James Christian is known as the voice of House Of Lords. Formed in the mid eighties in a time when musicians were being judged by the length of their hair and the ability to make it look like it had just been tangled up in a non-romantic affair with an exploded hair dryer, this rock act stood out from their musical counterparts such as Poison, Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd through means of a much less mellow sound that would focus on melody rather than strictly radio friendly tunes, digestible to all those ballsy enough to take a bite.

Even though the ranks of House Of Lords were being populated on numerous occasions by outstanding musicians (Gregg Giuffria, Chuck Wright, Tommy Aldridge) who have surely left their musical marks here and there, it was undoubtedly the voice of James Christian contributing heavily to the instant success of the band. His sometimes high-pitched notes added flavour to the meal being served and gave it that little bit of extra needed to make it suitable for the crème de la crème of the heavy scene. But, as usually is the case, the road leading up to the top of the hill turned out to be a long and winding one.

The First Years

Before hooking up with House Of Lords, James was a member of several bands, the first of them being Hooka which he joined at the age of 16. In spite of the fact that he wasn't yet old enough to play in clubs, it never stopped the band from getting up on stage for at least 3-4 times a week, doing 4-5 sets per night, gaining a reputation through word of mouth. It was said by the local people in Connecticut where James grew up that it would be a total miss on your part if you hadn't seen this band live as the singer sounded just like Robert Plant. This being the case, it shouldn't come as a surprise that part of the set list consisted of the complete first Led Zeppelin record, still one of James' all-time favourites and the very one that broke it all loose for him when it comes down to singing. As he vividly recalls: “When I heard that record, it was almost like a light went off in my head and I knew right away I wanted to become a musician myself. So, I learned this record from top to bottom, learned how to sing it, and by doing so, I developed my own voice so to speak. What also helped, was the fact I was performing quite a lot with Hooka. That really shaped my voice. At first I was just doing all these high-pitched notes, but as time went on my voice got a bit huskier and I must say I kinda liked that.”

After having been with Hooka for a couple of years, James was approached by the drummer of a local band called Jasper Wrath. It turned out they wanted him on board as their lead singer and even though it saddened him deeply, for he had always been loyal to the band, James decided to leave Hooka for Jasper Wrath. Even hindsight this seemed like the right thing to do as this particular band had already built itself quite a name in the local scene, even having signed a record deal with label MGM. “Jasper Wrath was an amazing band,” James says with much enthusiasm, “that was well ahead of its time. Literally everything was falling into place with this band. We had lots of talented people behind us such as Rick Wakeman and Phil Ramone who produced Billy Joel and who wanted to do a record with us. Not to mention the number one single 'You' we had that was being sponsored by Subway Sandwiches which is now one of the biggest companies in the world. At the time, however, they were rather small. But we did their very first commercial and the song was always on the radio. It was that popular.” He pauses for a moment as if being lost in memories and then all of a sudden he starts humming the tune. “Remember that?” he asks no one in particular. It turns out be nothing but a rhetorical question as he continues before awaiting an answer. “Not long after having done that commercial we got a record offer from Capitol Records who wanted us to do a live record. But our drummer refused the offer which resulted in a big argument after which everybody just gave up while being on the verge of going to break. Still think it's a shame. We had some great stuff, very progressive, even more progressive than Yes was these days. Don't know how we would do today, but back then we were quite something. Do have tons of recordings left. Maybe some day I will release them.”

In the wake of Jasper Wrath's demise a new band rose to the surface: Eyes, an original group that eventually ended up doing cover songs as well. Eyes picked up where Jasper Wrath had left off, playing where ever people would ask the band to play. Within a short period of time James and his gang managed to get themselves well-known in Connecticut and surroundings, gathering quite a following. Local club owners would invite them to their venues and most of the shows would sell out in the blink of an eye. To add to its success Eyes even released an album through Quiet Cannon Records, thus paving the way for what should turn into a promising career. But once again, as with Jasper Wrath, it wasn't meant to be. This time it was James himself who decided to pull the plug. Persuaded by friends who were telling him he wasted his talents by playing two bit night clubs, he gave way to the invitation of Judithe Randall to come to California to record some of her songs. On setting out the general idea was to be just gone for a few weeks, but James would prove himself wrong as he was never to return again to rejoin his stranded band members of Eyes.

California

At first James wasn't keen on going to California, for he feared he would become a nobody in a nameless crowd. “You see,” he explains while waving his arms about to illustrate the confusion he was feeling at the time, “in Connecticut I was the top guy as in California I would be just the guy from Connecticut. I really had a fear of not being able to do anything and although everybody was pushing me, saying I could pull this one off, it took me a whole year to come to that conclusion myself. So, I finally went there and it was hard, especially the first year. There were times I hardly had any money in my pockets. But I auditioned where ever I could, sang demo's for free and did anything possible to get my voice out there.”

As mentioned before James headed out to California for a mere couple of weeks to work with Judithe Randall, but after that work was completed and just shortly before he was supposed to go home, she told him Quiet Riot was in need of a new singer and gave him an address where he could drop off a tape with some of his recordings. But after he got there, James wasn't allowed in and was kind of summoned to just leave the tape on the doorstep. James still shrugs in disbelief as he travels back in time to once again find himself on that particular doorstep in front of a closed door. “ It really was a strange experience. Judithe had given me the address and I drove down there in a rented car. But the door never opened after I had knocked on it. I just heard a low voice asking who I was and after I was done explaining what I came for, the same voice just told me to leave the tape at the door. Well, since this was better than nothing, I did so, hoping to get a reply within the next few days. But weeks passed and I never got one, but fortunately enough I received a call from Aldy Damien who thought I'd be the perfect singer for his band LA Rocks. I auditioned and they liked me enough to have me replacing Jeff Scott Soto. I had a great time with this band and we were close to getting signed, but somehow, deep inside, I knew this was not the band that would bring me to the top. And just about then, I met Chuck Wright who was filling in for a couple of shows since our bass player had left. As it turned out me and him had already met before behind closed doors so to speak, for he was the one upon whose doorstep I had left the tape that was meant to get me into Quiet Riot. He immediately recognized my voice when we were doing our first rehearsal and said he had been trying to reach me ever since he had listened to the tape. But the number I had left on it, was my number in Connecticut which had been disconnected. Anyway, we got talking and I ended up being introduced to Gregg Guiffria who in turn introduced me to Gene Simmons. From there on everything happened quite fast, within two weeks, and before I knew it I was the lead singer for House Of Lords.”

