For our eleventh episode, we kick the dial up to eleven!  Tony and Jim are joined in studio by Producer/Songwriter/Rock Star extrordinaire James Michael to run down the HomeGrown Hits Top Ten.  James brings his songwriting and production sensibilities to bear on our charts, giving a short commentary on each song.  He drives home the point that songwriting and song structure should always trump production quality when crafting and recording a tune.

James Michael is the producer, songwriter, and mixer of many chart-topping rock and pop hits of the past decade.  He is a founding member (along with Nikki Sixx) and lead vocalist of Sixx:AM.  The band's debut album, which James produced, contained the No. 1 Billboard rock track of 2008, "Life is Beautiful".  He produced and co-wrote Mötley Crüe's last studio album, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. He has written for and produced artists such as Papa Roach, Alanis Morissette, James Durbin, Hinder, and Kelly Clarkson.  James spoke to us just prior to heading out on tour to promote the latest Sixx:AM album, "Modern Vintage".

[Recorded 6 January 2015]

We made it to Episode #10!  To celebrate, Tony and Jim count down the winning songs of our 7 contests over the past 2 years on HomeGrownHits.com.  To help us introduce each of these spectacular contest-winning tunes, we talk to as many of the winners as we could get a hold of to see what they've been up to! 

In this episode, we feature:

Kevin Woodburn from Half Hour City ("The Season"/Free Gear for Leap Year, Feb 2012) http://www.halfhourcity.com

Julian Shah-Tayler from The Singularity ("Talking in Your Sleep"/Kick-ASCAP, Apr 2012) http://Thesingularitymusic.bandcamp.com

Paul Nicoll ("Gringo Mambo"/Make a HomeGrown Summer Hit, Jun 2012) http://paulnicollmusic.com

Billy Schafer (Answering machine) ("F-Bomb"/Dia De Los Muertos, Nov 2012) http://billyschafermusic.com

Rachelle ("Brave New World"/Kick-ASCAP 2, Apr 2013) http://rachellerenesse.com

This Must Be Thursday (Unavailable) ("Another Song"/Make a HomeGrown Summer Hit 2, Jun 2013) http://thismustbethursday.bandcamp.com

James Kerr AKA Sugardoll ("Top of the World", HomeGrown Hits for the Holidays, Jan 2014) http://sugardoll.bandcamp.com

Appropriately for Episode "Number Nine," the top of the Charts has four great songs by British bands, leading to the #1 song "Giving Up" by Joe Lamb.  In this episode Tony and Jim outlaw the word "amazing", and still manage to properly praise the Top Ten songs on HomeGrownHits.com.  [Recorded November 26, 2013]

Tony takes over as producer, and we move to his garage studio (air conditioning!).  It's all about the music this episode, and what great music there is at the top of the HomeGrownHits.com Charts!  Tony and Jim count down the Top Ten songs on the site, ending with #1: "Another Song" by This Must Be Thursday.  [Recorded June 18, 2013]

Tony and Jim pick the brain of producer, songwriter, composer, and music industry veteran Joe Solo.  We explore the vast expanse of Joe's experience producing both major label and independent artists.  Joe helps us count down the Top Ten songs on the HomeGrownHits.com charts, commenting sagely on quite a few of them.  We build to a finish at new Number One song "You And I for Now", by Renee Winter.  [Recorded May 2, 2013]

Joe Solo discovered recording artist Macy Gray, and has worked with Michael Jackson, Shinedown, and Fergie. His songs have played on One Tree Hill, The OC, Major League Baseball, Dancing with the Stars, and many other TV programs. One of Joe's major current projects is his Music Success Workshop series.

Tony and Jim are joined on the phone by singer-songwriter and rootsy rocker Ted Wulfers to ponder the philosophy of musicmaking, and to listen to the incredible tunes on the HomeGrownHits.com Top Ten.  The countdown culminates with this week's number one song, "We Come Alive", by James Nagel. [Recorded April 12, 2013]

HomeGrownHits.com Radio is back, better than ever! Tony and Jim play and discuss today's Top Ten and announce our latest "KICK-ASCAP 2" song contest, which has been underway for a couple of weeks. It all builds to the Number One song, "Higher" by The Hot Rocks.  [Recorded March 28, 2013]

This one has it all! Interviews with artists and promoters at Make Music Pasadena, the largest free music festival on the West Coast (June 16, 2012)!  A discussion with the winner of our HomeGrown Summer Hit Contest, Paul Nicoll, on the genesis of his #1 song Gringo Mambo!  And of course Tony and Jim do the Top Ten on the HomeGrownHits.com Charts!  That's too many exclamations, but hey, we're excited!  (Tony is always excited, but this time even Jim is too.)    Thanks to Black Flamingo, Elaine Faye, HOTT MT, Odd Modern, One Trick Pony, Paul Nicoll, Rolando Marin of the Downtown Music Project, Sketch Orchestra, and Well Hung Heart.  [Studio portion recorded June 22, 2012]

In between recording Papa Roach's upcoming studio album and going out on tour, drummer Tony Palermo took the time out to visit us in the studio and hang out!  Tony and Jim ask him about how he got started drumming, and what the songwriting process is like for a super-hot rock band. We also contemplate how the music business has changed in recent years, and the future of radio.  All this, plus the HomeGrownHits.com Top Ten, with new Number 1 song, Gringo Mambo by Paul Nicholl!  [Recorded June 7, 2012]

The HomeGrownHits.com Top Ten, accompanied by Tony and Jim's signature banter.  Plus our Song Picks of the Week.  Featuring the Number One Song, "Come Undone" by The Singularity. (Recorded May 23, 2012)

Tony and Jim turn their new website sensation into a radio show!  They ask producer/songwriter Justin Gray what it takes to make a hit single these days, and what kind of gear and techniques he uses in the studio.  Also on this episode:  Why we Created HomeGrownHits.com, Tony and Jim's Song Picks of the Week, and our sometimes opinionated countdown of the Top Ten songs on HomeGrownHits.com.  (Recorded May 14, 2012)