In the wake of COVID, climate change crisis, inflation and the general glum of everything sucking that’s dominated the past couple of years, Van Damme wants to change things up. Not the actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, but the band Van Damme — althoughcan get just about anyone out of a funk if proper drinking games are involved, according to frontman James Van Damme.
“Your situation is about you,” says frontman Van Damme. “You can buy into bullshit and bad stuff happening, but things can always get better too. I maintain a positive outlook in life because I surround myself with positive people.” Half of the band members work at The Tone Shop in Addison, giving them the pleasure of having the loudest gear in the business, and premium instruments too. The group's arsenal of Gibson guitars and Naylor and Marshall amp heads would be coveted by even the most diehard guitar collector.
“I try not to write music to particular trends,” says Van Damme, the band's principal songwriter. “Writing what we actually feel and what we actually want to hear is what we do instead.” Although the band is always aiming for a good time, 2022 has not been an easy year for frontman Van Damme, who experienced several serious health setbacks that almost cost him his life. In May, he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after his wife noticed he was pale, sweaty and short of breath.
The time away recovering from the incident once again motivated him to write more music for the project.