House Of Lords

James entered House Of Lords at the right time as the band was about to record its debut album together with producer Andy Johns. “He's an amazing guy.” As he speaks of Andy it becomes clear James has fond memories of the time they spend together in the studio. “I worked with him on the first two records. He's a legend and me being a fan of Led Zeppelin, it was great to work with someone who had worked with that band. Most of the production skills I have now, I learned from him, just by watching him do his thing.”

Apart from the singer -David Glen Eisley- House Of Lords had the same line-up as Giuffria, tied by Gene Simmons to his own label Simmons Records. However, as Gene didn't like David's voice he had him replaced by James and changed the band's name to House Of Lords.

The self-titled debut and its follow-up Sahara did very well and gained House Of Lords a great deal of respect from followers all around the world. Both albums were released by BMG, but by the time 1992's Demons Down was due the liaison between this label and House Of Lords had completely lost its appeal to the latter. Therefore it was time for a change and through Gregg Phil Carson, who was running a spin-off company of Polygram America, was brought into the picture.

Demons Down is often described by James 'as the best album House Of Lords has ever made', but unfortunately it was released at the very moment a new musical phenomenon called grunge reared its ugly head. Due to this radical change there was no room left for melodic rock music. At least that's what James believed. And so House Of Lords came to an untimely end. “I didn't really see no other option at the time than to call it a day, ” James explains. “It was grunge all over and the record company wasn't pushing us at all. We just had to wait for the right opportunity to rise again, which took quite a while, I must admit that, but I think we re-emerged at the right time. Anyway, this leave of absence gave me a chance to record some stuff of my own and I also met my future wife Robin Beck with whom I have a lovely daughter named Olivia.”

House Of Lords' comeback album saw the light of day in 2004, the wheels being set in motion by Chuck Wright who had approached James with the question if he wanted to do another record together. This time Frontiers Records was left in charge of the release and even though Gregg had decided not to be part of the band any longer due to personal reasons, it gained the attention of numerous metal heads from literally everywhere.

For 2006's World Upside Down James teamed up with a long forgotten buddy: Jimi Bell, a talented guitar player from his old neighbourhood in Connecticut. “Jimi and I go way back,” James says with a smile. “We grew up together, playing the same clubs, but for some reason we never got to playing together in the same band. It could have happened years before World Upside Down came out, because Jimi claims to have sent in a tape to audition for going on tour with us, but I never got that tape. And to be quite honest...I had totally forgotten about Jimi. But then, in the process leading up to the World Coming Down record, I started to think of all the guitar players I had met over the years since I was in need of one and all of a sudden Jimi's name popped up. So, we hooked up and the first song we wrote together was 'I'm Free'. It knocked me off my feet and we kept writing new songs. First, of course, for the World Coming Down record and just recently for Come To My Kingdom, which contains some of the best stuff we've ever done together.”

Future Plans

Rumour has it that House Of Lords is about to release a dvd. According to James, however, it my take a while before it hits the stores. “All of the legal work has been done, but it won't be released till I'm ready for it. Probably some time next year. But instead of just one, there will be two dvd's, featuring live recordings, backstage stuff, us being on the road and bad takes. So, mainly a lot of funny footage.”

When asked about the funny footage, James raises his eyebrows. “I really don't want to give it all away, but if you want something funny, I'll give you just that. I have in fact two stories for you. One being band related, the other non-band related. Let me start with the first one which took place right after a show in Rome.” He sits up straight, then leans back again in his chair, folding his arms. “Just after I had finished the show, I got back to the hotel. Believing room 636 was the one I was staying in, I opened up the door, which should in fact have been closed since it was number 638 that had been given to me. Much to my surprise I saw a lady standing in the middle of the room with her panties hanging down. She didn't say a word. All she did, was stare at me. So, I mumbled an apology and left the room. And then, about ten minutes later, after I had changed clothes, I got out of my room just as the lady from 636 was coming out of hers. She nearly took my breath away, for she happened to be a nun! Again she just looked at me without saying a word. Then she smiled as if she was laughing at some inside joke. That really was the weirdest thing that ever happened to me, because I got to see her practically naked and all she did, was smile at me. Maybe it was her lucky day, I don't know, but it was weird.” He falls silent for a moment while laying his hands on the arms of his chair. Then he produces a big smile. “It probably was her lucky day. But anyway, I have another story for you.” He looks to his left. “Do I have time for one last story?” A mumbled reply from the back of the room answers the question. “Ok, great. Well, one time I was given the chance to play in the MTV baseball/softball game. I was looking forward to that, because I have always liked that game. In fact I once was a good baseball player, but I gave up the game when I chose to make myself a career in the music business. But this was a great opportunity to get out on the field again with some of the biggest rock stars of the moment. Unfortunately Little Richard was on my team and him being the pitcher was not the best thing since every one hit the shit out of him. And all the time, when ever he would pitch a ball, he went like 'Who's that dog? Who's that dog?'”

Well, who ever or what ever it was, it definitely wasn't the ball.