started to put a little change in my pocket,” he smiled. Graduating from high school in Parkville, Missouri, in 2011, the aspiring musician was contacted by Nigel Dupree, the son of Jesse James Dupree, founder of the rock band Jackyl. Nigel had put together a national touring band and invited James to join the group as the drummer. “During this time, I had enrolled in classes at Park University, but it was also around the time they started doing remote classes,” James recalled. “So, for the next two or three years I toured with Nigel but was also doing my coursework.” The band was featured on seasons four and five of the reality television series “Full Throttle Saloon” which featured a saloon of the same name in Sturgis, South Dakota. But by 2015, the band’s schedule had slowed significantly although they continued to play a few pop-up festivals. James explained, “I found out my girlfriend was pregnant with our first child, so I needed to be around for that. My father had a group called Disco Dick that played a lot of large corporate-type events, so I began playing for him and started my own production company.” With a sigh, he added, “I was basically working eight days a week.” His son, Halen, was born in 2014, while James went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He then enrolled in a master’s program, earning his MBA from Park University in 2018. The same year he earned his master’s, he was hired to do marketing for an architectural group in Kansas City, where he remains employed. Music and education always seemed to be present throughout my life,” he remarked. “During this exciting period, my fiancée and I married, and we had our second child, our daughter, Annastasia,” he proudly added. Never losing his passion for performing, James began quietly singing to himself while out for a jog or when taking a shower, seeking to improve his voice for backup vocals and harmonies. He came to the realization that his vocal abilities were on par with the lead singers of many groups he had seen, a realization that soon shifted the direction of his music career. Continuing to refine his vocal talents for the next couple of years, he became interested in being the front man in a band. It was around 2018, he said, that he formed The Rock Gods, paying tribute to a variety of rock acts from the 1980s. James is no longer behind the drum set but now provides lead vocals. Soon, he and The Rock Gods were receiving national-level attention and being booked for gigs in Maui, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and many points in-between. The band is consistently booked and traveling from Memorial Day until Labor Day. “My original project is ‘Sebastian James’ and my solo debut will be released this summer,” he explained. “It’s a full-length record called ‘Old School Cool’ and the music is like classic rock and Southern Rock with a little mix of country. It’s everything from Kid Rock to Aerosmith and the Black Crowes.” James and a few business partners have also established an independent label, Tungsten Records. Additionally, he has teamed up with Howie Rosen, the former Senior VP of Promotion at Casablanca Records. Rosen, while at Casablanca, helped break to national acclaim such acts as KISS and the Village People. Rosen has since founded Howard Rosen Promotion, Inc., and his team is now working with James to promote the Sebastian James solo project. “It’s been a wild ride this past year cutting a record at B-24 Studios near Union Station in Kansas City,” James said. “I’ve not only kept busy working on this solo project but have performed with The Rock Gods, run a production company and private label, while also doing my marketing job, too.” The motivation behind his drive to pursue so many projects, he explained, is to leave a legacy that can someday be passed on to his children. “The reason I do anything is for my family … to hopefully build a business platform that they can walk into someday,” he said. “For now, I keep pursuing the music because I feel like I still have great stories to tell and songs to write.” He added, “I love performing and when I finish a show, I’m the first one at the merchandise booth and the last one to leave. I figure if people can take the time to come to my shows and hear my songs, it’s my responsibility to be around because their support means so much to me.” Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of “Movin’ On,” biography of the rock band Missouri.
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AuthorJeremy P. Ämick is an award-winning author and historian and dedicated to preserving music, military and local histories. Archives
July 2024
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